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gary_580
20-11-2003, 13:32
As its the 3rd Thursday in November today, this years Beaujolais Nouveau has been released today. I've just been and bought a few bottles and noticed that the French are following in the steps of the Aussies by using screw tops instead of corks.

My question is how should you store the bottles? (yes i know you dont keep Beaujolais Nouveau so it doesnt really matter but the same thought applies to other wine). The reason we have laid bottles down for centuries is to ensure the cork doesnt dry out, shrink and let in oxygen. The problem being you run the risk of corking the bottle. With a screw top bottle and a plastic bung i guess is there any piont in laying the bottle down?
Theodoric
20-11-2003, 14:09
As its the 3rd Thursday in November today, this years Beaujolais Nouveau has been released today. I've just been and bought a few bottles and noticed that the French are following in the steps of the Aussies by using screw tops instead of corks.

My question is how should you store the bottles? (yes i know you dont keep Beaujolais Nouveau so it doesnt really matter but the same thought applies to other wine). The reason we have laid bottles down for centuries is to ensure the cork doesnt dry out, shrink and let in oxygen. The problem being you run the risk of corking the bottle. With a screw top bottle and a plastic bung i guess is there any piont in laying the bottle down?
Ah, le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivÃÃâ€*’©, M'sieu!

Re the stoppers, sounds a reasonable assumption to me. Personally, I find ordinary Beaujolais a bit too light for my taste, so I must admit to having never tried the nouveau. Do they still have those races to bring it across the Channel? I suspect they probably died out in the 80s.
SMHarman
20-11-2003, 14:27
A screw top is a perfect seal, just like on a coke bottle or a bottle of appletize, keeps the pressure and is as such air tight.

Plastic cork can leak, you will notice nowadays that more expensive wine with plastic cork has a wax seal on top of the cork. This creates the air tight seal.

Is there any point in laying it down. Well it allows the sediment to settle in a single location, but apart from that I don't think so.
Atomic22
20-11-2003, 19:01
you will find that the only french wine that has screw tops or plastic tops is classed as "cheap plonk" and is not made to be "set down" its made to be cheap and cheerful and downed as soon as its opened...
the aussies/spanish/americans etc etc use a lot of screwtops and plastic tops because their wine is always going to be classed as "cheap plonk" no matter what you pay for the bottle because of the fact that they aren't french and therefore have no idea how to make a decent bottle of wine........beaujolais nouveau is wine for tourists and tastes like p compared to old beaujolais

ooooooh yes i love french wine
iadom
20-11-2003, 19:47
you will find that the only french wine that has screw tops or plastic tops is classed as "cheap plonk" and is not made to be "set down" its made to be cheap and cheerful and downed as soon as its opened...
the aussies/spanish/americans etc etc use a lot of screwtops and plastic tops because their wine is always going to be classed as "cheap plonk" no matter what you pay for the bottle because of the fact that they aren't french and therefore have no idea how to make a decent bottle of wine........beaujolais nouveau is wine for tourists and tastes like p compared to old beaujolais

ooooooh yes i love french wineApart from the fact that a lot of good French wines these days are produced with the direct involvement and advice of Australians.

I had an exquisite bottle of Argentinean red wine at the Gaucho Grill in Manchester at the weekend. The best of the New World reds compare favourably with any French wine, when it comes to white wine though it has to be a French Chablis, Sancerre or a Pouilly-Fuisse, the New World bog standard Chardonnay is not in the same league.:drunk:
paulyoung666
20-11-2003, 19:52
you will find that the only french wine that has screw tops or plastic tops is classed as "cheap plonk" and is not made to be "set down" its made to be cheap and cheerful and downed as soon as its opened...
the aussies/spanish/americans etc etc use a lot of screwtops and plastic tops because their wine is always going to be classed as "cheap plonk" no matter what you pay for the bottle because of the fact that they aren't french and therefore have no idea how to make a decent bottle of wine........beaujolais nouveau is wine for tourists and tastes like p compared to old beaujolais

ooooooh yes i love french wine


some of the best wine i have tasted has been australian ;)
but then maybe im not stupid enough to pay god knows how much for a bottle of new stuff just to say i drank it on the day it was released
gary_580
21-11-2003, 11:23
Ah, le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivÃÃâ€*’©, M'sieu!

Re the stoppers, sounds a reasonable assumption to me. Personally, I find ordinary Beaujolais a bit too light for my taste, so I must admit to having never tried the nouveau. Do they still have those races to bring it across the Channel? I suspect they probably died out in the 80s.

