Real corks or screw caps? I vote for screw caps!

Throughout my 12 year career as the Wine & Spirits Director for Wildfire, I have hosted and organized countless wine dinners. More than ever, I have really come to appreciate one crucial benefit of screw cap wines: I don't have to taste through every bottle!

For wines that have real corks, I strongly recommend to our customers, family, and friends that they smell and taste every bottle they open in case the wines are "corked" or have cork taint (bacteria). I can't tell you how much time it saves me on the day of a wine dinner not to taste through all the wines we serve for the event. Actually I can - an hour to an hour and half, at least!

We recently hosted 4 successful Layer Cake wine dinners in January and every single wine we served had a Stelvin closure (screw cap) and not one guest noticed or more importantly complained about it. In fact, the wines received rave reviews. This convinces me that more and more screw cap wines are being accepted for their value and convenience.

The main thing to keep in mind about screw cap wines is to make sure that the seal has not been prematurely broken. If so, the wine will more than likely be oxidized.

I know that a screw cap may essentially take the romance out of the bottle presentation, but the one consolation to consider is that the wine is less likely to be "corked". And if you've ever tasted a corked wine, there is no 'romance' in that!

Look for my next blog where I discuss helpful hints about storing and serving wine at home. Cheers to you! Brad Wermager