Myfanwy

I. Bottle Corks

The Glyn Alkaline Corporation (NYSE:GAC) is one of the world's preeminent manufacturers of plastics, rigid packaging, and packaging systems. Our company offers a selection of products that includes everything from glass bottles and jars to plastic jugs, plastic accessories, bottle corks, and steel drums. We are especially known for the glass bottles and bottle corks that we provide to the winemaking industry. Our natural tapered corks come in nine different sizes and range in price from $0.06 a piece to $0.93 a piece. Although our wine bottles and corks today represent only a fraction of our total business, we take great pride in providing these products at affordable prices, which we have done since our company's founding in 1902. Please read what our customers have to say.

The number 17 natural tapered cork is phenomenal for six gallon glass carboys

-Anonymous 11/14/2025

I don't know much about corks, but a friend tasked me with ordering some for her winery and I found the #6 natural tapered the perfect fit for the typical 750 ml wine bottle. And the corks were super affordable!

-Alice 7/8/2025

II. Neptune Creek Chardonnay: Please sign our guestbook!

Name: Todd in Billings; Sent: 12:46 AM 2/4/2025

I really liked the fireplace in the welcoming area. What kind of stone did you use? Did you use local or imported? I'm a contractor who provides imported stone to clients for different projects.

Name: Alice in Lyme; Sent: 11:47 AM 7/7/2025

A sister of a friend suggested that I visit your winery while I was in the area. I've always been a fan of wines and I was surprised by the wide selection you had to offer. In particular I noted the Sauvignon Blanc that another visitor told me had been compared favorably to a 2023 Mas Andes. I can't wait to give it a try. You have a FABULOUS site btw.

Name: Liam in Melbourne; Sent: 12:53 AM 11/30/2023

Loving this site.

III. Wine Appreciator Magazine: Wine Barrels

I have some serious concerns about the quality of my barrels.

As you may know we're in the midst of a winemaking calamity in the state. I've decided to keep my production stable even though the stats are that wine consumption is at a 90-year low. There are black spots on the vines, basically grapes rotting because they aren't being harvested. But I've decided to keep my vineyard going. I'm not ripping up any of the vineyard to switch to other crops. I have full confidence in the wine industry and in my own product. I have 60 acres of Zinfandel in a beautiful valley out here. My sister Myfanwy actually inherited the winery from our father, but she wasn't up to the task so I bought it from her with my savings. It's been very tough (exceedingly tough), but I did have a few good years until about six years ago. To be honest I've always disliked my sister so I've been thinking about inviting her back out here so I can get rid of her. She lives on the other side of the country now.

Anyway, I had been using old wine barrels for the fermentation process, but I read about a famous winery in France that uses a combination of old barrels and new barrels (about 20% new barrels). It actually would be cheaper for me to continue to use the old barrels, but I may be interested in experimenting with new if there is any conceivable benefit. Anyone know of an affordable supplier of new barrels, like a wholesaler?

Out with the Old

Gladys, Lodi, CA

Gladys: Listen, don't be discouraged. The downturn in the wine industry is an issue that's cropping up all over the country and you're not the first to bring it up. And the suggestion about a combination of old and new barrels is an age-old question. New barrels are used to give some variety to the wine flavor, but as far as I'm concerned there isn't any evidence that it substantially changes the quality of the wine. In this period of economic downturn where some businesses have thousands of cases of unsold wine, I certainly wouldn't be investing any spare income or emergency funds on new barrels. If it ain't broke (you know the rest). I would even suggest buying old wine barrels rather than new if the issue is that you need more barrels. This is just my advice. Best of luck out there.

IV. Life Is For The Living

A glass of wine is the perfect complement to life. We at Le Marquis understand that life is for the living and that for many of you life is just not worth it if you cannot live your best life. Not everyone can live in the beautiful French wine country, but you can enjoy a bottle of Le Marquis red wine. A bottle of our wine goes with everything: the good life most of all. Our grapes feature a delicate blend of spicy and sweet, with a memorable, rich texture. When you have a glass in hand and you are ready to enjoy life, choose Le Marquis.