I have no idea, im sure the races are pointless now as supermarkets sell the stuff on the day. They must get stocks the few weeks b4
gary_580
21-11-2003, 11:25
Is there any point in laying it down. Well it allows the sediment to settle in a single location, but apart from that I don't think so.

Surely if you stand it up rather than lay it down all the sediment will go to the bottom as opposed to the side of the bottle which will get stirred up when u open it?
gary_580
21-11-2003, 11:27
you will find that the only french wine that has screw tops or plastic tops is classed as "cheap plonk" and is not made to be "set down" its made to be cheap and cheerful and downed as soon as its opened...
the aussies/spanish/americans etc etc use a lot of screwtops and plastic tops because their wine is always going to be classed as "cheap plonk" no matter what you pay for the bottle because of the fact that they aren't french and therefore have no idea how to make a decent bottle of wine........beaujolais nouveau is wine for tourists and tastes like p compared to old beaujolais

ooooooh yes i love french wine


Yes i love french wine too, particularly Saint emillion Grand Cru. Anyhow what is old Beaujolais? Not sure ive ever tried anything above 7-8 yrs old from this region
gary_580
21-11-2003, 11:28
some of the best wine i have tasted has been australian ;)
but then maybe im not stupid enough to pay god knows how much for a bottle of new stuff just to say i drank it on the day it was released

you mean £4!! wow you never pay £4 or more for wine.
paulyoung666
21-11-2003, 11:28
Surely if you stand it up rather than lay it down all the sediment will go to the bottom as opposed to the side of the bottle which will get stirred up when u open it?


do you still get sediment in wine nowadays ????????? , i must admit i cant remember a bottle with it in , or is it only the posh stuff that has bits floating in it :shrug:

but if that £4 bottle of wine suits me then why pay more , i have tasted more expensive wine at a mates of mine and i cant honestly say it was any better considering it was more expensive , or is it just snobbery value to be able to say that your bottle of wine cost £20 therefore it must be better than my £4 bottle :shrug:
Graham
21-11-2003, 11:38
How to annoy a wine connoiseur #1:

Ask for a Beaujolais Nouveau '57...! :)
SMHarman
21-11-2003, 11:39
Surely if you stand it up rather than lay it down all the sediment will go to the bottom as opposed to the side of the bottle which will get stirred up when u open it?

A bottle should be stored at a slight upward angle so the sediment flows down toward the bottom and the cork says moist.
Chris
21-11-2003, 12:45
How to annoy a wine connoiseur #1:

Ask for a Beaujolais Nouveau '57...! :)
ok, I'll bite ... why? :)
SMHarman
21-11-2003, 14:07
bit of an oxymoron

nouveau...
1957...
Chris
21-11-2003, 14:10
bit of an oxymoron

nouveau...
1957...
D'oh! :dunce:
gary_580
21-11-2003, 14:31
do you still get sediment in wine nowadays ????????? , i must admit i cant remember a bottle with it in , or is it only the posh stuff that has bits floating in it :shrug:

but if that £4 bottle of wine suits me then why pay more , i have tasted more expensive wine at a mates of mine and i cant honestly say it was any better considering it was more expensive , or is it just snobbery value to be able to say that your bottle of wine cost £20 therefore it must be better than my £4 bottle :shrug:


Yes you do still get sediment in the bottle, all depends on the grape, how it was made and how old it is.

I agree totally, if it tastes right for you why pay more. Must admit i had a sip of a £70 bottle of wine once when i was in St Emillion and it was like velvet, but woth £70??? dunno about that
gary_580
21-11-2003, 14:32
A bottle should be stored at a slight upward angle so the sediment flows down toward the bottom and the cork says moist.


errr wasnt the whole point of this thread about screw tops?
gary_580
21-11-2003, 14:33
ok, I'll bite ... why? :)


hahaha really?

I thought u asked for nouveau 57 only if your were doing an impression of Del Trotter!!
gary_580
21-11-2003, 14:36
ok, I'll bite ... why? :)

The point of nouveau is to get a very fruity wine. As red wine ages it loses it frutiy flavour. Nouveau is only good for about 6 months, 12 omnths in a really good year but thats all
Chris
21-11-2003, 14:43
hahaha really?

I thought u asked for nouveau 57 only if your were doing an impression of Del Trotter!!
:dunce:
To be honest, when I saw 'Nouveau '57' the fact that it was 'new/1957' crossed my mind but then I thought that was too obvious.

My mother always said I think too hard about things. :)
SMHarman
21-11-2003, 14:57
Yes you do still get sediment in the bottle, all depends on the grape, how it was made and how old it is.

