A big fan of boutique wine shops, where lesser-known wines are given a fair shot and exceptional customer services are the name of the game, I’m not sure how I feel about chain stores getting press in major wine pubs. Don’t they do ok on their own? No less, Decanter shared this week that Majestic (a big UK chain store) has not only won “Chain Store of the Year”, but also that they are moving to a new purchasing requirement for customers: you don’t have to buy 12 bottles any more, just 6. Are you kidding? This headline definitely caught my attention. How can you mandate something like that?

Meanwhile, Chile was also tearing things up at the Decanter World Wine Awards. Check this out: “Chile has proven itself a producer of some of the finest Sauvignon, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Cabernet blends in the world.”  This comment only supports my personal finding that Chile does pretty well with blending; but single varietal offerings are a) hard to come by and then b) when they do show up, it’s a bit rough going (except, perhaps, Sauvignon Blanc). When will we start seeing some of these individual grapes winning awards? I think we’re 5 years out at least.

What are your thoughts on this week’s “news”?

Ok, ok. It’s “old” news, technically speaking. But how often have you actually come across a glass wine closure? I think I’ve seen about a half a dozen over the last year – and I know I’ve seen close to 1,000 wine bottles uncorked. That’s a pretty small percentage!

Yesterday one of these half dozen wine bottles/closures came across the tasting table. And so we got to talking about it. Did you know Alcoa, the closure company initially responsible for this phenomenon, started the wine bottle glass closure after success with it on medicinal products? No joke. These guys are responsible for the closures on household products, juices and sodas, medicinal products and, since 2006 or so, wine bottles.

What I love about them is the (surprising) seal these things allow! And you can pluck them out of the bottle and fit them securely back in to it if you don’t quite finish it off. Back in 2004 Business Wire described it as such: “The Vino-Lok closure looks like a decorative decanter stopper, and it is recyclable. Made with rubberized O-rings, the glass stopper provides a sterile seal, preventing contamination or oxidation. An aluminum cap over the bottle will ensure mechanical protection and temper evidence.”

Recyclable, too? Does it really get any better?Apparently they are working on it! This is just the beginning for them. The question is though:

How many times have you had the pleasure of encountering an Alcoa closure? When will this become more “mainstream”?