AUTHOR: Dave McIntyre TITLE: Curses, Screwed Again! DATE: 8/02/2005 08:49:00 PM ----- BODY:

I’m a big fan of screwcaps, as you may know from reading Dave McIntyre’s WineLine. But am I the only one who finds Stelvins frustratingly hard to open? This most common type of screwcap is attached to the foil by a perforation that should separate with a good hard twist, but the foil always turns, too. I’m desperate to get the first sip of wine, but the darn thing spins under my fist and mocks me with a derision I’ve seldom suffered since high school. I try gripper pads and pliers to hold the foil or cap in place; sometimes these tactics work, but usually not. So I hand the bottle to my wife, who grips the cap with her super-secret-woman’s grasp and bingo! the damn thing’s open. More derision ensues, but at least now I have some wine to soothe my sense of inadequacy.

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Richard Best DATE:8/03/2005 04:25:00 PM Dave,

I too am frustrated. I picked up one of my favourite wines, now under Stelvin, and it leaked. I took it back to the winery for replacement, and the new bottle also had a leaky cap. So I'm not doing cartwheels over screwcaps.


Regards,
Richard Best - The Frugal Oenophile ----- --------