Anyone want to buy my corkscrew stock?

September 17, 2003 11:13 AM

Given the name of this product,it seemed a natural to post.
posted by Danf (33 comments total)

"The MetaCork fills an enormous gap in the marketplace" -- huh, maybe they should send one to the Bush economic team.
posted by serafinapekkala at 11:17 AM on September 17, 2003

Can you use any bottle, looks like the bottle was made for this cork.
posted by thomcatspike at 11:21 AM on September 17, 2003

Wait, is this the product that comes after the cork, or is it a cork that somehow transcends the rest?

I'm confused.
posted by jon_kill at 11:28 AM on September 17, 2003

Wait, is this the product that comes after the cork, or is it a cork that somehow transcends the rest?

It seems like it is a system and contains either a real or synthetic cork. The advantage seems to be the lack of need for a corkscrew.
posted by Danf at 11:31 AM on September 17, 2003

I would say a synthetic cork is pretty real.
posted by jon_kill at 11:48 AM on September 17, 2003

I'll wait for v2.0: Dueling Banjos Edition
posted by shadow45 at 11:48 AM on September 17, 2003

And why exactly would one want to reseal a bottle of wine?
posted by kozad at 12:03 PM on September 17, 2003

That's the worst blog design I've ever seen. I tried to join, but they wanted five bucks - no thanks.
posted by trigfunctions at 12:10 PM on September 17, 2003

And why exactly would one want to reseal a bottle of wine?

Agreed.

When you ask who wants the last glass, and everyone just sits there in stunned silence, give it to the ugliest girl. Problem solved.
posted by jon_kill at 12:12 PM on September 17, 2003

I understand that many of the wine comanies, including very good one, moving to screw on caps...if you think cork makes a big diff, you are wrong...cork means bottles must be kept on side in order for cork to say moist...screw-ons do the job and easier. Jst a class notion without merit that believes cork is a must
posted by Postroad at 12:18 PM on September 17, 2003

4. PROFIT!!
posted by luriete at 12:26 PM on September 17, 2003

Uhm, it's not corking the cork. How is this a Meta Cork? Can we kill all those who engage in wanton buzzzwordery?
posted by xmutex at 12:36 PM on September 17, 2003

Postroad- exactly. We're also running out of cork, which only comes from one place in the world right now (for wine bottles at least, I can't remember where).

kozad/jon_kill- If you have a good enough seal, you can definitely re-cork wine for a day or two. Why waste a few glasses of expensive wine? Restaurants do this all the time with "wine by the glass".

It seems, though, that this is not a consumer product, but aimed at vineyards.
posted by mkultra at 12:46 PM on September 17, 2003

I can't remember where

I could tell you, but I'd rather let Miguel have the pleasure.
posted by languagehat at 1:01 PM on September 17, 2003

Coming soon, from the Coca-Cola Company:

Meta-Coke!
posted by keswick at 1:05 PM on September 17, 2003

As seen on CBS

There are a number of reasons that natural cork is falling out of favor. One is scarcity. Cork is produced only in Portugal, from trees that have proved difficult to grow elsewhere. As other countries, like Chile or Australia, have begun producing fine wines the demand for corks has risen faster than cork can be harvested. Spoilage, or becoming "corked," is another major reason for alternatives. 5% to 10% of wines are spoiled by bad corks. Synthetic and twist-tops can seal a wine without worry of contamination.

Synthetic corks have their own problems. They are difficult to remove from both the bottle and then the corkscrew. They also don't re-seal all that well. If bottles are improperly stored and allowed to get too warm synthetic corks are know to pop out on their own accord. Synthetics are mainly used in whites that aren't meant to age more than a few years in the bottle.

I've yet to see the screw-top on a bottle. It makes sense on a logical level, but wine is steeped in tradition. It's the traditions around wine that make it, in my opinion, quite interesting. It's going to be a uphill battle to make screw-tops acceptable to "cork dorks" such as myself. I expect less traditional, international styled wines, like wines made in California, will eventually develop a alternate capping method while more traditional wines, like French and Italian styles, will continue to use a cork.
posted by elwoodwiles at 1:06 PM on September 17, 2003

Mkultra: Why open an expensive bottle of wine if you're not going to finish it? And, why use expensive wine for the wine by the glass (which is bullshit anyway)?
posted by jon_kill at 1:06 PM on September 17, 2003

God bless people who don't finish expensive bottles of wine. The best wine I ever had in my life was a 1978 Clos de la Roche from Domaine Dujac that some idiots hadn't finished and thus was lying around available to less filthy rich fortunate folk like myself. Even after several days it was amazing: dark, intense, barnyardy... God, Burgundy is wonderful. [/wine geek]
posted by languagehat at 1:26 PM on September 17, 2003

a .pdf file about "Tin Roof" wine. . .one winery's marketing ploy to present screwtop wine as a newer, hipper thing. . .

