You order a bottle of wine at a restaurant having pondered and agonized over the wine list for a great deal of time. The wine must be the perfect accompaniment to the variety of dishes that have been ordered for dinner. You describe to your fellow diners how amazing the wines are from this recently discovered gem of a region; how subtle and nuanced this incredible juice will be. The sommelier brings the wine to the table. He presents the bottle’s label to be confirmed. There is such a sense of quivering anticipation as he reaches into his pocket for his wine tool, but then there is a wrenching sound, like the stylus needle scratching the surface of an old record, as he twists the bottle and unleashes it with a…screw top?
The debate about different wine enclosures has been raging since the introduction of the screw top – excuse me – “Stelvin Enclosure” was introduced to the wine bottle over twenty years ago. This probably mirrors the outrage of the clay amphora flagon fanatics in Roman times or the Medieval animal hide purists after the glass bottle was first introduced.
Clay Amphora Flagon
Really though, the cork enclosure is a fairly modern creation credited to the monk Dom Perignon in Champagne about 400 years ago. How sticking a bit of old tree bark in the top of a bottle and praying that the wine doesn’t go bad is a good thing is beyond me.
There are now glass stoppers, synthetic corks and even a plastic “Zork” invention, but I fall in favor on the side of screw tops for practicality’s sake. The wine will taste how the winemaker intended it to be when you drink it. There is also no chance that the wine will be “corked” or tainted by TCA (2,4,6,Trichloroanisole). This is the chemical that makes wine taste like cardboard or a wet dog.
Zorks in a Variety of Colors
To those self-professed Luddites who complain about the lost romance of the cork, just wait until the sommelier brings your wine to the table in a biodegradable milk carton shaped tetra-pak! Progress and the Future are just around the corner.
Cheers!
3 Comments
Hello Patrick,
My wife and I recently visited High Hammock at Pawleys Island and spoke with Giovani who gave me your name. Having fallen in love with the area, we would love to move down there. Although we would need jobs.
I am a wine manager CSW, specializing in on premise accounts, with a large wholesaler in Connecticut, one not associated with the national companies yuo have there. My question to you would be, who are the players and who are the people you like doing business with? I value the opinions of people like yourself in the industry.
I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your time.
ps….we absolutely loved High Hammock!!!!!
Mr. Murphy – so glad you enjoyed your High Hammock experience. I love the restaurant myself and the Pawleys Island atmosphere is compelling beyond belief. I am not surprised that you fell in love with the area.
We are fortunate to have some tremendous distributors throughout the state who specialize in hard to find, boutique wineries from all over the world. Charleston alone has over 20 independent wine companies. My best, consistent small companies are Grassroots, Advintage and Carolina Wine Source. If you are seriously contemplating the move, feel free to give me a call at the office 843 724-3808. I would be delighted to give you any information regarding the local wine industry that I can.
Sincerely,
Patrick
I know what a wet dog smells like, but didn’t realise that it had a distinctive taste. Is this something that’s covered on your wine tasting courses ? I absolutely appreciate that the screw-top makes sense from a practical viewpoint, but there remains something deeply satisfying in the pop of a cork. Perhaps as an experienced sommelier you could replicate the sound as you unscrew the cap !