Sonoma Wine Group is a trendsetter with its unique 375Q bottle, which
features the crackle of a screw cap and not the pop of the cork.
Satellite Beach, FL – Rich with romance and tradition, winemaking is
much an art as it is a science. In growing numbers, winemakers
are recognizing that – for the sake of art and science – the screw cap,
not the cork, is the key to creating the purest wines.
Today, you'll find more screw cap wines than ever before on store
shelves, behind restaurant bars, and at wine festivals.
Information from the Australian Wine Research Institute demonstrates
that wines sealed with screw caps retain more of their delicate fruit
flavors and are more consistent across a number of bottles. Frank
Prial, a wine columnist for the New York Times, even predicts that,
within a decade, 75 percent or more of wines will be sold with these
caps.
Sonoma Wine Group (SWG) favors the crackle of the screw cap to the pop
of the cork. In fact, the company has taken the emerging trend of screw
cap wines to a new level. SWG features vintage and non-vintage
California wines in a cutting-edge 375 ml bottle size with a screw
cap. SWG named the package 375Q. The Q stands for Quality
Seal.
The 375Q package is so innovative that SWG recently contracted with
Orlando-based Schenk & Co., which typically only distributes beer.
“The 375Q can be served and sold as easily as beer. Its size is ideal
for people who prefer a smaller amount of wine than an entire bottle,
and the screw top cap makes it convenient to open,” said Stefanie
Olson, vice president of SWG. “This presents an area of growth
that has tremendous potential, especially considering the rapidly
increasing number of people who are drinking screw top wines.”
QualitySeal is not a cost-saving measure, SWG officials say. Instead,
it is used to preserve and protect the wine. Some industry
experts believe that screw tops can preserve wine for 20 years minimum,
which is double the life expectancy for a Chardonnay bottled with a
cork closure.
“The airtight seal of this screw top closure preserves the fruit
qualities of the wine much longer than traditional closures,” said
Olson. “Wine development is slowed, which allows longer
cellaring. “
“Also, the taste of the wine is more pure with no cork influence,” she
added. “Leaking and oxidation from defective cork are eliminated,
as is TCA taint.”
Cork is cultivated from the bark of a type of oak tree found in
Portugal and the Mediterranean. It is found in a variety of
qualities, from very tight to cracked and porous, and it can contain a
naturally occurring mold that might eventually taint the wine.
The mold reacts with chlorine - which is used to sanitize the corks -
and creates a chemical called 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, or TCA.
Wines becomes “corked” when impacted by TCA and often emits a musty
smell reminiscent of moldy cardboard or dirty socks – thus the reason
more wineries are favoring the crackle of the screw cap instead of the
pop of the cork.
The wine industry estimates that as many as 12 percent of all bottles
are afflicted with cork taint. Corks can also fail by allowing
air to seep into the bottle over time. And air – especially oxygen - is
the killer of good wine.
For more information about Sonoma Wine Group, please visit www.sonomawinegroup.com.
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Media Contact:
Quantified Marketing Group
407.936.1010
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