The Wine Knows

Going into our big Riesling judging today, I figured we would be able to get a sense of where the Pacific Northwest stands in alternative closures. With Riesling being a white wine that generally will be drunk in its youth, there would be a greater likelihood of alternatives such as screwcaps and synthetics.

I wasn't disappointed.

Of the 116 Rieslings we'll begin tasting in 45 minutes, 42 are under alternative closures. Here's the breakdown:

Screwcaps: 23.

Nomacorcs: 12.

Supreme corqs: 7.

Nomacorks are foam-filled alternatives that (sort of) look like corks and have become extremely popular with wineries. Ken Wright Cellars in Carlton, Ore., for example, has switched all of his high-end Pinot Noirs to Nomacorcs.

Supreme Corqs are plastic corks that were really popular three or four years ago but have fallen out of favor more recently because of oxidation issues. The Seattle-area company that makes Supreme Corqs has been working on new methods for this particular closure.