Wine etiquette

[jekv12]

OK, we're back to alternative closures for wine...

Thoughts on synthetic corks?

And for our friends in Oz - I've heard that a lot of wine is sold there in boxes: with a mylar (?) bag/bladder inside of the box, complete with spigot, holding up to 3 litres (4 standard bottles of wine). Here in the US, this was used primarily for plonk, but now some decent wines seem to be getting this treatment, at least the everyday wines.

 

[jcusey]

Thoughts on synthetic corks?

They're not my favorite. They seem to do a fine job of closing the bottle, but they're hard to dislodge, and they're hard to get off of the corkscrew's worm.

And for our friends in Oz - I've heard that a lot of wine is sold there in boxes: with a mylar (?) bag/bladder inside of the box, complete with spigot, holding up to 3 litres (4 standard bottles of wine). Here in the US, this was used primarily for plonk, but now some decent wines seem to be getting this treatment, at least the everyday wines.

Recently, I've actually seen some better wines in boxes -- decent burgundy and decent Italian whites. They're not DRC, but they're not bad. It's not the most elegant solution in the world, but it seems to work pretty well.

 

[esquire.]

But, if we were to use the same logic about screw ups and applied this clothing, we would have all switched over to rubber soled shoes for comfort and duration over a leather soled shoe.

 

[drizzt3117]

The point is that corks will cause a substantial percentage of potentially very expensive wines to be absolutely worthless over time, this isn't the same situation at all because wine isn't used on a daily basis like a shoe is. It'd be more analogous to moths/mothballs and whether you should use them in an area with moths.

 

[jcusey]

But, if we were to use the same logic about screw ups and applied this clothing, we would have all switched over to rubber soled shoes for comfort and duration over a leather soled shoe.

Even if we accept that rubber-soled shoes are always more functional than leather soled ones (which I don't), your analogy is still flawed. With clothing, both function and form are important. How something looks is inseparable from how well it works. Now, appearance isn't a triviality with wine, but the appearance that matters is how the wine looks in the glass, not how it looks in the bottle. A better analogy would be the way that a shoe box looks and is constructed.

 

[esquire.]

Quote:

(esquire. @ 27 Nov. 2004, 02:13) But, if we were to use the same logic about screw ups and applied this clothing, we would have all switched over to rubber soled shoes for comfort and duration over a leather soled shoe.
Even if we accept that rubber-soled shoes are always more functional than leather soled ones (which I don't), your analogy is still flawed. With clothing, both function and form are important. How something looks is inseparable from how well it works. Now, appearance isn't a triviality with wine, but the appearance that matters is how the wine looks in the glass, not how it looks in the bottle. A better analogy would be the way that a shoe box looks and is constructed.
Well, leaving aside the issues of comfort, the rubber sole shoe will last longer than a leather sole. As for the issues of aesthetics, I've never really understood this issue concerning leather soles. Before, the rubber soles were clunkier and this would give it away. But, with the recent trend of slimmer rubber soles, I don't see how anybody can tell if its a leather sole or a rubber sole which seems to make the issue of the appearance irrelevant. A high quality shoe could also have a rubber sole. Besides, I dislike the appearance of worn leather soles. Its much less attractive than worn rubber soles.

 

[Fabienne]

 

The sommalier (pronounced, for those who don't know, "soma-leeay&quot should show you the wine label first.  

Small correction: it is "sommelier" with an "e", and I don't have a clue how to render the correct (English) pronunciation without using the phonetic alphabet.

Color can give you a fairly good indication that a wine might be spoiled, for instance when it has become "maderise" (oxydation that makes the wine taste like madeira wine).  A wine that is "bouchonne" (that has taken the taste of the cork) is also very easy to determine.  Once you have smelled it, you always remember.  A few years ago, I recall seeing a kit in a bookstore in Marseille that contained tiny bottles of these particular wine smells, along with many others, so a person could train their olfactory senses.

