There are variable amounts of cork taint, and people’s perceptions of cork taint are likewise varied.
Because cork taint is frequently mistaken, it is also frequently misunderstood.
It’s helpful to know the difference between wine that is defective and just a pour you don’t like too much, whether you’re studying with a professional tasting group or sniffing a glass in a restaurant as your waitress and friends look on eagerly. You’ll be better equipped to decide which wines you like and why by understanding what cork taint is and isn’t.
Here’s how to determine whether your wine has a corked bottle and what you can do to fix it.
Cork taint: what is it?
One of the many defects that can appear in wine is cork taint, along with volatile acidity, mild damage, and oxidation. It happens when wine comes into touch with 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, also known as TCA.
Consuming TCA is not harmful; it is only unpleasant. The damp newspaper, cardboard, or filthy sock notes that my classmates so expertly detected will, at best, muddle and, at worst, hide the flavors and aromas of corked wine.
Cork taint has a variety of reasons. To protect themselves from specific fungicides and insecticides, some cork trees produce TCA in their bark. Corks made from one of those affected trees have the potential to introduce TCA chemicals into wine manufacturing and packaging facilities.
TCA can also happen when bleach interacts with lignin, an organic compound found in many types of wood. In this case, cleaning agents may really transport TCA to various winemaking locations.
Wines with screw caps or glass closures may have cork taint. It can transfer into barrels and cellars, she adds. Yet, she claims that wines with conventional corks are more likely to experience it.
Even then, it’s not very common. Cork taint only impacts 5 or 7% of wine globally, but it still occupies a significant space in consumers’ hearts, minds, and tastings. Cork taint isn’t the only problem a wine could have, It’s simply what most people are familiar with.
How to spot tainted cork
The level of contamination, the taster’s sensitivity, and the wine’s production method are some of the elements that affect how simple it is to detect a corked wine.
One way to tell if a bottle of wine is cork tainted is to smell the wet end of the cork itself. Even if the cork is slightly damaged, the wine will still smell and taste like wine. It will taste and smell damp, moldy, and cardboard-like if it is highly corked.
Pour a little bit of wine into a glass and swirl it if there isn’t anything out of the ordinary smelling or if there isn’t a cork available. Aeration intensifies the corked wine’s distinctive musty, moldy, and wet-cardboard odors, making it simpler to spot the problem.
Light-bodied Provençal rosés prepared in stainless steel tanks may be simpler for some people to detect cork taint in than huge, hearty California Cabernet Sauvignons that spend years aging in oak.
In either case, perfection comes with practice. The more people are exposed to the taste and smell of corked wine, the easier it will be for them to recognize it.
How to handle a bottle of corked wine that you purchase
Bring a bottle of wine back to the seller if you fear it may be corked after opening it at home. If only one or two glasses are missing, the salesman will probably be able to exchange it for another bottle without charging you. Some individuals will drink half a bottle and say, “Well, it was corked.”
Similar to this, ask your waitress for their opinion if you order wine at a pub or restaurant and suspect it might be corked. Asking nicely, “I think this wine might be off, would you mind sniffing it?” should get the job done. It occurs. As experts in the wine industry, we recognize that there are defects in wine.
The sole remedy for a defective bottle is to remove it from circulation because TCA contamination cannot be fixed or reversed. Thankfully, a store, bar, or restaurant frequently has the option of returning damaged bottles to their suppliers for a refund.
Any wine shop, bar, or restaurant worth its salt will want to leave you with something you adore in your glass, Drinking a lousy bottle of wine does no one any good.