My innate aversion notwithstanding, I received a bottle of screwtop
wine (here, at the world's most annoying website) yesterday. I opened it for an evening drink, a process that
generated a not-unpleasant ratcheting sound, with a click at the
end. Not unpleasant, that is, if you're opening a new bottle of
olive oil. Truly unpleasant when you're expecting wine.
My first observation after the removal was that the seal was not airtight. The threads allow only one or two turns, and there was no plastic or rubber grommet of any kind. My first taste tended to confirm that observation. It tasted like a bottle of wine left open for too long.
Am I right? Or was it just bad wine (which it surely was)? Is there any reason to think screwtop winemakers are trying (or able) to replace cork with a similar seal, or is it just a way to keep the ripple from spilling? Clearly, they'll never replace corks in good wines, but if the damn thing worked, I don't know why they couldn't feed America a bunch of $12 merlot with screw tops. I just don't think they can possibly work. Thoughts?
(I found these articles, both of which indicate the screw-top is airtight and fully functional. I don't buy it. Yet.)
