Last month we were awarded the President’s Gold Award by Vineco. This is the 3rd time over the last few years we have received this award. Awarded by Vineco to a select # of stores like us, it is presented based on service and loyalty, amongst other criteria. Only 5 of these were awarded for all of western Canada in 2011. And here we thought it’s because we’re cute!
Corks
They are often an issue for wine hobbyists. There are many types of corks available from wholesalers. Here is a brief rundown on various types of corks.
Type Size Comment
1)Top of the line #8 & #9 long Very expensive, little benefit from cheaper alternative
2)Superior #8 & #9 short/long Good quality and well priced
3)Synthetic corks #8 long Good quality, but much more expensive than others
4)Colmated/Agglomerated #8 & #9 See below
5)Low Quality mainly #8 Troublesome
Further Comments:
-We do not carry category #1. They are more expensive with little or no additional benefit. We don’t carry category # 4 & 5 either, as they are not of proper quality for use.
-We carry category #2 mainly. By far the most popular corks. They are relatively inexpensive and offer you good quality with options for size. While harder to insert (especially requiring brawn for hand corkers!) the #9 long offers are better seal for long term storage than the #8 short. This is only important if you want to store the wine for over a year. #8 short is more popular as most wine hobbyists don’t opt to store all their wine long term.
-Colmated (slices of cork) and agglomerated (small peices of cork): These are compressed and shaped in the form of a cork using glue. We don’t carry these or suggest their use. Glue is not suitable to be in contact with your wine.
Sometimes we get customers in the store who want to trade corks they got in their big box store bargan wine kits. The reason is obvious, they are low quality and break apart when used or simply stick out from the top of the wine bottles. You get what you pay for, so a penny saved is not always a penny earned!