Your wine problems solved
Screwcap or cork?
While screwcap wine closures are leading the charge in New Zealand, the debate whether they are better than cork is ongoing.
Advocates of corkargue that for wine to age as it should, gradual exposure to oxygen through the porous cork material is necessary.
Advocates of screwcaps however, argue most changes that occur in a wine are mainly anaerobic and therefore oxygen is not required. Even if oxygen is needed they add, the small amount of oxygen that remains in the neck of the bottle when it is sealed is all that the wine needs to age properly.
Sick of losing money on cork tainted bottles of wine, many producers have gone for the commercial advantages thescrewcap that allow far less variation from bottle to bottle.
New technology is being employed to develop ever-improving cork and a number of vineyards are happy with the progress made to seal their wines with cork.
At heart though, its a philosophical and commercial question for each winemaker/ company to make.
Why do some companies have multiple wine brands?
There are a number of reasons for one company having two or more brands from the same stable, but whatever the reason - essentially its about money.
Vineyards will often have a label they want to protect so the brand name/image and price point isnt compromised. To increase sales volume another brand is often developed to sell at a lower price point (some wine companies have multiple discount brands lined up next to each other on the supermarket shelves).
Many %26lsquo;premium producers call this their %26lsquo;second label and it will be pitched at a more approachable price point than their number one wines. Why do this? There are only so many people willing to pay over $20 for a bottle of wine so the lower price point is a foot in the door with a much larger sector of the wine buying public.
Also, we consumers can be a fickle bunch. We love a good story and a bit of romance as well as snazzy labels. Brands sometimes just simply go out of style, and become uncool as the marketing message and label gets dated. This doesnt mean the producer of the wine falls off the face of the earth.
Labels are constantly being tweaked or over-hauled and brands re-jigged to appeal to their target market. Who knows, you may even still be drinking the wine you thought no longer exists…albeit in a different guise.
What wine shall I give a friend whos just had a baby to drink on their (the babys) 21st?
While there are exceptions, the majority of New Zealand wine is made in a %26lsquo;drink now style and tastes best drunk within a 1 - 5 year window. There are exceptions to this rule - wines that are made from older vines or from varieties that tend to age better (Riesling, Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, some good examples of Pinots.
Many wines that do have lasting potential tend to be more expensive when compared to your everyday quaffer and even producers who have reputations for making wine with longevity in mind will have different projections for different vintages.
The best advice the Winefairy can offer is to get some good advice - either direct from the winery you are buying a specific wine from, or if the producer is a little harder to get hold of, a knowledgeable representative of the distributor.
See the Winefairys column: advice on buying wine to keep for more detail.
How much wine will I need for my party/wedding/function?
While every event is different, the one fundamental is not to run out, unless you want to get rid of your guests early!
Golden rule: If in doubt get more in - you can always drink it afterwards!
Think about the kind of event you want to host- casual or formal (people tend to drink less the more formal the affair), number of guests attending, mostly drinkers or teetotalers, what food you are serving - food and wine matching.
Check out the wedding/function page on the Winefairy site for more help.
Lesley Reidy is an owner of online wine retailer www.winefairy.co.nz
