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December 2006 Newsletter
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December 2006 Newsletter
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From Erl Happ - The Choice Screw-cap or Cork
Last Friday I attended the Margaret River Wine show and noted that almost all bottles were sealed with screw-cap. Journalists seem to agree that this is the way of the future. We are told that restaurants love the screw cap for its ease of removal. In my continued use of cork am I a fossil? Is the industry behaving like lemmings in rushing towards an inappropriate destination?
Well, just last month we purchased a screw-cap applicator from Italy and it will arrive in January. However, I am not sure how much use it will get. Most of the shipping container is taken up with a ‘counter-pressure’ filler. This is a large and heavy machine that will enable us to bottle with less oxidation than is possible with the faster vacuum machines that we, and all contract bottlers, currently use. The filler that we have purchased sucks the air out of the bottle, fills it with inert gas and then replaces the gas with wine, while keeping it away from the air. It is the only filler capable of doing a good job with spritzig wines like Fuchsia and Muscat a Pink. It also does a great job with our preservative free wines that have no sulphur dioxide to protect them against oxidation. It is an expensive machine. Its main use is for champagne style wines made in a tank rather than bottle. This type of machine is regarded as too expensive, too complicated and too slow for table wines. The Achilles heel of the screw-cap When the Australian Wine Research Institute conducted trials with screw-caps they based their conclusions upon the study of a single white wine. It was noted that screw-caps were more effective at keeping air out of the bottle and this showed up in higher levels of free sulphur dioxide in screw capped as against cork sealed wines as time passed. However, after twelve months in bottle the wine under screw cap developed a stink that is related to the lack of oxygen supply to the developing wine. The required oxygen is minute in quantity and yet essential. The chemistry is complicated. For details follow this link: http://torbwine.com/pa/2006/damnedorscrewed.shtml There was a time, before cheap, mass produced glass bottles became available when wine spent its entire time in barrels. Today we use barrels for their taste enhancing characteristics and the fact that they meter in a small amount of oxygen to enable the wine to develop properly. Without the air the wine goes smelly. New barrels deliver more air than old and that is the reason why we have to change them. Today there are many firms providing barrel alternatives, including extract of oak flavour in a liquid solution. After resisting this idea for many years the French changed their minds just this year. They know that barrels provide the necessary air. Barrel alternatives do not supply that air. However, many producers who will not spend money on barrels choose to use ‘Micro-oxidation’ and that has made it possible to develop wines as fast in tank as in barrel. The oxygen is introduced in amounts so small that it is immediately absorbed into the wine and never rises to the surface where it could encourage the growth of vinegar bacteria. If you want to cellar wines for a year or more choose cork…Why? In 1986, long before it became fashionable, we bottled 60 bottles of Happs Cabernet Merlot under a screw-cap just to see how the wine would develop. I had to take the wine to Perth to get the job done because screw cappers were scarce. That wine never did develop. For many years it tasted the same as the day it was bottled, a fresh young red, yeasty, a little gassy and somewhat smelly. Wine needs a little air as it matures to avoid the development of off-odours. This should not be a big surprise to wine makers because the same situation applies before and after bottling. I see many screw-capped wines that have a ‘reductive’ gunsmoke, farty, drainy smell to them. In our view, the jury should still be out. This is an area that needs more work. Wine is a natural product that evolves in the bottle and it needs a small amount of oxygen to do so. Cork is capable of supplying that oxygen and currently screw caps do not. Some wines seem to require more air than others, and currently we cannot tell which wines. A good cork improves the wine For Fuchsia and some of our white wines we use a ‘technical cork’ that has a disc on each end and particles glued together in the middle. This is similar to the familiar champagne cork.
Fuchsia is always bottled very cold and develops a lot of pressure as it warms up. Before we used this type of cork we used to have a lot of ‘leakers’ that we used for tasting and sold cheaply out of a basket at cellar door. About fifteen years ago we did a trial with many types of cork and synthetic closures to see what was best for Fuchsia. Our conclusion, based on tasting the wine after twelve months, is that a good cork improves the wine, adding a zesty, spicy note and an interesting aromatic that is completely absent with synthetics. Some corks added too much flavour. Those bottles tasted as if the wine had been stored in barrel for too long. Some corks simply dulled the aromas of the wine, rendering it less interesting. A few gave the musty, wet doormat character that is simply awful….the character that we know as cork taint. I still see the odd bottle that is affected by cork taint but less than we have seen in the past. The take home message Wine does not cease to require a small amount of air when it is bottled. Cork is the only available closure that gets the quantity right. Corks also impart a desirable flavour and the result is positive in at least 85% of the cases. On the other hand it is my impression that screw-caps result in flavours that depreciate all bottles of some wines after a certain period of time. I will continue to use cork. It is rather more expensive than the screw-cap alternative but we aspire to make not just ‘good’ but ‘great’ wine. Cork is the natural ‘organic’ alternative that delivers the goods.
Finally, let me remind my dear reader that our 2002 Three Hills Charles Andreas, 2003 Merlot and 2003 Shiraz, each top of its class in the 2006 Perth Royal Wine show are all sealed with cork. From Jacquie Happ - Capes Art Market The Capes Art Market, now in it’s 7th year presents a collection of unique hand crafted art works. This includes photography, clothing, paintings, wood products, toys, body products, gourmet products, ceramics, and Leonie’s fairy items. There is a wide and varied choice of gifts. The Capes Art Market is a delightfully relaxing way to shop for Christmas gifts in a tranquil environment. The Dunsborough Lions Club joins us this year by hosting their Sausage Sizzle, and the Volunteer Fire & Rescue Service as always, direct the parking, and collect a donation at the door. We recognize that both of these organizations are hard workers for our community and so their support is very much appreciated – especially at this very busy time of the year. This year Glen Cowan has a special photographic exhibition in the Formal Tasting Room in the wine cellar which will run until 28th January.
The range of goods is quite amazing, and there is always a good mix of the ‘old favourite’ stall holders, and the up and coming artists. There is the opportunity to find something really different and interesting. The Grand Piano will be rolled out onto the verandah to provide some divertimenti as usual. Ruth Marshall, one of the best face painters in the west, will be practicing her craft. Visitors are of course welcome to the Cellar door to taste new releases and our awesome range of Three Hills medal winning reds. The pottery has increased it’s range contemporary glazes and modern shapes.
Date: Saturday 16th December Time: 9.30am-3pm At: Happs Vineyard & Pottery, 575 Commonage Road, Dunsborough WA 6281
From The W.A. Wine Education Centre: Great opportunities to educate your senses The Wine Education Centre in West Perth delivers a broad range of courses that are innovative, interesting and challenging for wine students of all varieties. If you enjoy wine but haven’t yet explored your ‘inner wine buff’, the relaxed six-week Wine Essentials course held on weekday evenings will answer all your burning questions. What’s more, it also includes a unique food and wine experience held offsite in the final week! For the more ‘wine serious’ the structured eight-week Wine Business course provides the essentials, including an industry recognised qualification for those who choose to sit the test. For those who have completed the above, the Wine Varietals – Australian course, which runs for eight weeks, will enable you to develop advanced sensory evaluation skills by learning to distinguish various Australian varietals like a wine judge! Terms commence in February, April, July and October and various specialty courses and themed tastings are held throughout the year! So whether you’re a novice or a budding wine connoisseur visit www.winewa.asn.au to see how you can test your tastebuds!” From all at Happs We wish our email news subscribers a great festive season and a prosperous and happy new year. We hope that you have found something of interest in these notes during the year and hope to see you at cellar door soon.
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