The Auswine Forum

Hi all,

I've still got my trainer wheels on in this quite interesting forum so bear with me.

Stelvin is a great seal however is there any info on how it affects aging. Someone said they will not age as aging results from air extering the bottle via the cork.

Also, any info on effect of fridge vibration on wine quality. At a dinner at Le Restaurant I had to send back 2 Mountadam Chards. They were not corked but lacked fruit of first bottle opened on the night. Perhaps bad 2 were in fridge for some time. A wine writer here in Adelaide, Phillip White, swears by chilling wine using an ice bucker.

Hello

You are welcome, you're also in the right spot as this forum is also based in Adelaide!

All I can say is that I have tried some Rieslings from 1997 , 98 & 99 that were Stelvined and that they have Aged like you'd expect.

I see no reason why Reds would not as well.

It seems that ageing is due to polymerisation not random oxidisation through varying cork quality.

I reckon the " breathing " thru the cork is bollocks.

It is most likely just a matter of a few years as the Grossets etc age gracefully and PROVE that cork is not necessary.

Having said this I have maybe 5% doubt still in my mind about the whole thing.

I am putting my money where my beak is by cellaring Grosset and Cullen etc under Stelvin. Just imagine this thought experiment : would you rather a 1928 Chateau Latour under Stelvin or under the Russian Roulette of Cork.

Chuck,

The 'air through the cork' thing is a complete furphy, and is even discounted by the cork industry.

If air gets through the cork then the cork has failed to do it's job.

The original reason that the Clare Winemakers switched their Rieslings to screwcap in the late 90's was to entice people to cellar their Rieslings.

This was led by Richmond Grove who released a portion of their 1998 Rieslings in Screwcap as a "Cellaring Initiative" for Vintage Cellars.

This was after the tastings of the 70's and 80's Rieslings bottled in screwcap that had been brought out for tastings in the late 90's and those who tasted (including me) found they had developed beautifully with age.

The VC/Richmond Grove initiative was such a success that it gave Grosset and others the impetous to launch into screwcaps in a big way.

The fact that it was also TCA (cork taint) free was an added bonus.

There is a ton of information on how whites develop with age, and there is continually emerging evidence that reds age beautifully under screwcap as well.

If you want the full bottle on aging in screwcap get hold of Tyson Stelzer's book "Screwed for Good"

Murray

Another advantage of the stelvin seal over the cork is that you can celler the wine up right, no need to lay them down anymore. Save a lot of space.

Personally I still prefer the old cork because I like to pull the cork and the feeling of it. Hopefully they can find some way of fixing the TCA in the future