It's Savignon Blanc Week! Indulge in our popular Savignon Blanc and enjoy 15% CASHBACK.

I ordered a bottle of your Sauvignon Blanc to take with me on a visit to my friend Myfanwy. She lives all alone in a big house out here in Connecticut. She calls it her farm, but really it's just a house that sits on all this sparsely-wooded, unused land. She's lonely out here, but really the problem is that her sister Gladys has asked her to come for a visit and she doesn't particularly want to go. We were sitting in the kitchen when she told me that her sister is a real piece of work and has been imitating her since they were children. Myfanwy was the one who inherited the family property in California although Gladys is older. It's a vineyard that produces a well-known semi-sweet rosé.

So Myfanwy has been invited to her family's property and she feels that she has to go because it's her sister. She doesn't know if there's something's wrong that Gladys isn't telling her about. She doesn't want to go alone. It wasn't hard getting the time off on my end and Myfanwy doesn't work. We flew to Illinois and then took a scenic ride on a train through the Mountain West. Bleak and beautiful. Unpeopled. Myfanwy took lots of naps and I read Guy Debord's La société du spectacle. We reached the vineyard and the house, which sits just back from the gate, and Gladys was waiting for us on the porch. I'd never met Gladys before and I was astonished by the extraordinary resemblance between the sisters. Same height and identical hair color. The hair color's a L'Oréal 4A, a dark ash brown. L'Oréal hair dye lasts up to 28 shampoos.

I sat with Myfanwy in a guest room after dinner and she was shaking. She told me that Gladys's hair isn't naturally that color. It's a fairer shade, but Gladys must have dyed it recently because you can't see her blonde roots. When I ambled down to the kitchen for brunch the next morning, I sat and made small talk with Myfanwy for five minutes only to eventually realize that it was Gladys I was speaking with. She popped a bottle of your Sauvignon Blanc and we drank it at the table. I thought it was so funny because it was only 11 o'clock. I'm not used to having wine with brunch.

Alice, Lyme, CT

V. Carnivale: Contractor to the Winemaking Stars

Believe it or not, now is the perfect time to get your start in the winemaking business. Many wineries are going out of business, and this represents the ideal opportunity for a skilled and well-advised wine enthusiast to hustle their way into the market. If you are considering your launch into the winemaking arena, let us be your guide in these extraordinary times. We have more than fifty years' experience helping newcomers in the market launch their businesses off to a swinging start, frequently with a rolodex of customers already lined up. Carnivale has launched more than 300 wineries all over the country. You can drop into our office or give us a call without any obligation to sign a contract.

The winery of today is not just a site that produces wine, but an experience in which potential customers can visit your homebase and partake in the joie de vivre that drinking a classy bottle of wine suggests. Picture this: a winery nestled amongst sequoia-hugged hills beneath a sun-drenched sky. If you handle it right, your customer might just leave with cases of your most expensive wine. A client recently engaged us in kickstarting their winemaking business. This involved selecting acreage to begin their business, choosing a brand name, designing their print advertisements, and even sitting with the architect to design their winery building. This is an area of expertise that we specialize in: crafting all aspects of your brand. Why? Because in order for a customer to consider purchasing your wine, they must first imagine themselves enjoying your wine. And it all begins with you.

After settling into the winery, Gladys gave me a tour and then she recruited me to help. Myfanwy's suspicions were right. Gladys isn't doing well business-wise and she needs help. Gladys referred me to Carnivale because she'd seen your ad. She figured you could also help some of the old players turn things around. I decided to visit your office, borrowing one of Myfanwy's beater cars: an old Isuzu with scratched and faded blue paint. Myfanwy was standing by the window of her bedroom with her faced pressed forlornly against the window. Your team was so helpful with all your suggestions. I showed you pictures of Gladys's house on the winery, and you suggested she build a new Mediterranean-style mansion or at least undertake a large-scale renovation. I'm not sure she can afford it, but I think it's a great suggestion.

