The increasing
popularity of screw caps as closures over cork, at
least for the young wines has made the well-known
Veneto producer Allegrini withdraw the DOC denomination
for its Valpolicella Classico range for the UK market.
In a world divided on whether to
use screwcaps or stick to cork as the standard closure,
culture has played a decisive role. Despite New Zealand
shifting to 80% new closures, and Australia catching
up with around 60% screw caps, the old world has by
and large remained hooked to cork, especially in France,
Italy and Spain who together account for 50% of world
production.
So what made Allegrini 'rebel' against
the Consorzio's Appellation rules for Denominazione
d'Origine Controllata (DOC) for Valpolicella Classico
and announce they are switching to screw caps for
the UK market?
Admits partner Marilisa Allegrini
that the move is essentially part of a marketing strategy
which reflects the current economic situation rather
than being rebellious. "With the exchange rate as
it is today," says she, "We think a $14 to $15 non-Classico
Valpolicella with a screw cap has a better chance
on the market than a Valpolicella Classico with a
cork, costing 20 percent more.
" Valpolicella is a red wine made
entirely from indigenous grapes Corvina, Rondinella
and a small amount of Molinara. The light to medium
bodied DOC wine is a pleasant, simple and easy drinking,
fruity wine which goes extremely well with pastas
and pizzas when served slightly cool and has a taste
international enough to be very popular with Italian-
food loving Indians.
Valpolicella Classico is essentially
a similar wine but made from grapes in a specified
region in the Valpolicella town, near Verona. The
fruit is more concentrated and the wine has a more
complex character. With a controlled yield, it is
20-30% more expensive but the higher price is fully
justified by the superior quality.
Last year in October, the regulations
did allow the use of screw caps for the generic low-end
Valpolicella but the superior Classico was left out.
Allegrini has apparently chosen to drop the DOC as
it feels it can sell more of the fresh screw-capped
wine in the UK market..
Says winemaker, Franco Allegrini.
"I can't really say whether screw caps are better
than corks for a young, fresh wine like our Valpolicella,"
he said. "You might say they are healthier, as we
use less sulphur when bottling with a screw cap.
" Franco added that there were no
plans yet to release screw-capped bottles locally.
"I don't think we would get a good response at the
moment," he said. "It's a cultural issue," he added.
"Making progress is sometimes like driving a car with
both the accelerator and brake pedals pressed to the
floor."
Allegrini plans to soon test-market
the screw capped non-DOC classico wine in the USA
market too. However, it is unlikely that India will
see this bottling through the importer Brindco in
the near future. Aman Dhall, the director is also
a minority partner with the domestic producer Grover
Vineyards, who have shifted to screwcaps for whites
but reds are still being corked.
The situation is similar with the
leading premium wine producer Sula Vineyard, whose
Managing Director Rajeev Samant started bottling the
premium whites in screwcaps after 'studying in detail
the pros and cons'. Another quality wine producer
in Nashik, Chateau d'Ori follows the French model
and is sticking to cork for all its labels, at least
for the moment.
Subhash Arora
April 12, 2008
|
