Heron Hill screw cap device in operation

HAMMONDSPORT, NY -- Heron Hill Winery has put its new screw cap machine into service.

The Keuka Lake facility will release its next bottling of the Game Bird Series with the new closure.

"As part of Heron Hill’s continuing effort to make the freshest, purest Rieslings and Chardonnays, we have invested in an Italian-made Fimer machine capable of bottling wines with either cork or screw cap closures," said owner John Ingle. "We believe the screw cap option will provide the best storage for select products and that it ensures these wines will retain their profile so that consumers may enjoy the wines as our winemaker intended.”

The Game Bird Series will be the first wines on the shelves at Heron Hill’s three locations, restaurants and wine stores. It was developed to honor co-owner Jo Ingle’s father, Wally, a hunter and sportsman and gentleman.

"Our production team has not used a screw capper in past experiences, so we are all very anxious to learn it’s intricacies and see it work," said winemaker Bernard Cannac.

Cannac said screw caps also will be used on the white wines from the Heron Hill Classic line.

"We are choosing wines that do not require bottle aging, like the Chardonnay, Riesling and Muscat," he noted. "The Classic Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc will continue using natural corks because these wines benefit from bottle aging. The Game Bird and whites in the Classic series are ready-to-drink wines, which makes them the perfect candidates for our new screw cap bottling machine. It’s a nice start I think.”

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