Knob Creek SB label change

[black mamba]

You want a bottle of wine to breath a little through the cork, so the wine can continue to age and improve in the bottle.

No such mechanism with spirits.

[Ravensfire]

You want a bottle of wine to breath a little through the cork, so the wine can continue to age and improve in the bottle.

Oddly, you can get a more controlled process of "breathing" with a screwcap, even varying for different wines that benefit more or less from a minute amount of oxygen entering the bottle. It also eliminates issues with corks going bad (ugh - I've got a 92 Cakebread Cab that I'm opening tonight that I've had about 50% of the case go bad on me so far). And yet, the cork remains. Why? Tradition!

-- Ravensfire

[squire]

I've always heard that yet recent studies are showing the cork really doesn't breath, rather it's the amount of air trapped in the bottle when first filled and wine aged with a screw top is doing about as well.

[Ravensfire]

I've always heard that yet recent studies are showing the cork really doesn't breath, rather it's the amount of air trapped in the bottle when first filled and wine aged with a screw top is doing about as well.

It does allow a really (reallyreallyreallyreally) small amount of oxygen in, but there shouldn't be anything coming out. Sulfur dioxide in the bottle already reacts with and destroys any free oxygen. There's a study UC Davis is running on various types of wine closures that will be pretty cool when it's done. The science that's been going on around this for the past few decades is pretty insane. Corks in general are getting better because of it. And I will admit to enjoying the production of pulling a cork out of the bottle and admiring the dark red of the end!

Link to the UC Davis annoucement:

http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10339

Should be interesting when it's done!

-- Ravensfire

[oke&coke]

And not to mention smelling the wine or spirit off the cork. Screw tops just don't have that ability. Yes, traditions do die hard.

[393foureyedfox]

why not use the relatively solid synthetic corks like a lot of wines today use? I wonder that every time I open a wine for my wife. Sure, a real cork is kind of classy, but a sythetic seals better and 'opens' the same

[squire]

Thanks for the link, the stuff I was reading was out of Australia I think, didn't write it down. This subject deserves it's own thread.

[smokinjoe]

This subject deserves it's own thread.

You're on a roll lately with those, bro. Have at it!!

[Ravensfire]

why not use the relatively solid synthetic corks like a lot of wines today use? I wonder that every time I open a wine for my wife. Sure, a real cork is kind of classy, but a sythetic seals better and 'opens' the same

I like the synthetic corks, other than my super fancy (and at times, utter pain to use) rabbit opener doesn't work well with most synthetic corks. A lot my the Aussie wines I drink seem to have synthetic corks. Just like screwtops, it's tradition to use cork. :banghead:

-- Ravensfire

[Ravensfire]

Ack! My nightmare came true! Pulled the cork (yup, real) out and it split in two. It was reddish all around from top to bottom. That's usually a good sign that the cork didn't seal well. *sob* I hate pouring good stuff down the drain (although I did use some in the mushroom sauce).

This was not unexpected though, but annoying that about half of a case of Cakebread wine had bad corks. Not a good day on the bottling line I guess. The corks in bourbon bottles, imbedded in caps that have some kind of sealing layer at the top is probably less likely to have these problems. Be interesting to have UC Davis compare the type of cork in bourbon to the various cork types in wine!

-- Ravensfire

[squire]

I want mine in a can. If it ain't good enough to can I won't drink it.

[Flyfish]

Oddly, you can get a more controlled process of "breathing" with a screwcap, even varying for different wines that benefit more or less from a minute amount of oxygen entering the bottle. It also eliminates issues with corks going bad (ugh - I've got a 92 Cakebread Cab that I'm opening tonight that I've had about 50% of the case go bad on me so far). And yet, the cork remains. Why? Tradition!

-- Ravensfire

Bourbon improves with time in the barrel--up to a point. Same with red wine in a bottle. Vast majority of red wine is meant to be consumed when it is purchased. Some has higher tannin content and tastes bitter when young. With age, the tannins mellow out but at about 6-10 years the wine tends to reach its peak and begins a long, slow decline. By the time it's 20 years old, most reds are way past their prime. I bought wine from the birth years of three daughters to open at their weddings. Two of the wines were excellent. Third daughter spent time in grad school and getting her career going before marriage. Her wine was a disappointment. Fortunately, the marriage has worked out much better.

[Memphis]

Ack! My nightmare came true! Pulled the cork (yup, real) out and it split in two. It was reddish all around from top to bottom. That's usually a good sign that the cork didn't seal well. *sob* I hate pouring good stuff down the drain (although I did use some in the mushroom sauce).

This was not unexpected though, but annoying that about half of a case of Cakebread wine had bad corks. Not a good day on the bottling line I guess. The corks in bourbon bottles, imbedded in caps that have some kind of sealing layer at the top is probably less likely to have these problems. Be interesting to have UC Davis compare the type of cork in bourbon to the various cork types in wine!

-- Ravensfire

I've had two whisky maladies as of late, both with 25 yr single malts. They had both been in the bottle for nearly ten years. Cork broke in half with both. One I was able to extract, the other I had to add to the whisky. No real problem, it just brings down the level of anticipation a bit.