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French Wine Explorers Wine e-Newsletter
www.wine-tours-france.com - May 2004

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This month's wine explorations:

Answering Your Wine Questions: Cork or Screw cap?

Got a question about French wine or wine in general?  Just send your question to me at info@wine-tours-france.com.  If I pick your question to answer in the e- newsletter, you'll get a gift certificate for a $150 discount on the tour of your choice.

John A. from Claremont, West Australia asks:  "What are the advantages and disadvantages of cork compared to the Stelvin cap (screw cap) in sealing a bottle of wine?”

Cork has been used to seal wine bottles since the 17th century.  It is quite elastic, and conforms to the contours of the wine bottle neck to form a good, if not airtight, seal that generally keeps wine from seeping out.  But cork has its limitations, and recently, many consumers, wine distributors and winemakers are getting a bit fed up with those limitations.  First of all, the seal is not always very reliable.  If the corks are inserted too quickly or with too much pressure into the bottles, a film of wine can be splashed onto the sides of the neck between the cork and the bottle, causing seepage and oxidation.  Secondly, corks are often hard to get out of the bottle.  Corks made from real cork can break or crumble with age, and plastic ones can be very hard to remove.

Of course, the main problem with corks is "cork taint", the musty, dank smell that wines can take on due to a molecule called TCA (trichloranisole).  This molecule is created when the natural mold found in cork is exposed to certain chemicals, including chlorine and pesticides.  It is such a strong-smelling substance that one teaspoon of the stuff is enough to taint all the corks in all the wines in the U.S.!  When it is present in wine, not only does it make the wine smell musty, it also masks all aromas and tastes of the wine itself, making the wine undrinkable.  It is thought that up to 7% of all bottles are tainted by TCA, a percentage that would be totally unacceptable in any other food or drink product.  Recent studies have shown that the quality of the cork has nothing to do with its likelihood to be tainted by TCA; even the highest grade of corks have the same incidence of cork taint as the lowest grade.

In "new world" countries like Australia and the U.S., progressive-thinking, fed-up winemakers are turning more and more to a new method of sealing wine that, in fact, is not so new:  the screw-cap.  Long associated with soft drinks and the cheapest plonk wines, the screw-cap (now marketed under the name Stelvin cap) is creating a quiet revolution in winemaking. Progressive-thinking winemakers like Randall Grahm of the famous Bonny Doon winery in California have paved the way, and other winemakers, particularly premium winemakers in the Clare Valley of Australia, are following suit.  The public is slowly beginning to drop their old associations with the screw cap; many now consider the screw cap closure a "plus" when buying a wine.  Many enologists were concerned that without the very tiny exchange of air that passes through the cork into the bottle, the wines would not improve with age.  But recent studies have revealed that, in fact, the Stelvin cap does not create an absolutely air-tight seal, so that very slight air exchange will still happen.  In any case, the small amount of air present between the level of the wine and the cap still contributes to the aging process.

But what about in Old World countries like France? France is coming around to the idea, slowly but surely.  Recently, Georges Duboeuf in Beaujolais has said that he will be sealing some of his wines with the Stelvin cap.  In perhaps the most startling recent development, André Lurton in Bordeaux has announced that, starting with the 2003 vintage, one of his Grand Cru white wines (Chateau de la Louvière in Péssac Léognan), as well as another Graves white and an Entre-deux-Mers white, will be commercialized with Stelvin caps.  This is a major move that will certainly influence many other winemakers in Bordeaux and beyond. 

Will replacing corks with screw caps totally rid us of cork taint?  Unfortunately, no.  The same mold found in cork is also present in wooden palettes or ceiling timbers found in some wineries.  When chemicals are used in the winery, they can combine with these molds and form the TCA molecule.  If this happens, the molecule can taint entire vats of wine in the winery before they ever get into the bottle. Gallo had a recent, disastrous problem with this very situation in their winery.  So the Stelvin cap is not a miracle cure.  But it will certainly go a long way toward reducing the incidence of cork taint in wine.  Now it's up to us sommeliers to find an elegant, impressive way to open a screw cap in front of our clients - some of the mystique of our job is about to go by the wayside!

Join us for one of our scheduled tours to learn more about winemaking techniques as you taste at some of France's best estates, while enjoying fabulous dining, luxury hotels and the beauty of the French wine country.

New Best of Bordeaux Tour for 2004 - Sept. 5-11

Our Best of Bordeaux tours have been so successful this year that we've decided to add another tour to our schedule.  The dates are September 5-11, and the itinerary includes a combination of First Growth other Classified Growth chateaux, as well as other top-quality chateaux in Péssac-Léognan, Saint Emilion, Pomerol and Sauternes.  We've decided to break from our luxury tour mode for this tour, and include comfortable 3-star hotels to make the price particularly attractive - just $3595 per person, double occupancy.

