Ask Decanter
Each month our experts answer your burning wine questions. Email your questions to editor@decanter.com
PLASTIC IN THE CELLAR
Does wine need to be bottled (ie, in glass) in order to age successfully over the long term? Or could it age just as well in plastic?
Rachel Ridley, New Malden, Surrey
Richard Bampfield MW, wine consultant, replies:
As things stand, I believe the answer is no, wine couldn’t age just as well in plastic. Even though modern plastic bottles have a lining so as to ensure there is no taint from the plastic, bottlers of wine in plastic generally recommend that the wines are consumed within a year. I imagine there is research being carried out in this area, but I am not aware of any producers currently using plastic bottles for wines destined for longer ageing. Glass appears to be the best option for the time being.
Caroline Gilby MW, wine consultant, adds:
There are two main concerns around plastic bottles (usually PET – polyethylene terephthalate – which is a polyester commonly known as ‘plastic’ and nowadays often multi-layer and including oxygen scavengers). One is that PET does not provide the same level of oxygen protection as glass, and the other is that plastics can scavenge flavour molecules from wine. The research done so far indicates that wines bottled in PET have a shorter shelf life and, after six to 18 months (depending on wine style), show changes associated with oxidation, and flavour scalping, which indicates such packages aren’t suitable for long-term ageing. So it looks like glass is here to stay for wines that are intended for ageing.
TASTING TERMINOLOGY
Your September edition ‘Weekday Wines’ describes the Neudorf, Tom’s Block Pinot Noir from Nelson in New Zealand as ‘complex and linear’. Surely these two terms are contradictory? Bron Gorny, by email
Amy Wislocki, editor of Decanter magazine, replies: Apologies if the use of this term was confusing. ‘Linear’ here in no way implies a one-dimensional character. Rather it refers to the texture and structure of the wine – precise, taut and focused, rather than broad and blowsy. This trait is often linked to the presence of a high level of acidity in the wine.
WHICH WINE FARM?
I am hoping you may be able to identify the farm from the painting as shown (below). My dear artist friend Bob Mckenzie painted it on a recent visit to the Cape and when I asked him which farm it was, he couldn’t tell me – I told him I would try and find out for him. Judith Hilton-Green, by email Tina Gellie, Decanter’s regional editor for South Africa, responds: Greg Sherwood MW, our DWWA Chair for South Africa, and wine buyer at London’s Handford Wines, has done some sleuthing, and has concluded that this must be Basse Provence House at Rickety Bridge winery in Franschhoek (ricketybridge.com). We hope this helps jog some memories! (This is indeed correct, as subsequently confirmed by the artist – Ed.)