Wine Doctor Question: Storing wines under Screwcaps

Q:Do wines sealed with screwcaps still have to be stored on their side or should they be stored upright?

A: Technically you can store your screwcapped wine anyway you like. The reason why wine was traditionally stored on its side or inverted was to keep the cork 'moist' - with the porous cork absorbing a little wine on the contact side, thus expanding the cork volume and allowing for a more airtight seal.

Screwcapped bottles don't require this and so can be stored in any position. A word of warning though, be careful when handling screwcapped bottles and avoid stacking them too high - they may look sturdy, but a well placed knock on the side or top can dent the cap and break the perfect seal! (It's happened at Winemakers Choice HQ only recently - I dropped a bottle and dinged it, thought nothing of it, then opened it a couple of weeks later and the wine was oxidised).

What we've been drinking

Luigi Bosca La Linda Malbec 2006
From a vineyard 15km South of Mendoza in the heart of Argentinian Malbec country. This has a nice purple maroon colour, the nose shows wild berries and spice with hints of licorice & some meaty overtones. On the palate it is meaty, spicy with some vanillan oak influences in a medium weight style. Its an interesting wine for a Summer BBQ.

Wine Doctor Question: What is Dosage?

Q: What is dosage in Champagne/Sparkling Wine?

A: Dosage in a sparkling wine refers to the liquid that is added to a bubbly before bottling - A small amount of liquid is lost during the final steps of the sparkling wine production process and the dosage serves as the top up liquid. In French this addition is called the liqueur d'expédition and, in traditional method wines, usually comprises a mixture of wine and sugar syrup. Dosage thus determines the sweetness, or residual sugar, of the finished wine and is thus used as a finishing touch to ruond out the palate.

Champagne is naturally so high in acidity that even wines with relatively high residual sugar can taste bone dry. Bottle age or extended autolysis are excellent substitutes for dosage, however, and, in general, the older the wine, the lower the necessary dosage to produce a balanced wine, and vice versa. Some champagnes are made with no, or zero, dosage in an attempt to showcase the skill of the winemaker and the clarity of the fruit.

Nearly all sparkling wines will have some sore of dosage added to them, depending on what sort of style is desired - more commercial, softer, early drinking styles usually require a higher dosage than super fine French Champagnes, however it is often surprising how much dosage even the finest bubblies receive - a judicious hand is required to come up with the perfect balance of sweetness.

What we've been drinking

Yalumba Y Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Sauvignon Blanc has recently overtaken Chardonnay as Australia's white wine of choice and with bargains like this available its not hard to see why - available for under $10 around the place, this light, crisp and very well made Savvy couples the Herbaceous early picked Sauvignon Blanc aromatics with some riper notes of passionfruit & melon. The dry palate closely follows this, with the acidity closely matched by a dollop of residual sugar.

Impeccably well made, this reminds us once again that the our medium sized, family owned wine companies (Yalumba, Brown Brothers, De Bortoli, Mcwilliams, Tyrrells, Angoves etc) make Australia's best value wines.

Redbank Emily Brut NV
These days the Redbank label is also owned by Yalumba, with the Robb family selling the Redbank label to them some years back (even though, confusingly, the family retained the Redbank winery, which is still called the Redbank winery, yet make wines under their own label).

A light green colour, this soft and slightly sherbety sparkling white has clear lemon, pink grapefruit & candied lime fruit with a tinge of creamy softness. Light & simple this very easy drinking quaffer is only let down by some excessive sweetness, leaving a mildly confected finish. Still, its a good quality sparkles that would be perfect at a Summer picnic.