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For many of the wine enthusiasts who have already embraced the once-maligned metal screw cap as an appropriate seal for fine wines, its casual simplicity is part of the appeal of the alternative closure. Unscrew the cap, pour the wine; no muss, no fuss, and best of all, no snob factor. But wine lovers who enjoy the brief ritual that attends the extraction of the traditional cork feel that there's something missing in a quick, careless unscrewing. Indeed, for restaurant sommeliers, who make a living out of mastering wine minutiae, an opening procedure devoid of ritual could be a professional threat.
The procedure is simple, much easier to master than the dreaded corkscrew: Grasp the cap firmly with one hand, and gently rotate the bottle under it with the other, breaking the seal with an audible, satisfying "crack." Then place the loosened cap against your forearm (tuxedo optional) and roll it down toward your hand, timing the move so the cap comes off just as the bottle rolls into your palm. Present the cap with a flourish if you wish. There's no need to sniff it, but you're welcome to do so if it pleases you. Is this ritual necessary? Of course not! Is it fun? I think so, although the answer to that question may depend on your sense of humor. The Aussie wine geeks who first told me about it thought it hilarious, and claimed it was an Australian invention, although my Kiwi wine pal Sue Courtney (http://www.wineoftheweek.com/) insists that it came originally from New Zealand, in a video produced by the good folks at Villa Maria when they went over to the alternative closure years ago. One thing's certain: The idea almost had to come from Down Under, where producers in both countries have led the charge toward screw cap closures for wines of quality. Meanwhile, if you think the screw cap is declassé, I expect you'll be horrified by the closure on today's tasting, a modest but surprisingly fetching Austrian Grüner Veltliner from H. und M. Hofer, packaged in a stubby green jug that looks almost like a beer bottle, and closed with a beer-style "crown cap" that submits to neither corkscrew nor uncapping twist but the humble "church key."
This is a very pale straw-color wine with a tinge of brassy green. White fruit aromas, citric and limey, are pleasant if a bit on the delicate side. Simple but fresh flavors are consistent with the nose, crisp citrus, medium body and zippy acidity. I don't find much in the way of Grüner minerality as the vine is first poured, but a bit of pleasant "woolly" character develops as the wine warms in the glass. U.S. importer: Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, N.Y., A Terry Theise Estate Selection. (May 7, 2006) FOOD MATCH: Food-friendly GV works with veal, pork, poultry and seafood, and it's becoming a go-to wine for spicy Southeast Asian fare. It went beautifully with the bold flavors of veal polpette fashioned as "Italian cheeseburgers," shaped to fit squares of home-baked sage foccacia and topped with Point Reyes Blue. VALUE: Ounce for ounce or milliliter by milliliter, the liter-size bottle is a fine value for just over $10. (Note also that this bottling is widely discounted; I've seen it at online vendors for as little as $7.50.) It may be a phantom value unless you're serving a group, though, as there's no way we're going to consume a liter over the course of an evening, and unless you pry off the beer-style cap with great care, it's hard to use it to re-cap the bottle. WHEN TO DRINK: GV in general shows excellent aging potential for a white, and I don't doubt that this one would survive a few years in the cellar, but it's really meant for easy quaffing while it's young and fresh.
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PRINT OUT TODAY'S ARTICLE  Mother's Day Is Sunday! Last chance to order with The California Wine Club The California Wine Club has a gift that's as unique as the Mom on your list! Place your Mother's Day Gift of three months or more by 3 p.m. (U.S. Pacific Daylight Time) today, May 8, and The California Wine Club will pay to expedite her first shipment. It's a savings of nearly $17, with a FedEx guarantee that Mom will have her first shipment in time to enjoy it on her day. To take advantage of this special offer, please call 1-800-777-4443, mention The 30 Second Wine Advisor and the FedEx 3-Day Air offer. At The California Wine Club, every wine is hand-selected by club owners Bruce and Pam Boring, and comes with a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee. Each shipment includes two bottles of award-winning wine selected from one of California’s best artisan winemakers.
Just $32.95 plus shipping and includes the beautiful and well-detailed magazine, Uncorked. For more information visit Mother’s Day is May 14th, why not give her what she really wants? A tasteful gift and the time to enjoy it! This week on WineLoversPage.com Some highlights of recent articles on WineLoversPage.com that I hope you'll enjoy:
• Hot topics in our WineLovers' Community
Quilceda Creek scores 100 - twice
Shopping for a wine-cellar unit
How do you like your eggs? Last Week's Wine Advisor Index The Wine Advisor's daily edition is usually distributed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (and, for those who subscribe, the FoodLetter on Thursdays). Here's the index to last week's columns:
• Who's Assisi? (May 5, 2006)
• WT101 - Austria (May 3, 2006)
• Marilyn Merlot and the Naked Grape (May 1, 2006)
• Complete 30 Second Wine Advisor archive:
• Wine Advisor FoodLetter: The perfect fried egg (May 4, 2006)
• Wine Advisor Foodletter archive:
SUBSCRIBE: Administrivia To subscribe or unsubscribe from The 30 Second Wine Advisor, change your E-mail address, or for any other administrative matters, please use the individualized hotlink found at the end of your E-mail edition. If this is not practical, contact me by E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com, including the exact E-mail address that you used when you subscribed, so I can find your record. We do not use our E-mail list for any other purpose and will never give or sell your name or E-mail address to anyone. I welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future columns. To contact me, please send E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com All the wine-tasting reports posted here are consumer-oriented. In order to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest, I purchase all the wines I rate at my own expense in retail stores and accept no samples, gifts or other gratuities from the wine industry.
Monday, May 8, 2006
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Weingut H. u. M. Hofer 2004 Niederösterreich Grüner Veltliner Trocken ($10.99/1 liter)