I agree totally, if it tastes right for you why pay more. Must admit i had a sip of a £70 bottle of wine once when i was in St Emillion and it was like velvet, but woth £70??? dunno about that

But at £70 you are well into the law of diminishing returns. Just as a 10K Golf gets you from A-B in largely the same manner as a 50k Porsche doesn't mean some want Porsches, however a golf is a significant step up from a 5k 2CV.

In france a £4 bottle of wine is good because of the low wine tax environment. In the UK Gordy takes over a £1 of that, then the supermarket profit etc means the bottle cost 60p to make. Hmm, not likely to generate a high quality wine.

Step up to £8 and you have £5 of wine to drink, far more likely to get a better quality. Double again and the change is less noticable, you'll find more variation between years etc.
paulyoung666
21-11-2003, 15:22
But at £70 you are well into the law of diminishing returns. Just as a 10K Golf gets you from A-B in largely the same manner as a 50k Porsche doesn't mean some want Porsches, however a golf is a significant step up from a 5k 2CV.

In france a £4 bottle of wine is good because of the low wine tax environment. In the UK Gordy takes over a £1 of that, then the supermarket profit etc means the bottle cost 60p to make. Hmm, not likely to generate a high quality wine.

Step up to £8 and you have £5 of wine to drink, far more likely to get a better quality. Double again and the change is less noticable, you'll find more variation between years etc.



fair point but if £4 tastes good to me then why spend £8 or more , ok so the most expensive i have tasted would be around £12 but like i said it didnt do a great lot for me ;)
SMHarman
21-11-2003, 15:57
fair point but if £4 tastes good to me then why spend £8 or more , ok so the most expensive i have tasted would be around £12 but like i said it didnt do a great lot for me ;)

Indeed - you are more likely to be annoyed and dissapointed (and sober) at a mediocre £12 bottle than 3 mediocre £4 bottles (but :drunk: )
paulyoung666
21-11-2003, 15:59
Indeed - you are more likely to be annoyed and dissapointed (and sober) at a mediocre £12 bottle than 3 mediocre £4 bottles (but :drunk: )


pmsl @ that , some good logic there , i might just try that one out tonight :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
Chris
21-11-2003, 16:02
Indeed - you are more likely to be annoyed and dissapointed (and sober) at a mediocre £12 bottle than 3 mediocre £4 bottles (but :drunk: )
Benefits of working for a hotel company, no. 107 (yes, there are many):

I have just paid £28 for a crate of bin-ends that would retail for considerably more than the £2.33 per bottle it actually cost me ... :D

Now that's what I call a staff perk. Merry Christmas!
paulyoung666
21-11-2003, 16:05
Benefits of working for a hotel company, no. 107 (yes, there are many):

I have just paid £28 for a crate of bin-ends that would retail for considerably more than the £2.33 per bottle it actually cost me ... :D

Now that's what I call a staff perk. Merry Christmas!


looks as though yuo are gonna be :drunk: for some time to come then :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
homealone
21-11-2003, 16:45
I have to confess to being a bit of a slob when it comes to wine - my usual choices are the Romanian Merlot at £2.49 from Aldi, with screw cap, or (currently) the £9.99 promo for a 3 Litre box in Tesco ( shows what I mean - I can't even remember what sort it is - I saw 13% & £9.99 & thought "that'll do for me")

I can appreciate that a more expensive wine is going to be superior, but when you're half way down the second bottle it doesn't seem to matter so much;)
paulyoung666
21-11-2003, 17:05
I have to confess to being a bit of a slob when it comes to wine - my usual choices are the Romanian Merlot at £2.49 from Aldi, with screw cap, or (currently) the £9.99 promo for a 3 Litre box in Tesco ( shows what I mean - I can't even remember what sort it is - I saw 13% & £9.99 & thought "that'll do for me")

I can appreciate that a more expensive wine is going to be superior, but when you're half way down the second bottle it doesn't seem to matter so much;)


same here , hic :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
SMHarman
21-11-2003, 18:11
<snip>

I can appreciate that a more expensive wine is going to be superior, but when you're half way down the second bottle it doesn't seem to matter so much;)

Which is why my drinking habits get cheaper as the night wears on...
paulyoung666
21-11-2003, 18:13
Which is why my drinking habits get cheaper as the night wears on...


as long as you dont sink as low as that cheap vodka doing the rounds :disturbd: :disturbd: :disturbd: :disturbd:
Ramrod
21-11-2003, 18:18
I on the other hand only drink organic wine....no hangover you see!:D
Theodoric
24-11-2003, 19:40
I on the other hand only drink organic wine....no hangover you see!:D
Ah, is this because organic wine has no chemicals in it? :)
paulyoung666
24-11-2003, 19:53
Ah, is this because organic wine has no chemicals in it? :)



or no alcohol :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
peachey
24-11-2003, 20:00
As its the 3rd Thursday in November today, this years Beaujolais Nouveau has been released today. I've just been and bought a few bottles and noticed that the French are following in the steps of the Aussies by using screw tops instead of corks.

