While many New World wineries have embraced the screwcap (most New Zealand and Australian wines are screwcap and many U.S. wines are too), the French winemakers have been slow to adopt them. The Telegraph reports that may be about to change. According to one wine expert both Domaine de la Romanée-Conti in Burgundy and Bordeaux's Chateau Margaux are thinking of going screwcap. This is huge news since these are two very recognizable and lauded brands. The director general of Chateau Margaux, Paul Pontallier says they have been doing tests for a few years but are not certain if they will use the screwcaps because their wines are meant to be stored for long periods, there is some debate over whether or not screwcaps are optimal for wines that are best aged.

One of Burgundy's best-known producers, Jean-Claude Boisset is using them on approximately a third of their wines including the Chambertin grand cru 2005, which sells for almost £100 a bottle. They feel that the screwcap is great for wines that will be aged because they protect the wine from oxidation better than a cork can. The Larouche wine group in Burgundy has also started using screw tops on its highest end wine, the Réserve de l'Obédiance, but still prefers the cork for red wines that will be aged.

The emperor of wine has also weighed in. Wine critic Robert Parker says wines bottled with corks will be in the minority by 2015 and that only wines meant to sit in cellar for decades will be topped by a cork. While the cork will always have romantic appeal, the realities of the wine business and the growing customer acceptance of screwcaps seem to have sealed its fate.

It sounds like a dessert, but the Dulce de Leche Divan by Trevor O'Neil is a contemporary sofa that's both stylish and eco-friendly. Made of recycled cork and birch, this sofa is simple and contemporary in design. Besides neutral/natural colors (it looks almost unfinished) clean lines with rounded soft edges make this an inviting seat, although with no back it's probably not the best for real relaxing -- sit up straight! Only available in the one color scheme, and notice the handy built-in end tables on either side. $5,800


Via Born Rich

We are back to talking about screwcap versus cork with wine closures. After I attended the Unified Grape and Wine Symposium I was pretty sure that the debate was over, screwcap was the future of the marketplace. But Decanter has some news that could change everything. According to recent tests conducted by Cairn Environment for Oeneo Bouchage in France, screwcaps produce the biggest carbon footprint. The production of screwcaps gives off far more CO2 than the production of both corks and synthetic closures.

Will this make a difference in how screwcaps are perceived by the world? With the increasing push toward green products this news could have an impact. Another thing that the article doesn't mention but that might also be a consideration is the recycling of wine closures. In that case I would suspect that cork might also come out ahead.

I love Wine Spectator's Unfiltered column, it never fails to call my attention to something that makes me smile. Today, the ultimate solution to what to do with leftover corks, the Corkxedo. The Corkxedo was created by Los Angeles wine lover Dave Hamilton who spent around ten months putting together a top hat, cane and jacket with tails that are all made of whole corks drilled, reinforced and woven and knotted with nylon twine. The set contains the corks of more than 240 wineries and the oldest cork is a 1935 Chateau Lynch-Bages. Hamilton isn't averse to selling the Corkxedo either, he guesses the size 44 jacket would auction off in the $35,000 to $40,000 range. It occurs to me that some enterprising craftsperson could have quite a business turning the collected corks of oenophiles into functional objects. More inspiration can be found at this great post on Terramia.

Design Within Reach is hosting their annual Champagne Chair Contest, which gives you a chance to not only do some design work of your own, but to actually be recognized for it. The idea is that you have to use a champagne cork and turn it into a miniature chair. The cork, cage and foil are all fair game, but you can only use what comes with two champagne bottles. Entries will be judged on craftsmanship, creativity, character, innovative use of materials, and durability and must be no larger than 4" x 4" x 4". The grand prize is a $1,500 DWR gift certificate and the deadline for entries is Monday, January 15, 2007.

Above are some of the designs from the 2005 contest to give you some ideas.