July 25, 2007
Screw Kappa Napa Merlot
Screw Kappa Napa Merlot, 2003, Napa Valley
Screw Kappa Napa struck me as an odd name for a wine — evoking images of some wine-sipping college fraternity. It wasn’t until I realized that the bottle of Merlot I was holding featured a screw cap closure that this clever name made sense. The wine maker claims that a screw top is a better closure than a cork, ensuring the wine maintains its character without running the risk of “cork taint,” a term that is new to me. I found that the corkless bottle only served to deprive me of the satisfying ritual of uncorking a new bottle. Part of the alure of wine is its old-world mystique, and wine without a cork just doesn’t feel right to me. Unfortunately, all this talk of bottle closure overshadows what was a very good, very satisfying Merlot.