reviews

'The screw cap bible.'
Robert Joseph, while introducing the closure debate at the London International Wine & Spirit Fair

'There is every reason to believe that this will become the seminal work on the subject.'
Ken Gargett, The Courier Mail

'Stelzer... is already being fêted for bringing all the technicalities understandably together in his 336-page hard cover.'
Grape News, South Africa

Comment on Taming the Screw by Tyson Stelzer

'Tyson is a young Australian wine journalist with a devastating ability to see the bigger picture and bring together disparate threads of a subject into one cohesive and seminal work. He is a long-time advocate of the theory and application of screw caps and in his latest book he has laid bare the subject so we all can pick over the infinitesimal detail of this industry saving closure.

'The most critical factor affecting wine production today is ensuring that the wine that is put into the bottle by the winemaker around the world makes its way to the consumer in perfect condition. Over the last decade many different sorts of closures have been trialled and put into production around the planet. To date, only screw caps have given me true peace of mind that my readers and restaurant customers will get exactly what I have tasted and enjoyed and they have ordered. Tyson Stelzer, in a collaboration with Jeffrey Grosset, Michael Brajkovich MW and Dr John Forrest have, for the very first time, written a ground-breaking book detailing all of the information collated on the subject of screw caps. In time this may well be regarded with as much gravitas as Knowing and Making Wine (Peynaud), so seminal, cutting edge and well researched is its content. We are drinking more and more wine every day in the world, and the quality control aspect of this wonderful product is critical. By allowing winemakers and those associated with the wine world to have access to this fantastic data, Tyson is allowing those of us who have been slow to grasp the theory or reluctant or worried that the consumer might react badly to accept the necessity for this change. This is an opportunity to come up to speed and have the confidence to make that leap.

'In the absence of another viable alternative, I wholeheartedly commend screw caps themselves, the research that is ongoing into making this closure the answer to the wine world's biggest problem and Taming the Screw: A manual for winemaking with screw caps to you.

'This is essential reading for anyone who takes wine and winemaking seriously.'

Matthew Jukes 27th April 2005
Winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year Trophy; wine writer for the Daily Mail's Weekend Magazine; palate behind the cult wine website www.matthewjukes.com; author of the UK's no.1 best-selling wine guide The Wine List 2005 and wine buyer for Bibendum Restaurant and Oyster Bar, The Hyatt Regency - The Churchill and the multi-award winning Chutney Mary Group.

'A ‘how-to’ book, Taming the Screw comprises detailed technical data, reasons for choosing screw caps, winemaking procedures, chemistry, bottling, capping, handling, storage and ageing.'
Grape News, South Africa