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CO VER S T OR Y sealable, "zip-off" closure. "It's cost-effec- tive, easy to apply, a complete package in itself," said Don & Sons winemaker Greg Kitchens. "It's a cool concept, a cool de- sign. The package really pops. We shipped some to Canada and will be trying out the European market." For that reason it was somewhat surprising this spring to note that the widely available Smoking Loon Sau- vignon Blanc is bottled with cork and capsule. (Formerly sealed with synthetic cork, since the 2009 vintage Smoking Loon has been using "with great success" an agglomerated natural cork stopper from Amorim, topped with "almost tin" polylam capsules from Maverick.) Why is such a seemingly conservative package being used for a popular-priced (about $7/bottle) line from a consciously edgy producer? "We discussed it," Kitch- ens recalled. "The owners wanted to keep things streamlined, keep the packag- ing consistent and the packages (for all varietals) matching on the shelf." Smoking Loon sells some 800,000-900,000 cases per year. Of these, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris, the most prevalent varietals to carry screwcaps, account for about 30,000 cases each. All Project Paso wines are sealed with Zork closures. Another reason to es- chew screwcaps for this mass- market brand: bottle color. Smoking Loon uses "sea green" glass, which is less available for screwcap than the ubiquitous flint bottles—and more expensive. Counterintuitive image issues Don & Sons maintains its innovative im- age with other brands. Its Screw Kappa Napa—Napa Valley-sourced and retail- ing for around $16 per bottle—is bottled entirely with screwcaps, as is Il Donato Pinot Grigio, imported from Italy and bottled in California. The higher priced brand in screwcaps? Say, what? "More educated wine drinkers under- stand the concept of the screwcap," Kitch- ens suggested. "The less sophisticated look at the screwcap as cheap." Don & Sons will back up that concept this year, when it releases a new line of Sonoma brands, Sivas (an old Sebastiani family name.) Sivas production will total about 10,000 cases, including 2,200 cases of Sauvignon Blanc. That varietal wine, bottled in late May, will retail at about $16, Kitchens said, and again, this higher end wine will be in a screwcapped package. Kitchens said that it's a practical ap- proach to the kind of wine he wants to make. "I want my wines clean. We treat the wines with just a little copper to keep it that way, keep the reductive nature out of the bottle. We're California, not New Zealand, and we want to keep it a California Sauvignon Blanc. We want the right package at the right price point." Swain at MWC agreed with this seemingly topsy-turvy assessment of wine packaging in the market. "At the lower price point, there starts to be a question" about wine quality with screwcaps. By now, acceptance at higher Quality & Care. The Cork Supply TM Way Make our competitive advantage yours. Our award-winning Innocork® TCA-removal technology redefines what quality means at the top of your bottle. Exclusively from Cork Supply, Innocork is a scientific breakthrough assuring you the superior quality, performance & ecological advantages of natural cork & virtually eliminating the risk of cork taint. Top-of-the-Bottle Experts Visit corksupply.com & learn how Innocork — like our best-in-class < 1.5ng/L Quality Standard for releasable TCA — is one of many ways Cork Supply's passion for care & quality assures our competitive advantage is yours. .com ph 707.746.0353 | fx 707.746.7471 Cork Supply | Innocork | Wines and Vines : 1/2 Page Horizontal ad (7 5/8" X 4 7/8 " ) | March 2011 IssueWines & Vines AUGUsT 2011 27