 

[bigbadbuff]

I am just starting to get 'into' wine, and have elected to keep my bottles in a closet, since I have no basement. Keeping them in a dark closet is fine according to every wine drinker I've talked to. Perhaps one day I'll have a temp controlled fridge or the proper basement setup- for now, this will do fine.

I have no concerns about buying a wine I want to drink a few years from now right now, even with my 'setup'. I am buying mostly to drink now, but some for the future so I can experience firsthand how a wine ages, and thusly, changes in taste.

 

[globetrotter]

I am just starting to get 'into' wine, and have elected to keep my bottles in a closet, since I have no basement. Keeping them in a dark closet is fine according to every wine drinker I've talked to. Perhaps one day I'll have a temp controlled fridge or the proper basement setup- for now, this will do fine.

I have no concerns about buying a wine I want to drink a few years from now right now, even with my 'setup'. I am buying mostly to drink now, but some for the future so I can experience firsthand how a wine ages, and thusly, changes  in taste.

just check that the temp in the closet is relativly stable - sometimes, even in moderate climates, they can be very hot of cold and that isn't good.

 

[topcatny]

globetrotter Posted on 27 Dec. 2004, 7:30
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Quote (bigbadbuff @ 27 Dec. 2004, 2:31)
I am just starting to get 'into' wine, and have elected to keep my bottles in a closet, since I have no basement. Keeping them in a dark closet is fine according to every wine drinker I've talked to. Perhaps one day I'll have a temp controlled fridge or the proper basement setup- for now, this will do fine.

I have no concerns about buying a wine I want to drink a few years from now right now, even with my 'setup'. I am buying mostly to drink now, but some for the future so I can experience firsthand how a wine ages, and thusly, changes in taste.

just check that the temp in the closet is relativly stable - sometimes, even in moderate climates, they can be very hot of cold and that isn't good.

I second this advice. When I first started collecting wine I too kept them in a dark closet. The only problem was my apartment reached 85 - 90 degrees during the day in the summer ( a 3rd floor walkup in NYC). A few bottles I carefully saved for the right occasion and opened the evening I got engaged were completely cooked. At least my mother in law made some nice vinegar from it.

I got a wine refrigerator for Christmas that year, by far the best thing I did for my collectible wines.

 

[Fabienne]

Vinegar is always an option. Good thinking on her part.
One regret I have about our wine cellar: that we didn't get a bigger model. We already squeeze in more bottles than it is supposed to contain. Once friends and family know it is an interest of yours and become intrigued by the wine cellar and its contents, they usually remember you when they travel.

 

[drizzt3117]

I got a couple of Eurocaves, and they seem to do the job quite well, one fairly large one for reds and one slightly smaller one for whites/sparkling. Wine Enthusiast has pretty affordable smaller cellars as well ($230 or so) but the Eurocaves are pretty nice afaik.

 

[Fabienne]

I'm interested in any model that will allow clandestine lodging of homeless bottles.

 

[kabert]

Another option -- an offsite commercial wine storage facility.  I rent a wine "locker" at a place about 8 minutes from my house.  It's not as convenient as I'd like, but especially during the 3 months of July, August and September when the temp in my basement reaches about 70 degrees, I'm happy most of my wine is there.  I still keep a bunch of everyday wine, along with a sampling of better wines, at home year-round, but I no longer stress out about whether the good stuff is rapidly going bad in my basement.

An added bonus -- most of my newly bought wine goes straight there; so my wife never gets a chance to see it come in the door of our house (and comment on how we have way too much wine.).

 

[Fabienne]

Very clever. I never thought about it, or knew this was available. Obviously, friends of ours know of the concept: they are currently storing two of their best bottles... in our cellar.

My husband is one of these romantics who likes to turn on the light in the wine cellar and smile at our collection. We thought about digging a cellar in the yard, but the cost is not quite yet warranted. Although?