Generally, I’ve had some really positive experiences with wines, especially Pinots and Sauvignon Blancs, from New Zealand. I’m a big fan of the kiwis, and I was really intrigued by this wine – according to the label, this winery was the first in NZ to produce Sauvignon Blanc. Unfortunately, I wasn’t impressed by their Pinot Noir. It seemed very acidic and unbalanced… it was just a weird wine.

Origin: New Zealand
Where: Hop City
Price: ?? around $13
Next time: I’ll pass.
Screw cap

You know how I’m always on the hunt for a ridiculous cheap but awesome wine. I tried this one last fall, after buying some wines from Harry’s Farmer’s Market. This G’day Mate! Shiraz is Harry’s answer to Trader Joe’s “Two Buck Chuck.” Unfortunately, this wine isn’t making the list for a new favorite. Shiraz isn’t a very drinkable wine without a hearty meal to go with it, but I would opt for a different Shiraz in the future.

Origin: Australia
Where: Harry’s Farmer’s Market
Price: around $3
Next time: I’ll pass.
Screw cap feature! Yeah!

I’ll admit, I’m a huge fan of the screw cap / twist off wines! It’s just so convenient, and I don’t have to worry about a corked wine… or forgetting a wine opener if I’m out on a picnic! Even the fake corks are just plain annoying, as they’re so dense that it’s very difficult to get them off your wine opener once they’re out of the bottle. I’m a firm believer that screw cap is in no way an indicator on quality. I’ve had twist offs that were great and awful, which is the same experience I’ve had with plastic and real corks.

So, I hope to see more wineries switch to screw caps in the future — as well as for wine snobs to get over their obsession with the cork.

In the spirit of screw caps, I’ve started a new tagging category – Screw cap – for all the Wine Shindig posts. If any wine is a screw cap, I’ll be sure to tag so if you’re looking for a screw cap wine to take on a picnic, you can easily go to that category and peruse those posts specifically.

A few great screw caps wines I’d recommend include:

• Angeline Pinot Noirs – Russian River Valley and others (California)
• Big Fire Pinot Noir (Oregon)
• Wirra Wirra Church Block Cabernet Sauvignon (Australia)
• Oyster Bay Pinot Noir (New Zealand)
• Starborough Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)
• The Post Stones (South Africa)

Food & Wine editor Lettie Teague has an excellent article about screw caps wines. She makes some great points that screw caps do have a few potential failings, such as leakage. In addition, wine experts aren’t exactly sure how wines will age underneath a screw cap. Lucky for me, I’m not collecting anything so fancy at this point that it’s going to last for that long! I am interested to see how that evaluation goes in about 15+ years. On the bright side, at least you can store your screw caps vertically, instead of worrying with the horizontal storage irritation.

This Angeline Russian River Valley Pinot seems to have taken Atlanta by storm lately. And for good reason – it’s amazing! We popped this bottle after the Memo ran out during the shrimp and cornbread casserole dinner with my parents. Just a fabulous flavor and moderately priced as well. The production is fairly limited, so if you see this wine – grab a few bottles or a case.

Origin: Russian River Valley, California
Where: Highland Wine
Price: $14
Next time: Get a case!

More Bald Head Island beach trip wines that made the cut! After a few months, I can’t describe the Alexander Valley Pinot Noir or the Angeline Alexander Valley Cab in great detail, other than they were delectable and I want more of these two wines.

I’m sure words like “supple” and “balanced” and “delicious” would have been floating around the dinner table with these two wines.

Origin: Alexander Valley< california
Where: Smyrna WOB and Publix
Price: ??
Next time: Get a case!

Big Fire Pinot Noir

Since I first had this wine at Canoe about four years ago (my dad and I split a bottle about a year after I graduated from Emory!), this has been a personal favorite! Of course, I’m a sucker for the interesting mix of type faces on the label as well as the bold design. Usually, a great label design equals the worst wine imaginable — thankfully, not in this case.

http://www.rstuartandco.com/

This wine is simply delectable. Everything you’d want and expect from a pinot. Medium bodies and fruity complexity with depth. Very drinkable, not too acidic or too many tannins… very smooth.

Upon checking out their website, the wine lives up to their talk. One of their “house rules” is:

A little wood goes a long way. No need to mask great fruit with too much new oak.

Exactly.

In addition, they’re a fan of the screw cap. I know some people are traditionalists… However, it is SO NICE when you get ready for a glass of wine and you don’t have to go hunting for the wine opener. Or if you’re like me, I’ve broken three rabbit wine openers in the past three years and have finally switched back to the waiter’s variety (thanks to the generous folks over at Highland Wine & Crystal… more great info on them soon!). Or you’ve arranged for a fun, romantic picnic… but you forgot the wine opener! Or you finally get it open… and it’s corked. Needless to say the screwcap is practical from a wine health and integrity standpoint as well as ease of opening standpoint. How could you possibly go wrong? I’m hoping to see more wineries switch over to the screwcap as time progresses.

Origin: Yamhill Valley, Oregon

Where: Smyrna WOB, approx $16-$18

Next time: Get a case!

Angeline Pinot Noir

Origin: Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, California

Where: Smyrna WOB, $14.99 bottle

Label: Angeline Pinot Noir is sourced from vineyards located in the cooler regions of Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. Coastal influences prouce a classic velvety Pinot Noir with delicate aromas, balanced acidity and fresh, ripe berry flavors.