Reds under Stelvins

Riesling under Stelvins has been very successful and has a high acceptance rate by consumers, so why hasn’t there been an explosion of reds under Stelvins too?

The answer is as simple as it is complex. In the case of Riesling they have been bottled under screw caps on and off since the 1970’s so there is a reasonable history and a proven ability to provide a better alternative than cork. A few years ago the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) started controlled trials of c-throughs under Stelvins. At the same time as this trial has been carried out, an ever increasing number of wineries have been converting not only their Riesling to Stelvins, but many of their other c-throughs too. There is no shortage of confidence that Stelvins will be a better seal than cork on c-throughs and this experience is gaining momentum at all levels in Australia, New Zealand, UK, and to some extent the US.

The AWRI trials so far have proved to be reasonably positive but have shown that its not as simple as pressing a bit of metal onto glass or shoving a cork into a bottle. One of the batches developed a rubbery aroma and it has been put down to an incorrect “fill level”. This is important in that it shows it’s a tiny bit more complex than it looks on the surface and if the winery gets its wrong the wine may not turn out to taste be the way the maker intended. Just a small point but one that’s necessary to note.

Proponents of cork will argue all sorts of reasons why cork is best from the emotional reason of “the romance” to a technical reason “that the cork lets minute amounts of air into the bottle to help it age gracefully.” On the other side of this coin we have a number of experts that say wine age (in the bottle) in a reductive (lack of oxygen) environment and that air getting into the wine via the cork is not required. In fact if you think about it, if too much air gets into wine it oxidises. Two conflicting views from experts, so what chance do us poor consumers have of “knowing” absolutely which is correct?

In the latest newsletter from Henschke they say “In trials conducted since 1966 we have found that the Stelvin wine closure has been exceptional in eliminating cork taint, protecting the purity of the varietal fruit flavours and enhancing the keeping qualities by slowing bottle development. Although wine still develops in the bottle, the rate of development is dramatically reduced.”

From this text its not clear if that’s for c-throughs only or if it includes red. The other key point here is Henschke has found that the rate of development is dramatically reduced but by how much? The answer is that no one knows and that’s unfortunately the answer to many of the questions relating to what will happen to reds aged under Stelvin closures. No one knows for sure and that’s the biggest problem. Will they get it right and will they eventually be well accepted for all wine? Almost certainly! Some wineries are already offering their best reds under Stelvin for those who think the unknowns of Stelvins are less of a risk than cork.

There is one other factor to consider. Many wine lovers are used to the anticipated ageing timelines for the wines they drink. Stelvins will change this and that factor together with the increased time for wine to mature may detract from Stelvin acceptance on reds for some time.

As I said the biggest problem is people, even the experts, just don’t have the answers, YET!

This weeks link is to everything you ever wanted to know about why NOT to use cork in wine, its called Cork Watch

Cheers

Ric ©