Studio 360

Here's my initial comment, and I'll try to keep it under 1500 characters even though you don't say that upfront, nor do you say if that includes spaces and punctuation.

You blab away for 30 min discussing several aspects of a topic, but limit my response to 1500 characters, without even saying whether the count includes spaces and punctuation?

Hey! What a concept! What a way to get your listeners to participate. Perhaps you have enough listeners -- but if you insist on limiting the responses, the least you can do is add a counter to the response page so I know how many characters I have left to express myself.

Hi Barbara --

You'll see we've posted "Comment Guidelines" -- we keep lengths short to give other people a chance to weigh in (without having to scroll down too far) -- you're right, we don't have a counter, but the Guidelines offer a pretty good rule of thumb: "If you have to scroll to read your comment, it's probably too long." That said, I'll refer your concern to the web team.

Also I've reposted your comments under this segment (they'd previously appeared under the one about Cheetah Legs) so they start the conversation in the right place. Thanks for writing.

Watch for two comments:

I think that boxed & screw-top wines need reviewed in the context of economy. Not The Economy, but in the context of focusing on the production of good wine, not traditional bottling. Good, quality wineries need to concentrate on the blends, the grapes and the ingredients. If they can save a penny or two on the packaging, I'm all for it. I recently purchased a bottle of a Ti Point Sauvignon Blanc from Malrborough, New Zealand sold under the Kirkland Label at Costco. I purchased one bottle for a penny under 10 bucks, and it wasn't until I got home that I realized that it was a screw-top bottle. Disappointed, I opened it, and was very pleasantly surprised at the crisp, clean flavor of the wine. I may not be able to discuss differences in vintage, grape, soil, weather conditions and all the other minutia of wine making, and what makes the nuance difference between years of the same grape from the same vinard, but I can tell you that this wine compares to the Italian wine I was drinking that was twice the price. I understand that I've given up some things --- sulfites among them -- but I have no issues with the practical considerations of bringing a economically priced wine half way around the world, including a tight seal that is engineered as a screw top rather than a cork.

The second posting of the comment:

Disappointed, I opened it, and was very pleasantly surprised at the crisp, clean flavor of the wine. I may not be able to discuss differences in vintage, grape, soil, weather conditions and all the other minutia of wine making, and what makes the nuance difference between years of the same grape from the same vinard, but I can tell you that this wine compares to the Italian wine I was drinking that was twice the price. I understand that I've given up some things --- sulfites among them -- but I have no issues with the practical considerations of bringing a economically priced wine half way around the world, including a tight seal that is engineered as a screw top rather than a cork. And neither should you. After all, automotive engineering regardless of consumer acceptance, was heralded as a good and wonderful thing. Why do we think that moving from glass bottles and cork stoppers is a step down when it comes to wine? It's not, and shouldn't be considered in that context. Don't you think that as well?

I'm glad you mentioned screw-top wine bottles Barbara, as there seem to be more resistance to screw-tops than there is to cardboard.

New Zealand vinyards pioneered the screw-top technology with such success that now most wine you find on the shelves in NZ is screw-top... unless it is imported!

As a kiwi living in the USA I am surprised by the resistance to screw-tops and consider it to be a bit of wine-snobbery. But, just as you say, it is an economic alternative and a more eco-friendly option.

Studies are now showing that screw-tops preserve the wine longer... no more *corked* wine!

I'm glad you tried it and delighted to see you enjoyed it!

Cheers mate!