It was late when I drove the Isuzu back to Gladys's place. The house seemed empty as all of the lights were switched off except for the fairy lights in the kitchen. I sat in the kitchen perhaps five minutes when Myfanwy appeared. She said she'd planned to wait up for me but had fallen asleep in her bedroom.

Alice, Lyme, CT

VI. The Terroir of Gordon Dewar

Nothing is more important to Gordon than terroir. He believes in it so much that he brought crates of Barossa earth from Australia to California before he planted the vines for his Australian-inspired wine. Gordon has spent so much of his life working with clients to improve the dirt on their properties that he figured he ought to go the distance when it came time to open his own winery. His Shiraz is full-bodied from very ripe grapes in the Australian fashion. For fermentation, he uses American oak barrels, which add a soft coconut aroma into the wine which already has notes of chocolate and spice. Gordon has spent his career listening to the land, and he teaches his clients and friends how they too can listen to theirs.

Myfanwy was cleaning the dishes in her bathrobe when I awoke the next morning. My sleep was harried with an endless barrage of uncanny, unaccountable dreams. I sat at the low oak table in the kitchen, and I don't think Myfanwy even noticed me until I'd been sitting there for ten minutes. When she finally saw me, she laughed: grinning ear to ear. "Give me all your money," I joked. You know, like I was a burglar that had broken into the house. She said Gladys was out surveying the damaged vines in the vineyard in her jeep. Myfanwy wasn't especially hungry and I wasn't either so we sat and had oatmeal with glasses of chocolate milk. Later that day, we ensconced ourselves on the porch and watched and listened to the people on the neighboring vineyard as they fought with the contractors they'd hired to do work for them. I stood up from the stool I'd been sitting on and marched to the porch steps to hear them better. Soon Myfanwy was behind me: wrapping her arms around my waist. I'd tied the hem of my t-shirt up to reveal my navel because it was so hot. I felt Myfanwy's face against my neck, and then I felt when she kissed me softly on the shoulder. Myfanwy was naturally a shy, highly-strung person, and it would have been highly unlike her to behave this way. That's when I realized that this was Gladys. Myfanwy was already dead.

Alice, Lyme, CT

VII. One of the world's finest wines

Château Dillon Barrois

Pauillac

Appellation Pauillac Contrôlée

Château Dillon Barrois retains its position as one of the region's preeminent wines. A classified First Growth, it was acquired by Baron Philippe Barrois in 1859. It has been in the ownership of his descendants ever since. A site of astounding beauty, it promotes a culture of artistry and respect for tradition. With this in mind, Château Dillon Barrois has enlisted a team of contemporary artists to design a collection of labels to bring its winemaking tradition into the present and to cement its position as one of the world's finest wines. For the 2026 label, Château Dillon Barrois has commissioned Einar Olafson, an Icelandic artist renowned for his large-scale installation art incorporating environmental aspects like air temperature, water, and natural light. Amongst his most famous exhibits was a large installation at the Tate Modern in the early 2000s.

Mis en bouteille au Château Baron Philippe Barrois, S.A.

33250 Pauillac - France

Produit de France

I couldn't help but gaze at her in wonderment. It seemed that she had shed her own skin and become someone else entirely. She'd become more than Myfanwy ever was, and it had been accomplished in such a facile manner. She was better dressed, more at ease, and she brought a pleasant aroma into the house with her Chanel perfume. She wanted to explore the canopies of vine because she still hadn't decided what she'd do with the Cabernet blanc. The place had originally been a Cabernet experimental station before Myfanwy's father had decided to try Zinfandel. I followed Gladys-Myfanwy to a particular canopy that overlooked the crystalline waters of a stream. I hadn't known this calm, sheltered spot existed on the vineyard till then. Gladys-Myfanwy allowed a hand to fall softly upon a cluster of grapes like a grasshopper nimbly alighting atop a dewy leaf. But there was little softness there. She angrily tore the slowly rotting, overripe grapes from the vine and tossed them down onto the dirt. She used the toe of her boot to squash the grapes into a nasty jam.

Alice, Lyme, CT