New camouflage: The WineFritz sleeve fits over the bottle and opens unsightly screw tops, $24.95; to order, call 866-374-8948 or go to http://www.winefritz.com./

One has to wonder about the new product introduced by Tom and Shari Scholten, owners of Wine Spectator Award of Excellence-winning Fritz Alpine Bistro in Keystone, Colo. The Scholtens were having such a hard time selling screw-capped wines to customers that they conducted a year of research on the subject. Turns out that many diners thought screw-capped wines were cheap and preferred the traditional tableside ceremony associated with--you guessed it--a corkscrew. Because screw caps don't require a tool for opening, the Scholtens did the logical thing: They invented one. The new Wine Fritz is basically an empty metal cylinder that goes over the cap, pulls it off and holds it. "We felt we needed to invent something radically different from a corkscrew to give screw-cap wines the presentation protocol they deserve," explains Tom. Not only is the restaurant now selling screw-capped bottles, the Scholtens have sold about 500 Wine Fritzes since the product's introduction two weeks ago. Unfiltered has to give the couple high marks on more than one count. They've won a few hearts and minds over to a better means of preserving wine and they're raking in the money--selling a tool that does the same thing that a hand with an opposable thumb is perfectly capable of doing on its own.

Tool puts fancy twist on screw-cap wines

Screw-cap wines have moved beyond the realm of Boone's Farm with an increasing number of higher-end vintners coming around to the idea that they actually preserve wine better than traditional corks.

Even that knowledge can't quite eliminate the fact that opening screw-top wine - even an expensive bottle - feels, well, tacky.

Enter the Wine Fritz, a new tool created by Shari and Tom Scholten, owners of the Fritz Alpine Bistro in Keystone. The restaurateurs invented the wine opener, which fits over the top of the wine bottle and aids in unscrewing the cap, as a way to add a little presentation to the process. The Scholtens say the tool also amplifies the cracking sound that's made when the cap's seal is broken.

"Wine is all about presentation and celebration, and I wondered why screw caps couldn't have a tool that gave them more presentation," Shari Scholten said.

The couple debuted the Wine Fritz earlier this month at Trios Enoteca in Lower Downtown. The restaurant joins California Cafe and the Fritz Alpine Bistro as an early adopter of the new system.

The couple is selling the Wine Fritz online at winefritz.com and is working to make it available at retail stores.

Rocky Mountain News  3/11/06 http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/other_business/article/0,2777,DRMN_23916_4532577,00.html

Tidbits: Tom and Shari Scholten, the owners of the Alpine Bistro in Keystone, know their wines. They also know that some of the best wines available use screw caps because they provide the best seal for bottled wines.

Yet customers and servers alike often prefer cork stoppers. For most people, the romance and sophistication that wine symbolizes is diminished with screw caps, which historically have been associated with cheap wine. The husband-and-wife team designed the Wine Fritz to bring the attention back to the wine.

"Besides its obvious use of opening wine, it adds presentation, protocol and celebration to the opening of a screw-cap wine that is equal to that of opening a cork bottle," they say.

The tool slips over the bottle neck, grips the screw cap, and when it's twisted, amplifies the cracking sound. The tool is designed to hold the cap after it's been opened and can remain on the bottle as a stopper.

Along with the Alpine Bistro, the Wine Fritz is being used by the California Cafe and Trios Enoteca downtown.

By 2014, 75% of wines in the U.S. will be sealed with screw caps, according to the New York Times. Screw caps protect the wine far better than corks, which allow up to 15% of wines bottled with them to be tainted, based on a screw cap closure study done by Hogue Cellars. Yet many people still think all screw cap wines are inferior.

Screw caps have an image problem. The new Wine Fritz™ tool is going to solve it.

Keystone, Colorado restaurant owners Tom and Shari Scholten are very familiar with the screw cap issue. Customers’ negative perceptions about screw cap wine threatened to have an impact on their business. Their challenge was two-fold: convincing customers that wines sealed with a screw cap were of high quality, and preserving the tableside ceremony of popping the wine cork, a time-honored tradition for millions of restaurant diners.

Former corporate executives – Tom, a telecom guru and Shari , a new-products whiz for the telecom industry – spent the next year researching the issue. They interviewed fellow restaurateurs, sommeliers and wait staff at restaurants around the country, asking them about customer perceptions of screw caps. The responses were almost unanimously negative. Not only did diners associate screw caps with cheap wine, but they also felt the lack of presentation when the cap was unscrewed detracted from the dining experience. This led to a feeling of embarrassment on the part of the restaurant staff in presenting the wine, and reluctance to recommend screw cap wines to their customers. In other words, a service protocol dilemma.

With the popularity of screw cap wines on the rise, Tom and Shari saw the opportunity to help both wine consumers and their business. They teamed with a design engineer and food and wine lover to create Wine Fritz™ tool, a simple, attractive solution to the screw cap’s image problem.

The Wine Fritz™ tool does for screw caps what the corkscrew does for wine. It celebrates the opening of the bottle and adds a bit of formality and anticipation. Elegant in its simplicity, this simple tool makes screw-capped wines as romantic and sophisticated as their corked cousins. And, left on top of the bottle, the Wine Fritz™ tool not only enhances the screw cap, it becomes as much a topic of conversation as the wine itself.

Using the tool is easy – simply slip it over the screw cap. The patented grooved mechanism inside the tool grabs the screw cap with its teeth creating a distinctive sound. When the presenter makes the turn with the tool, the cap is contained in the Wine Fritz™ tool cavity. The cap is easily extracted with a simple thumb motion or the tool can remain on the wine bottle as a stopper.

“The Wine Fritz™ tool grew out of our passion for food, wine, skiing and the European mountain lifestyle,” says Shari, whose maiden name is Fritz. “Tom and I own and operate Fritz Alpine Bistro in the heart of Keystone Ski Resort, and we’re finding more and more screw cap wines that we love. This is a way for us to introduce those wines to our customers in a way that will interest them and make them feel comfortable.”

“Many of our customers have become personal friends, and they’ve traveled to places like New Zealand, where screw caps have really caught on,” adds Tom. “We believe the Wine Fritz™ tool will help the American consumer market embrace screw caps as well.”