My question is how should you store the bottles? (yes i know you dont keep Beaujolais Nouveau so it doesnt really matter but the same thought applies to other wine). The reason we have laid bottles down for centuries is to ensure the cork doesnt dry out, shrink and let in oxygen. The problem being you run the risk of corking the bottle. With a screw top bottle and a plastic bung i guess is there any piont in laying the bottle down?


went to one of those beaujolais days here in Cardiff on Thursday
and got well and truly lashed
Shaun
24-11-2003, 20:10
Benefits of working for a hotel company, no. 107 (yes, there are many):

I have just paid £28 for a crate of bin-ends that would retail for considerably more than the £2.33 per bottle it actually cost me ... :D

Now that's what I call a staff perk. Merry Christmas!

we ordered 2 cases of wine from Tesco wine direct and it came to £80.00, well worth it for Christmas. One crate of mixed, including 6 bottles by Banrock station. The other crate is Blossom Hill Zinfandel, all very yummy. :beer:
Bex
24-11-2003, 21:13
The other crate is Blossom Hill Zinfandel, all very yummy. :beer:

blossom hill is nice stuff...

i'm currently drinking a shira cabernet....argentina....called INTI 2002....not heard of it before, but got it for my birthday and it is going down nicely.....:drunk:

only unfortunate thing it had a plastic cork and i prefer proper corks
Theodoric
26-11-2003, 20:25
blossom hill is nice stuff...

i'm currently drinking a shira cabernet....argentina....called INTI 2002....not heard of it before, but got it for my birthday and it is going down nicely.....:drunk:

only unfortunate thing it had a plastic cork and i prefer proper corks
I'v got to admit that I'm fond of southern hemisphere shiraz.
Shaun
26-11-2003, 21:05
I'v got to admit that I'm fond of southern hemisphere shiraz.


mmmmmmmmm Banrock Station Cabernet Shiraz, or there Merlot!!! YUM YUM YUM
Bex
26-11-2003, 21:10
mmmmmmmmm Banrock Station Cabernet Shiraz, or there Merlot!!! YUM YUM YUM

mmm merlot.....

had a few glasses of wine last night...was yummy :D:p
SMHarman
27-11-2003, 10:16
Mmm, Tesco Finest Sancerre last night, thats what a good white wine should be like.

http://www.tesco.com/pi/ilabel/OTES999/5018374289216_OTES999_120.jpg
handyman
27-11-2003, 11:30
Speaking of sancerre, I really must find more about the one I picked up from Morrisons a couple of weeks ago. What a cracking wine. If its going to be white I normally plump for the californian or Australian.
For a red I do like a Zinfandel or even a Stowels Tempranillo. Was tempted by a chianti the other day and that was v good too.
http://marks-stuff.co.uk/forum/html/emoticons/wine.gif
SMHarman
27-11-2003, 11:35
blossom hill is nice stuff...
<snip>

But why is their sponsered by sig on Will and Grace so damn LOUD.
Escapee
27-11-2003, 18:26
Do these screw tops have a 2 or 3 start thread I wonder?
Theodoric
27-11-2003, 19:14
As its the 3rd Thursday in November today, this years Beaujolais Nouveau has been released today. I've just been and bought a few bottles and noticed that the French are following in the steps of the Aussies by using screw tops instead of corks.

My question is how should you store the bottles? (yes i know you dont keep Beaujolais Nouveau so it doesnt really matter but the same thought applies to other wine). The reason we have laid bottles down for centuries is to ensure the cork doesnt dry out, shrink and let in oxygen. The problem being you run the risk of corking the bottle. With a screw top bottle and a plastic bung i guess is there any piont in laying the bottle down?
You wouldn't happen to be a friend or relative of Paul Hodge of London E5, by any chance. :)

The reason I ask it that in Notes & Queries in yesterday's Grauniad he asked the question:

It has always been important to lay down good wine to help the ageing process and stop the corks from drying out. Now more and more bottles come with a screwcap, is it acceptable to age the bottles that would benefit from this in an upright position, or is it in fact essential to keep the wine away from the screwcap?