See the itinerary for the tour here, or contact us and we'll send you a copy.

News from the Wine Road: 2003 Vintage in Burgundy & Champagne

We just returned from our Burgundy & Champagne tour, where we got to taste a number of wines of the now infamous 2003 vintage.  Infamous because it was France's hottest summer in 100 years, with harvests taking place as much as 6 weeks earlier than usual in many wine regions.  The grapes were either gorged with sugar from over-ripening, or grilled on the vine to the point that they were unusable.  The result was a very small amount of wine, with differing levels of quality.

In Burgundy, the 2003's were quite surprising.  The reds are very darkly colored (not like Burgundy's usual cherry-red, transparent hues), with an incredibly jammy nose that, in some cases, was more like Port than wine.  In the mouth, they were huge and explosive, with fruit and alcohol to spare.  Robin Garr of www.WineLoversPage.com (our co-host for the tour) said they were closer to what we'd expect from a Santa Barbara-area California Pinot than from a Burgundy; "Parker will love them," he said.  The whites were very round, flavorful and aromatic, but both the reds and whites suffered from the same problem: too heavy, not enough acidity to balance the high alcohol content and the huge fruitiness.  Quite unlike the elegant style we expect from Burgundy Pinot's and Chardonnays.  

The winemaker at Maison Camille Giroud suggests that 2003 will be a good year to buy the "village" appellations like Beaune or Gevrey Chambertin.  He said that the 1er and Grand Cru's, situated in the area's that get the most sunshine and develop the ripest grapes, were overripe and unbalanced.  The village appellations, located on parcels that usually have a little trouble coming to full ripeness, benefited from the extreme heat and sun to produce riper than usual fruit and balanced wines.

In Champagne, winemakers were also reserved about the 2003 vintage.  At Veuve Clicquot, we tasted base wines by grape variety (pre-blending) from the 2003 vintage with winemaker Frédéric Panaiotis.  As we tasted the Chardonnay, he asked how we liked it.  We all felt it was quite nice, balanced and easy-to-drink.  He said "yes, and that's the problem!  It should be so acidic that it's barely drinkable - that's what makes a good Chardonnay to blend to make a great Champagne."  Due to this lack of acidity, he said, the winemakers at Veuve Clicquot are currently thinking that they will NOT make their tête de cuvée "La Grande Dame" this year.

You'll have the opportunity to taste 2003 wines this year on most of our 2004 tours, including our Best of Burgundy tour, Sept. 6-10, and our Best of Bordeaux tour, Sept. 5-11.  Join us!

Upcoming Wine & Food Events in France:

  • June 11: Pomerol Open Doors Day, Chateau de Gazin, Pomerol (Bordeaux region). Wine auction to benefit a cancer hospital in Bordeaux.  For more info: j.d.cazaux@encheres-bordeaux.com, 33 (0)5.57.25.06.88.
  • July 1-4: Bordeaux Fête le Vin, Place d'Europe, Bordeaux.  4 days of commented tastings, parades, vineyard excursions, exhibits, shows and more, to honor the great wines of Bordeaux.  For more info: bfv@bordeaux-tourisme.com, http://www.bordeaux-tourisme.com,
    33 (0)5 56 00 66 00.
  • And in the U.S.:  June 20-22: Vinexpo Americas, McCormick Place, Chicago.  800 exhibitors from all over the world, lectures on wine, much more - a wine enthusiast's dream come true!  Highly recommended.  For more info: http://www.vinexpo.com/. 

Many people avoid visiting the vineyards of France in the summer because they think it's going to be hot and crowded there.  Not true!  Last year's heatwave was a once-in-a-century fluke.  France has a temperate climate, and except for the extreme south of the country, temperatures in the summer rarely get higher than the 80's, with low humidity.  The French wine regions really never get crowded - I've never seen more than one other tour bus on the road when we're on tour.  The wineries are open and happy to welcome you.  We'll be happy to design a customized, private tour for you this summer in the region of your choice.

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Contact Us

I'm always available to answer your questions about our wine and culinary programs, our company, and wine in France in general. Don't hesitate to contact me at info@wine-tours-france.com, or toll free at  1-877-261-1500.

Best regards,

Lauriann Greene-Sollin, Sommelier-Conseil
President/Founder

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Contact us for more information about our wine and culinary programs in France:

FRENCH WINE EXPLORERS
info@wine-tours-france.com
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Tel:  1-877-261-1500
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© 2004 French Wine Explorers. Articles © 2004 Lauriann Greene.  All rights reserved.  WST #601 903 728.