Gettin' Screwy at Cal Poly

In this adventure, Kathy and I were on a panel for marketing and packaging trends in the wine industry. It was hosted by the Cal Poly's (California Polytechnic University) Wine Department and organized by July Ackerman.
If you thought the debate about screw caps vs. cork was simply a matter of effective sealing of the bottle and the romance and ceremony of corkage, you don't even know a 10th of the story.

Niels Udsen, of Castoro Cellars Winery, is an expert in the subject (he launched the state's first mobile bottling line that could handle screw caps. Neils was on our panel and gave a detailed dissertation on the technical aspects involved and their impacts on quality and durability. Another panel member, Alan Kinne, wine maker for York Mountain Winery and Martin-Weyrich Winery, filled us in on the adjustments necessary in the wine making process itself when preparing for "getting screwed."

I was amazed and impressed to learn how much goes into the decision of whether to "screw or not to screw."

A few years ago, on the radio show, I made a joke of inventing a screw cap remover that looked just like a traditional corkscrew to ease the transition. Of course, six months later, there was one on the market.