I just got devoted

[Zoetstofzoetje]

The smoking shrinks my lungs, and the drinking grows my liver. My body is in balance.

[Zoetstofzoetje]

Newest innovation from 'new' wine producing countries: instead of putting aging wine in expensive wooden casks, use cheap containers and throw in wood chips. I CAN'T TASTE THE DIFFERENCE. Much cheaper process though. I just wish I could convince my traditional producers to keep up with times. They don't like changes, period.

[Barnabas]

In Argentina and Chile you can get good quality for little money

[Thoth]

Cheap South Amerikan wine =win.

It's the cheapest way to get blasted.

[ricketyclik]

Speaking of new technologies, a friend of mine is a wine scientist (there's a special name that escapes me at the moment) who did extensive research (along with a few others around the country, independently) that found that screw-tops are the best way to seal wine bottles, in terms of the wines' long term quality. All gain, no detriment. Most wines in Australia are now sealed with a screw-top.

When I was last in the States I noticed that it was generally the cheaper wines that were sealed thus, and that when I brought a bottle to someone's house that was sealed with a screw-top they immediately equated it with inferior quality wine.

Are my observations in the States true generally?

What about other countries?

[Tuga]

I like Rioja

[Zoetstofzoetje]

Speaking of new technologies, a friend of mine is a wine scientist (there's a special name that escapes me at the moment) who did extensive research (along with a few others around the country, independently) that found that screw-tops are the best way to seal wine bottles, in terms of the wines' long term quality. All gain, no detriment. Most wines in Australia are now sealed with a screw-top.

When I was last in the States I noticed that it was generally the cheaper wines that were sealed thus, and that when I brought a bottle to someone's house that was sealed with a screw-top they immediately equated it with inferior quality wine.

Are my observations in the States true generally?

What about other countries?

you're right: screws are better. unfortunately, aficionados don't think they're traditional enough...

wine expert = oenologist. (not to be confused with oncology...)

[Jon Miller]

I just associate the screw top with inferior quality.

JM

[MikeH]

Speaking of new technologies, a friend of mine is a wine scientist (there's a special name that escapes me at the moment) who did extensive research (along with a few others around the country, independently) that found that screw-tops are the best way to seal wine bottles, in terms of the wines' long term quality. All gain, no detriment. Most wines in Australia are now sealed with a screw-top.

When I was last in the States I noticed that it was generally the cheaper wines that were sealed thus, and that when I brought a bottle to someone's house that was sealed with a screw-top they immediately equated it with inferior quality wine.

Are my observations in the States true generally?

What about other countries?

They haven't really been around long enough to test how they affect really long term ageing. Some guys in Bordeaux are doing a 25 year test where they have bottled the same wine in multiple different closures, including screw cap, after 25 years they'll open them all, taste the wines and see how they are doing.

They did a 10 year experiment in the 1970s, and the plastics failed after 10 years, but closure technology has moved on since then.

http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-ne...crewcap-gospel

For anything you aren't planning on ageing for more than a few years screw caps are great. Some people think they mean inferior wine, which was previously the case, but you can educate them...

I was at a winery in England which uses a lot of screw caps and one of the guys on the tour came out with the old cork is best bull****... not for English white that will need drinking within a year or two it's not!

I think it's a fairly common perception though, backed up by wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_wine_closures

[Zoetstofzoetje]

wineries in the UK, eek!! i'm sure they're like the dutch harvests, who need to add kg's of sugar to make it drinkable...

[MikeH]

There are many awful ones. But some very good ones. Just go for the right varieties. Bacchus can be great. The southern vineyards are at the same latitude and share the same chalk basin with champagne...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/7974936/English-wine-beats-champagne-to-win-Decanter-trophy.html

There is a lot of Chapitlization, but not everywhere.

Generally other than Sussex sparkling and a couple of really good Bacchus it's mostly niche stuff, but improving as our climate seems to be warming up in the south.

[Barnabas]

I didn't know English wine existed, is it the nothernmost wine in the world?

[MikeH]

There is some in Lancashire that might be.

[Zoetstofzoetje]

Seriously?? Wow. It rains there pretty much every day. How can that possibly be conducive to good wine?

Good wine has to be tortured, like in the desert climate in the Ribera... freezing nights, hot days, loads of sun. It enhances taste.

How could lots and lots of rain possibly be good, which might only help the fruit to rot?

[MikeH]

It's at Bolton-le-Sands

Quick comparison with burgundy suggests it gets less rain than Burgundy. Much less.

http://www.worldweatheronline.com/weather-averages.aspx?q=Bolton%20le%20sands,%20United%20Kingdom

http://www.worldweatheronline.com/weather-averages.aspx?q=Dijon,%20France

There are plenty of cool climate vineyards, it's not all hot continental climate like in central Spain!