Screwcaps, Nitrogen and The Shakes

Understanding the Screwcapping Process

Many of you know I have been working the El Libre Malbec very aggressively over the past couple months. I was amazed at the difference in how the wine shows after giving it the "Mollydooker Shake" before seeing customers. Here's why:

WINE BUSINESS MONTHLY Product Review: Evaluating Your Stand-alone Capper Needs by CURTIS PHILLIPS

"...most winemakers will want to remove as much of the oxygen from the headspace as possible. Since current cappers are unable to pull a vacuum while applying a screw cap, most screw-cappers on the market use inert gas to displace the oxygen-containing ambient air from the headspace as well as from inside the screw cap itself. For most systems, one or two jets of nitrogen are used. Additionally, liquid nitrogen dispensers are being used to purge the bottle headspace prior to capping. One could also use argon as a headspace gas. The second nitrogen jet, used to sparge inside the screw cap, is a recommended addition to any capper, even when the first nitrogen jet has been replaced with an argon jet or a liquid nitrogen dispenser."

Mollydooker Website

What Does the Mollydooker Shake do?

The Shake releases the nitrogen gas which is in the wine. We use nitrogen to protect our wines from oxygen so that we can reduce the amount of sulphites, because some people are allergic to sulphites. When the wines are young, the nitrogen tends to flatten the fruit flavour of the wine (nitrogen effect). Shaking the wine releases the nitrogen (you can hear it hissing if you hold the bottle to your ear after doing the Shake) and the full flavour profile is restored.

Watch the Video here:

http://www.mollydookerwines.com/web/mollydooker_shake.cfm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QCGFz3nnakE

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