Henschke has been using screw-caps for the last few vintages of Hill of Grace, indisputably one of the top red wines of Australia ($650), from 100% single-vineyard
Shiraz, grown on the pre-phylloxera vines brought from Europe in the mid 1800s and grown in Eden Valley. But he has decided to release half of the 2008 vintage using Vino-lok seals.
Vino-lok is the alternative closure made by Alcoa in the USA, which increasingly finds use in the wineries where the winemakers are sceptical about the evolution capability of screw-caps but are disillusioned by the high percentage of wine fault due to cork-taint. It has an inner elastic silicon ring that forms a seal with the bottle. It can also be reusable.
Stephen Henschke, who with his viticulturist wife Prue studied for 2 years at the Geisenheim Institute of Viticulture and Wine Technology in Germany, was impressed with the Vino-lok technology when he presented a technical paper at a conference in Germany in 2004.
He reportedly brought a few of these glass closures back to Australia and tested some bottles of Henschke Hill of Grace with Vino-lok in collaboration with the Australian Wine Research Institute. After five years of testing the wine and its evolution in the bottle he was apparently pleased with the results and converted half of the 2008 production using this form of closure. Henschke believes screw-cap is a transitional closure, positioned between the cork and a yet unknown product.
Henschke also feels that the evolution is slow, akin to magnums that are considered the ideal size for cellaring. He calls a standard bottle using Vino-lok as an equivalent of half a magnum because of the aging potential. According to the website of Vino-lok, he says, ‘there are no negatives to the Vino-lok that we have found. It keeps the wine fresher, brighter and more focussed and in better condition than cork.’
Rheingau based Schloss Vollrad has been impressed enough with the glass enclosure enough to have been using it since 2004 when it was introduced by Alcoa at its German plant and is currently using the stopper for its total production of Rieslings. Schloss Johannesburg is another user. Several producers in Germany and Austria are using the Vino-lok in Europe.
For an earlier interview with Stephen Henschke in Singapore, pl visit Star Interview: Henschke and the Hill of Grace
For an earlier article on Vino-lok, visit….Potentially New Glass Closure from Grange |