Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Twist and Pour: The 7 Best Screw Cap Wines

Mark Stock
By

Once the laughing stock of the wine community, screw cap offerings are in their best form to date. The easy-to-crack wine vessel has become the preferred modus operandi for a lot of great labels. Better still, these labels are taking it seriously, putting some delicious juice in this format.

We’re not just talking about white and pink wine here. Everything from Cabernet Sauvignon to Pinot Noir can find its way into this format. It’s all part of a contemporary wine realm that grows both increasingly more creative and accessible.

Recommended Videos

Perhaps it’s not at all shocking. After all, over the last decade-plus, we’ve seen wine embrace the can, reacquaint itself with the box, and even go the route of the keg. Wineries cautiously dipped their toes in the trend at first, using the screw cap to showcase its weakest cellar work. Now, you can find a whole spectrum of wines beneath the cap, with an increasing amount of mid-range and reserve-level options.

Related

About the only thing a screw cap won’t do is age particularly well. Being airtight, these wines are recommended to be consumed within a year or two of purchase. Which isn’t really an issue here as you’ll be eager dig into them as soon as they arrive on your doorstep.

Here are seven of the best screw-cap wines out there, at the ready for your full enjoyment:

Domaine Matrot 2018 Chardonnay

Domaine Matrot 2018 Chardonnay
Image used with permission by copyright holder

A genuine Burgundian Chardonnay at a reasonable price, this wine is wild-fermented and benefits from almost a year of aging on the lees. Fresh and round with flickers of key lime, poached pear, and flint, it’s got most of the qualities of a white Burgundy three times its price point.

Three Bridges 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon

Three Bridges 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Made from Barossa Valley fruit in Aussie wine country, this wine is wonderfully woodsy. Plum, blackberry, and spice round out a full palate that even shows some herbaceous tones. Cab tends to be and dark fruit driven but the resounding forest floor element of this wine makes it truly unique and worth your time.

Mohua 2019 Sauvignon Blanc

Mohua 2019 Sauvignon Blanc
Image used with permission by copyright holder

A good Sauv Blanc should zap the taster with a persistent acidity and brightness of fruit flavors. This wine from New Zealand does just that, packing in a surprisingly lengthy finish to boot. Enjoy it as you eat through the rest of your tomato crop (bruschetta, anyone?).

Abacela 2019 Albariño

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’re a fan of crisp white wine you need to get to know Albariño. This one from esteemed southern Oregon winery Abacela is one of the best out there, a punchy, zesty number that’s great with all kinds of dishes. The wine is electric in the best sense of the term.

R. Stuart & Co. Big Fire 2018 Pinot Noir

R. Stuart & Co. Big Fire 2018 Pinot Noir
Image used with permission by copyright holder

R. Stuart has long been a respected figure in the Willamette Valley wine scene and one of the first players to really embrace the screw cap. Pinot Noir is particularly challenging to make in a more entry-level format but this one is teeming with balance and layered flavors. Black cherry and fresh fennel notes bloom from this aromatic and easy-drinking wine.

Peter Lauer 2019 Barrel X Riesling

Image used with permission by copyright holder

This offering is the work of Riesling icon Peter Lauer. Made in the Mosel, it’s an off-dry number teeming with character. Quintessentially Riesling, it lures you in with a nose of light petrol and floral notes and keeps you going back for more with a palate of citrus, apple, brine, and a pleasant minerality.

Veramonte 2017 Ritual Chardonnay

Veramonte 2017 Ritual Chardonnay
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Crafted from fruit grown in the gloriously named Casablanca Valley of Chile, this Chardonnay is truly one of a kind. Thanks to extended skin contact, careful aging, and plenty of exposure to the lees, the wine functions more like a red, with savory notes and even some lovely, oxidized nutty flavors (think sherry).

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mark Stock
Mark Stock
Contributor
Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…
The best red wine under $20: Our top picks
Interested in a red wine with more quality than its sub-$20 price tag would suggest? Read on
Red wine being poured into glass

Anybody who's been abroad knows you can drink great wine on the cheap. Can you do the same here in the U.S.? The answer is yes, if you know what to look for.

The American wine scene is as vibrant as ever, and with that comes a whole host of options, from bottom shelf to high-end collector's items. In the red wine category, there's an ocean of riches to enjoy, from food-friendly Chianti to winter-ready cabernet franc. They come from all over, from the countryside of Italy to California's Sonoma County and even Washington state.

Read more
The best wine varietals for mulled wine
Try one these if you're having mulled wine
Glass of mulled wine with a cinnamon stick on top

Mulled wine completes a natural progression our collective taste seems to go through every year. Spring is for pink wine and summer for white, while fall and winter lead us to red. Come the holidays, we need an even heftier adaptation of wine -- one hit with generous amounts of citrus and spice and ladled into your favorite mug, piping hot.

We're not beholden to that progression, because we love a great sauvignon blanc in mid-winter just as we sometimes crave a quality pinot noir on the hottest day of the year. But it's tough to argue the many merits of mulled wine around the holidays, perhaps as an alternative to spiked eggnog or just a clever European way to repurpose a wine when snow is in the forecast.

Read more
The 6 best wine club memberships you can get, hands down
Looking to join a wine club? These are your best options
An overhead shot of an empty wine glass, a glass filled with wine, wine bottles, and differently sized red wooden horses on pink table.

It's tough to imagine a better era for wine than the one we're living in. From canned wine that actually tastes good to brilliant sommeliers opening our eyes and palates up to exciting offerings, it's a fine time to be alive and sipping.

Now, there are a lot of wine clubs out there. Every outlet or public figure seems to be offering one, from Martha Stewart to the Wall Street Journal. Frankly, many are worth ignoring. But a good club is a godsend, outfitting you with unusual or hard-to-find wines you can enjoy at home. Better, the selections are often vetted by industry pros, meaning they're also guaranteed to impress when you pop the cork.

Read more