Greatest Invention Since Sliced Bread

[SloopJonB]

But I have to say there is a certain satisfaction opening a bottle with a nice corkscrew......ceremonial of sorts...........

Why did I get this image of you starting your car with a hand crank?

 

[Point Break]

Why did I get this image of you starting your car with a hand crank?

That’s fair………🤣

 

[Tacoma Mud Flats]

Drink industrial grade Retsina, "wine of the gods". Still sold only wIth a crown cap, only a church key required.

 

[justsomeguy!]

Drink industrial grade Retsina

Ugh, pine resin.

 

[justsomeguy!]

only a church key required.

Or a Bic lighter.
Or a seat belt.

 

[P_Wop]

Or a Bic lighter.
Or a seat belt.

Or the edge of the cheap metal Greek taverna table.

 

[Ed Lada]

No wine needs a cork. Many boutique and vintage winemakers have moved to screw caps as they have a lower percentage of failure over time and the wines never get "corked". More would switch from cork, except for the buying preferences of rich winos. Cork itself is becoming a less sustainable resource.

(The above comment is from the head of production of one of the most famous wine labels in the world.)

So what is one of the most famous wine 'labels' in the world? I've heard people say a world famous cellar, a world famous winery, a world famous vineyard, a world famous chateau, but not a world famous label. That's so tawdry, so tacky, so nouveaux riche. Save that term for ugly handbags and suitcases.

I had to chose between "wine snobs", "effete drunks" and "rich winos". We report, you decide.

Pulling a cork is always more satisfying than turning a cap, but then I had to send back a $600 bottle at an important celebration because it was badly corked. Made me a screw cap fan.

I don't want to be picky but "badly corked" is a rather curious phrase. To me if any bottle of wine is corked it's bad. A little or a lot, once I get a whiff of it, it's intolerable.

I have helped to drink a lot of wine over the last 12 years, mostly from Bordeaux and a little Burgundy. From iconic chateaux down to little known ones. From 10 years old to 90 years old. In that time I think I might have encountered less than bottles that were tainted by TCA. I must admit that when I was at a tasting dinner in Switzerland and it was discovered that a nicely aged magnum of Laffite was corked, I almost cried.

In my experience many people don't even know what 'corked' means. They ascribe any defect in the wine to being 'corked'. I have heard people say that 10% or more of the bottles they've opened are corked. I highly doubt that.

Good luck being a screw cap fan, the alternate closures aren't making a big dent in the fine wine market. I don't mind the rare risk of finding a truly 'corked' bottle.

 

[bmiller]

Or a Bic lighter.
Or a seat belt.

Or anything with an edge.
I'm constantly baffled by guys who can't open a bottle without a bottle opener.
I like to use a ski or a snowboard once in awhile just to assert dominance over some 20 something dude.
Even Goldie Hawn can open a bottle.

 

[Grizz]

Drink industrial grade Retsina, "wine of the gods". Still sold only wIth a crown cap, only a church key required.

View attachment 572364

View attachment 572366

I grew up in Queens NY, adjacent to a Greek neighborhood. The cheapest wine we could buy was retsina, and since I hit puberty very early, I was the designated envoy to try to buy the stuff. We drank tons of it, and I still enjoy a good retsina.

 

[Go Left]

So what is one of the most famous wine 'labels' in the world? I've heard people say a world famous cellar, a world famous winery, a world famous vineyard, a world famous chateau, but not a world famous label. That's so tawdry, so tacky, so nouveaux riche. Save that term for ugly handbags and suitcases.




I don't want to be picky but "badly corked" is a rather curious phrase. To me if any bottle of wine is corked it's bad. A little or a lot, once I get a whiff of it, it's intolerable.

I have helped to drink a lot of wine over the last 12 years, mostly from Bordeaux and a little Burgundy. From iconic chateaux down to little known ones. From 10 years old to 90 years old. In that time I think I might have encountered less than bottles that were tainted by TCA. I must admit that when I was at a tasting dinner in Switzerland and it was discovered that a nicely aged magnum of Laffite was corked, I almost cried.

In my experience many people don't even know what 'corked' means. They ascribe any defect in the wine to being 'corked'. I have heard people say that 10% or more of the bottles they've opened are corked. I highly doubt that.

Good luck being a screw cap fan, the alternate closures aren't making a big dent in the fine wine market. I don't mind the rare risk of finding a truly 'corked' bottle.

I normally like and agree with your posts, but this time you are a bit over the top with your critique and also your estimation of my nose and palate. A lot of weight being put on a casual bit of word choice.

Although you did, rather amusingly, hit close with your handbag and suitcases comment.

I do know what corked is and it comes in various degrees, all of which are worthy of rejection. But the wine I referred to did come from a very famous chateau and badly corked was the correct term. It was a real stinker. Let's just say I too almost cried.

