Twist-Off

I was recently in Atlanta at a restaurant for brunch where we ordered a bottle of Champagne. The bottle came wrapped in foil but once the foil was removed there was not a cork to pop but a twist-off cap. It is the first time I have seen a sparkling wine of any kind use a twist-off cap. The wine was a bit on the sweet side but the majority of our table was using the Champagne for Mimosa's.

Wine Spectator stated the following:
"According to our statistics based on wines reviewed in 2012 by Wine Spectator editors, 91 percent of New Zealand's wines were bottled under twist-off, followed by Australia (67 percent), Oregon (23 percent), Argentina (14 percent), Washington (12 percent) and California (8 percent).
By comparison, only 6 percent of Spanish wines reviewed by us in 2012 had twist-offs, followed by France, with 3 percent, and Italy, with only 2 percent."

Despite my shock about the the twist-off the Champagne was mostly being used as a mixer and of course jokes about twist off's followed from the table.

These type of incidents continue to slow down the traction that serious wines in twist-off's are trying to achieve. Any regular follower of New Zealand expects all their wines, even the high end, to have a twist off. And I am seeing more and more white wines from Napa, especially Sav Blanc, come in twist-off. The quality of wine these days can no longer be judged solely on what covers the bottle.

White wine and New Zealand aside, how do we feel about our red wines using twist-off instead of cork. Some would argue that their is a certain romance to uncorking a bottle. Others argue that it is what is inside the bottle that counts and too many wines have cork taint. Natural cork is a renewable resource and no one has calculated the impact to the environment of millions of twist-off's.

In certain cases drinking wine is much deeper than what is inside the bottle. The wine, much like a winery tour, is all about the feelings, memory and emotions that the wine triggers. From the time you cork the wine, to the decanting period, to finally sharing the wine it all builds in our mind and soul. I want my vintage Champange to "pop" or to focus on uncorking an older bottle. It builds the anticipation and the romance.

Too many experiences these days are instant gratification, enjoying your finest red, white and Champagne should not be one of them.

Where do you stand?