And it does away with the cork altogether, natural, synthetic, meta, what have you.
posted by Danf at 1:27 PM on September 17, 2003

Metafilter: More than just a beverage.
posted by leapfrog at 1:36 PM on September 17, 2003

the images on this link look like handjob tutorials
posted by Peter H at 1:48 PM on September 17, 2003

languagehat: "barnyardy"?

it will make wine more approachable and will make wine more appealing to none-wine drinkers.

Okay, this is all getting far too metaphysical.

Wouldn't mind seeing this none-wine, though.
posted by jokeefe at 1:50 PM on September 17, 2003

mkultra Cork isn't actually running out and is harvested in an entirely sustainable manner.

"Conservation groups like the WWF are concerned that the wine industry is moving away from natural cork, a shift that they believe could ultimately cause an environmental and economic crisis in several parts of the Mediterranean region."

From here

So real cork good, false cork bad.
posted by zeoslap at 2:27 PM on September 17, 2003

My approach to wine is exactly the same as Dave Barry's, which is "drink it and then look around for more".
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:33 PM on September 17, 2003

jokeefe: Good Burgundy is frequently said to have a scent/flavor of "barnyard" (see the various references to it here and here, for example; in the latter link they even talk about a Chambolle-Musigny as having "feral barnyard notes"). This is a polite way of saying that they have a faint whiff of shit (or, as some like to say, merde). See this discussion:

Pinot noir is a fickle grape that only rarely converts into ambrosial, holy-shit wines. (In fact, some connoisseurs think fecal aromas are a telltale sign of quality in a mature red Burgundy.)

But I have often used Dave Barry's approach, which works very well.
posted by languagehat at 3:41 PM on September 17, 2003

MetaCorkFilter!
posted by chrid at 4:14 PM on September 17, 2003

Ha ha, languagehat! Thanks for the good laff. You're on a roll lately - something must be going particularly well in your life. Here's hoping it continues! :)

Screw tops are for losers. And so naff!
posted by MiguelCardoso at 4:42 PM on September 17, 2003

Pinot noir is a fickle grape that only rarely converts into ambrosial, holy-shit wines. (In fact, some connoisseurs think fecal aromas are a telltale sign of quality in a mature red Burgundy.)

*resists attempt to make comment revealing philistine lack of knowledge about any kind of wine at all except the stuff we used to buy by the gallon in Banff Alberta and which just sat on the kitchen table until it all disappeared, or maybe just ate through the bottle, no one was really sure, of course these days I just buy whatever has the prettiest picture on the label and costs less than 10 bucks, that is when I buy wine at all, which is never*
posted by jokeefe at 4:56 PM on September 17, 2003

Screwtops be good enough for Gordon Getty's wine.
posted by Wet Spot at 8:42 PM on September 17, 2003

some connoisseurs think fecal aromas are a telltale sign of quality in a mature red Burgundy

That's funny, I thought fecal aromas were a telltale sign of bullshit in wine connoisseurs ;)

Languagehat, you must admit you were begging for it...are you seriously telling me that wine-buffs swan in to the local bottle shop and ask for 'something dungy'?

Call me unrefined, but I'll stick to drinks that don't reek of poo, thanks all the same.
posted by backOfYourMind at 6:38 AM on September 18, 2003

Depends on the buff and the shop. Drink what you like, and I'll do the same (to the extent I can afford it). But I will remind you that every subject has its own special terms, developed by the people most interested in it and understood by them perfectly well; you wouldn't understand the shop talk of physicists or jazz musicians any more than that of wine buffs, and I imagine you have your own special interests that outsiders would find strange and amusing. Try to keep some perspective as you make your merry way through life.
posted by languagehat at 8:49 AM on September 18, 2003

I've noticed that a lot of New Zealand wineries (including my favourite) are making a big deal about making the move to screwcaps. It appears to be a cooperative effort between quite a number of wineries.
posted by Fley Mingmasc at 10:05 AM on September 18, 2003

One word. Stelvin
posted by seanyboy at 10:50 AM on September 20, 2003