Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/81015
MANAGEMENT MARKET WATCH reserve reds, under Saranex-lined screwcaps. I was among the journalists invited to taste Hogue's aged reds sealed under various closures, and the results were quite compel- ling. Extruded artificial corks and Saranex-lined screwcaps deliver oxygen ingress that's comparable to cork, but without any of the earthy notes that can be imparted by even TCA-free cork. Tin- l ined screwcaps mature wines at a different pace, but one that's not necessarily worse. The oxygen ingress is negligible, so oxygen ceases to be a factor in maturation, and the wines mature more slowly than they would under a natural cork or Saranex-lined screwcap. Dinn clearly sees closure as only part of the winemaking process and knows that he has to adapt some of his winemaking practices to assure that the wine goes into the bottle with the right amount of Winemaker Co Dinn of Hogue Cellars says his wines improved after switch- ing to screwcaps – and that the closure change was no big deal to consumers. oxygen. The same is true of work- ing with cork. "I'm confident that they're (screwcaps) as good as anything else we can use, as long as the wine is handled properly," Dinn said. "There was a big non-event when we changed over to screw- caps for most of our wines, except that we got great publicity, and our wines got better … I think we would have more problems selling an 88-point reserve cab at $30 than we would have selling a 90-point reserve cabernet under a screw- cap," said Dinn. "I think we're get- ting to the point with Millennials and everyone under 50 that it's just not that big of a deal." The Santa Cruz Mountains' Ran- dall Grahm made a bold move by bottling his Le Cigare Volant Rhone- style red exclusively under screw- cap in 2001. And give Tony Biagi, now at Hourglass Cellars in Napa Valley, credit for being the first winemaker in California to bottle a $130 reserve Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon under screwcap, in 1997 for PlumpJack Winery. Isn't it time that U.S. wineries can use screw- caps on fine wines without it being viewed as a publicity stunt? Promotes color stability. WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM SEPT - OCT 2012 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT 27 NEW!