With the Unofficial Start of Summer this weekend, we anticipate that you’ll find yourself outside in the sunshine wearing white pants with lots of people you know and/or love, munching on potato/pasta/egg salad, cole slaw, BBQ, and all that. Seems like a good time to remind you about how far screwcap wines have come.
First I’ll point out that screwcaps are superior to cork closures in almost every way.* They’re easily recycled and produced responsibly by the good folks at Amcor. They’re invulnerable to cork taint, obviously, which is what happens when an improperly treated cork is hosting a bacterial infection that leaches into your wine and makes it smell like a moldy basement full of wet cardboard and moth balls. But it’s also easily opened – one little twist and Bob’s your uncle – and easily (and reliably) reclosed! You can fish it out of the Igloo cooler, crack it, pour it, then recap it and throw it back! Catch and release!
Many still believe that it’s a sign of low quality, but by now, dear reader, you’ve surely experienced plenty of evidence to the contrary. Most of the wine we consume is meant to be drunk young and fresh, and nothing seals in that freshness like a screwcap. Here are a few Unofficial Summery favorites.
*Except for extended cellar aging but are we even doing that?
