Corked Wine: How can you tell?
Ok, today I’d like to talk about wine being corked. The term “corked” comes from a wine that has become contaminated by a substance called Trichloroanisole (TCA)- usually via the cork. It can effect the flavour of the wine making it taste musty or dull and not as fresh as you’d expect.
You should be able to tell if the wine is corked by swirling and then sniffing it in the glass. One slight exception, you might not be able to tell with a chilled wine until it slightly warms. In any case if you’re out and about dining in a restaurant have the service staff check it for you. It doesnt happen that often, maybe one in ten, but you just never know. So if you have a bottle that has a screw top or a synthetic cork, the only way the wine won’t be good is if it had gone through some extreme temperature changes. Don’t be afraid to ask if you feel your wine might be “corked”! There’s nothing worse than having a bad bottle of wine with a fabulous dinner.
Have a great Wednesday.
Deb
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January 18th, 2012 at 7:50 am
I’m sensitive to corked wine flavor, I can pick it up striaght away. I’ve been with folks drinking really corked wine that had no idea, there seem to be variations of corkiness as well, some with a slight off odor, others that taste like wet basement. Waitstaff always tend to do the first tasting pour, but in all my life I’ve never heard them explain what to look for to a customer, strange…
January 18th, 2012 at 8:47 am
Hi Rich
I am sensitive to corked wines myself, maybe it’s because I drink alot of them
. It’s not that often that you will get a corked bottle of wine with all the new techniques in bottling and the use of screw caps and synthetic corks. In reference to the waitstaff they should sniff the cork after they open it, but it is customary to let the guest try the first taste. Thanks for the post and looking forward to hearing more from you.