 

[Rushman]

Or anything with an edge.
I'm constantly baffled by guys who can't open a bottle without a bottle opener.
I like to use a ski or a snowboard once in awhile just to assert dominance over some 20 something dude.
Even Goldie Hawn can open a bottle.

Things are done differently Down Under

 

[Talchotali]

 

[Ed Lada]

I normally like and agree with your posts, but this time you are a bit over the top with your critique and also your estimation of my nose and palate. A lot of weight being put on a casual bit of word choice.

Although you did, rather amusingly, hit close with your handbag and suitcases comment.

I do know what corked is and it comes in various degrees, all of which are worthy of rejection. But the wine I referred to did come from a very famous chateau and badly corked was the correct term. It was a real stinker. Let's just say I too almost cried.

I don't know how sensit5ive your palate and nose are, but I am extremely sensitive to the smell of TCA. I can't near a bottle or glass of wine tainted with it, there's no way I wasnt even a small amount of TCA on my tongue. To me it's awful in amy amount.

By sheer coincidence my German friend that has share amazing amounts of amazing wines with me over the years came over with a bottle of the 2008 vintage of this 'Super Tuscan' . The winery was established buy a German man who inherited a large chain of Home Depot like building stores in Germany. He has a passion for wine and scouted around, bought 60 hectares of land in Tuscany and built his winery. The first vintage was bottled in 2008. He takes his corks very seriously. I have limited experience with Super Tuscan wines but I've never had one that tasted like a good Bordeaux even though they use the same blend of grapes. This particular wine clocked in at 15% alcohol, and it was noticeable. The wine was good in spite of being a little hot, but it wasn't great. We started the evening with started the evening with a bottle of 1995 Chateau Valandraud a Saint Emillion premier gran cru and it was superb. Wine Searcher has it listed at around $400 a bottle. My friend bought a couple of cases some years ago at a much lower price.

Sorry to be snarky in my original post. I wasn't referring to you about calling any defective wine corked, I was railing at the masses. People who have never tasted a fine wine form anywhere and think they know something about wine. I don't have a lot of experience with California wines, but living in Europe, I have drank just about every legendary wine from Bordeaux from various vintages.

I doubt that the old famous chateaux in France will be switching to Stelvin closures or any other cork replacement anytime soon.

Not to brag (well maybe a little) but to prove my bona fides, here is my trophy shelf. I helped to kill each and every bottle there, and many more. I am lucky to have a very generous friend that likes to share his wine.

 

[SloopJonB]

Hold the cork, turn the bottle.

 

[veni vidi vici]

Swiss Army knife
Spartan
Been carrying that model for 40 + years

tweezers and a toothpick too

 

[veni vidi vici]

My family

The Williamson Story

Corkscrew collectors gather here for corkscrew talk

corkscrewnet.com

 

[veni vidi vici]

They also made these things for the military web belts

 

[Ed Lada]

Hold the cork, turn the bottle.

The old shoe trick works a treat. Odds are somebody is wearing shoes when you need to open a wine bottle with a cork!

 

[Remodel]

Hold the cork, turn the bottle.

Chill the Champaign before opening.

 

[Go Left]

I don't know how sensit5ive your palate and nose are, but I am extremely sensitive to the smell of TCA. I can't near a bottle or glass of wine tainted with it, there's no way I wasnt even a small amount of TCA on my tongue. To me it's awful in amy amount.

By sheer coincidence my German friend that has share amazing amounts of amazing wines with me over the years came over with a bottle of the 2008 vintage of this 'Super Tuscan' . The winery was established buy a German man who inherited a large chain of Home Depot like building stores in Germany. He has a passion for wine and scouted around, bought 60 hectares of land in Tuscany and built his winery. The first vintage was bottled in 2008. He takes his corks very seriously. I have limited experience with Super Tuscan wines but I've never had one that tasted like a good Bordeaux even though they use the same blend of grapes. This particular wine clocked in at 15% alcohol, and it was noticeable. The wine was good in spite of being a little hot, but it wasn't great. We started the evening with started the evening with a bottle of 1995 Chateau Valandraud a Saint Emillion premier gran cru and it was superb. Wine Searcher has it listed at around $400 a bottle. My friend bought a couple of cases some years ago at a much lower price.

Sorry to be snarky in my original post. I wasn't referring to you about calling any defective wine corked, I was railing at the masses. People who have never tasted a fine wine form anywhere and think they know something about wine. I don't have a lot of experience with California wines, but living in Europe, I have drank just about every legendary wine from Bordeaux from various vintages.

I doubt that the old famous chateaux in France will be switching to Stelvin closures or any other cork replacement anytime soon.

Not to brag (well maybe a little) but to prove my bona fides, here is my trophy shelf. I helped to kill each and every bottle there, and many more. I am lucky to have a very generous friend that likes to share his wine.

View attachment 572635

The high point bottle I would put up there from my more limited experience is a 1936 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The explosion of flavors was (and is) unforgettable.

Was the Petrus all you hoped for?

So perhaps wine should really bump sliced bread down the list at least one notch.