Appasimento

A method utilized in the Veneto region of Italy whereby wines are made by first spreading the grapes on mats or leaving them to hang in cool lofts in order to raisinate and concentrate them. The dry wine amarone is made this way, as are sweet wines labelled recioto (as in recioto di Valpolicella).

Which wines in the world were the first to collectively be stoppered with screw caps?

A. Australian rieslings from the Clare Valley

B. New Zealand sauvignon blancs from Marlborough

C. Chilean chardonnays from Santiago

D. Italian pinot grigios from the Veneto

As of the 2000 vintage, virtually every riesling in Australia’s Clare Valley was stoppered with a screw cap (technically known as a Stelvin Cap) instead of a cork. While countless upscale wines around the world are now stoppered with screw caps, these were the first to shrug off tradition and forsake cork.

“Context is wildly underrated when it comes to enjoying wine. Where we are, whom we’re with, what time of year it is, what we are eating, when in the wine’s life—and ours—we are drinking it, and even how we are drinking it all influence our perceptions of wine.”

—Tyler Colman
A Year of Wine: Perfect Pairings, Great Buys, and What to Sip for Each Season

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