Jumping into the discussion late...
Quote:
Originally Posted by hunnychile
NO white white should be "sitting for years", they just degredate and taste like crap or worse yet, wet newspaper.
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Sorry but this made me LOL!!
Good luck convincing Burgundian and Alsatian winemakers of your opinion. The only reason Californian whites don't hold up to ageing is the lack of acidity.
There is absolutely no reason to avoid screwcapped wines. Have a look at the New Zealand section of your local wine shop next time... you'll be hard pressed to find 1 out of 10 bottles sealed with a cork, even the top shelf stuff. This might surprise you, but if done properly, screwcaps are much more reliable than cork, as they avoid the risk of TCA. Problem is they're more expensive than cork, equipment is more expensive, and as shown in this thread, people generally have a negative opinion of them.
Synthetic corks are the absolute worst form of bottle closure! They allow the loss of sulphur dioxide, which is the antibiotic, antioxidative, antimicrobial agent in wine, thus leading to premature ageing (browning, flat & sherry-like taste). "Plastic" cork sealed wines should almost always be consumed within a year or so of bottling.
+1 on Frank Family Zin... tasty stuff!
Try DeSante Sauv Blanc ($15 - $20/bottle)... light, complex, and very well made.
If you have $100 to spend on a Napa Valley Cab for yourself or as a gift, try to get your hands a bottle of Tierra Roja (Oakville)... un-effing-believable!
If anyone has any questions on anything to do with wine production, hit me with em!
Chris, winemaker
BSc (Hons) Oenology