"I am brimming with joy. Ten years ago I began asking groups of consumers to whom I was lecturing "How many of you would pay $20 for a bottle of wine in a screwcap?" I seldom had more than 2 or 3 hands raised. Five years later it got a little better but not much. And to my question "How many of you think we use screwtops to save money?" The majority raised their hands. THINGS HAVE NOW CHANGED!

In the article our winemaker Shaun Richardson wrote about Stelvin, which I sent to hundreds of people whose emails are in my files, both consumers and members of the trade. I asked for opinions and I am flabbergasted at the extraordinarily larger than ever number who answered with only 5% saying they would not pay $30 for a Cab in Stelvin! Many said they were traditionalists but the article made them answer in the positive. Majority said that it did not matter what the closure was, they did not buy the closure, what counted was the quality of the wine!"