Who invited the screw-off?

I was at a friend’s house last night and everyone brought a bottle or two of wine. So far, so good.

Then people started noticing that one of the wines – an excellent pinot blanc from Oregon’s WillaKenzie winery – had a screw-cap.

This, it turned out, was a little bit like bringing a rhinoceros to a wedding reception. No one wanted to open it, much less drink it. It was almost as if people thought it was an insult to the host.

OK, I confess. I brought the wine. The fact is: I like screw-caps. I know that they have a checkered history, and have long been associated with the sort of poor quality wines that live on the bottom shelf of the local convenience store. But things have changed.

These days the screw-cap – or as it is formally known, the Stelvin closure – is widely used on wines of good to superior quality, both whites and reds. In New Zealand and Australia, it is difficult to find a white wine at any price that doesn’t have a screw-cap.

Why? The number one reason is that corks have a problem that so far has not been entirely eliminated. That problem is TCA – a bacterial infection that can afflict the cork, spread to the wine, and render it musty and dank. Wines tainted with TCA will not harm you; they just don’t taste very good.

A fairly severe case of cork taint is easy to spot. The wine will smell like your grandmother’s attic, or wet newspapers, or a closet that hasn’t been aired out in far too long. It will have little or no fruit flavor, just a rather musty, tired taste. Such wines can and should be returned for a refund, whether you are at a restaurant or have recently purchased them and brought them home to drink.

It’s the time-delayed spoilage that really hurts. That special bottle you’ve saved for just the right occasion, only to finally open it and find it corked. Another problem is when the amount of TCA in the cork is less severe, so the wine is still drinkable, but it’s not showing its best. Such wines are like a faded photograph or a scratchy vinyl disc – not all they should be.

The screw-cap solves the problem, because it can’t get TCA. It is also easy to remove, no corkscrew needed. You may not love the way it looks, but it’s a lot prettier than many of those nubby plastic corks. And it’s nice to know that with screw-caps you won’t have to sacrifice the one bottle in 20 or so that is likely to show some evidence of TCA.

Here are recommended screw-cap releases from around the world (mostly whites, but a couple of reds just for fun).

Chardonnay/Pinot Gris

Sonoma Vineyard 2005 Sonoma County Chardonnay; $12. This is crisp and well-defined style, with sweet Meyer lemon, grapefruit, apricot and pear flavors.

Airfield Estates 2006 Pinot Gris; $16. A veteran grower with a new tasting room in Prosser offers up a luscious and creamy Pinot Gris that tastes like a pear-flavored cream sickle.

Sauvignon Blancs

Evans & Tate 2006 Margaret River; $14. From Western Australia, this is a penetrating, spicy bottle, with plenty of grassy, herbal complexity and a steely, stony core.

Huntington 2006 Sonoma County; $14. Creamy and textural, this has a juicy mix of stone fruits, citrus and grapefruit. It’s finished with just a hint of residual sugar.

Bonterra 2006 Lake/Mendocino Counties; $14. Organically grown grapes go into this wine, which is searingly tart and tasting of grapefruit. For those who like high acid wines, it’s quite refreshing.

Rodney Strong 2006 “Charlotte’s Home” Sonoma County; $14. Here are more sharply-defined fruit flavors; with the emphasis on lime and citrus.

Chateau Bel Air 2006 Perponcher Reserve Bordeaux Blanc; $15. A blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon, this French white wine is quite dry and compact. Hints of mint to go with the green fruits and fresh herbs.

Ferrari-Carano 2006 Fumé Blanc Sonoma County; $15. Ferrari-Carano makes a full-bodied, tropical style of sauvignon blanc, that is more in the chardonnay camp. If that’s what you favor, this is a delicious example.

Oberon 2005 Napa Valley; $15. This is a pretty good deal for a wine from pricey Napa Valley fruit. It, too, tilts flavors toward the semitropical, with hints of melon and papaya, pineapple and sweet grapefruit.

Justin 2006 Paso Robles; $16. From the Central Coast of California, this is a softer style, fruity and accessible.

Kim Crawford 2006 Marlborough; $18. Kim Crawford is perhaps the most widely-known, reliable and flavorful example of a New Zealand sauvignon blanc. It’s hard to go wrong with this wine.

Pinot Noir

WillaKenzie Estate 2005 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir; $22. This is nicely balanced, tart and juicy with black cherry fruit.

Argyle 2005 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir; $23. A light and elegant style, gently herbal and moderately tannic.