When Corks and Wine Simply Do Not Mix
From the most sophisticated setting to Captain Jack Sparrow throwing one back, we all know the basic pillars of wine - the wine, a bottle and a cork.
It really doesn't get more basic than that.
We often accept things without really thinking about them.
The cork on a bottle of wine is one such thing.
Simply put, why a cork? Do you put a cork on your milk? Your beer? What makes wine so special? The answer, of course, is found in the medium of oxygen.
Oxygen oxidizes wine, to wit, spoils it.
A cork is used to create an air tight seal so wine can age gracefully for a few years.
The bottle is stored on its side so the wine flows against the cork, keeping it from drying out, shrinking and letting the evil air in.
So, a cork is always a good thing, right? Nope.
In roughly one in 20 bottles, the cork wine relationship can go bad and you get something called "corked wine".
This does not refer to the closure of the bottle.
Instead, it refers to the taste of the wine.
It is nasty.
Any hint of fruitiness is missing and replaced more by a woody one.
The aftertaste can also be seriously bitter.
Throw in a mildew like smell and you have a bottle of wine gone bad.
So, what exactly happens to bring about a corked wine? The key seems to be a cleaning agent we are all familiar with - chlorine.
Yes, the stuff used in your pool.
Wineries use it to clean corks and various equipment.
If a bit remains behind when the bottle is corked, corked wine can end up being the result.
This is true even if the amount of chlorine is tiny, which is why many wineries are looking at different ways to close off bottles.
A seriously corked wine is easy to diagnose.
The problem is many wines are either slightly effected or in the early phases of degradation.
This can make it a difficult proposition to determine if this is the way the wine is supposed to taste and is simply bad, or if it has been corked.
In fact, this can become the major debate at a wine tasting party.
The only way to really make a determination is to obtain a second bottle of the identical vintage and do a comparison tasting.
Ah, it is a cruel world.
Is there anything in particular you can do to avoid a corked wine? Unfortunately, there really is not.
Just recognize that a wine that smells bad and has a sharp aftertaste may not be a bad vintage.
You might just have a corked bottle.
It really doesn't get more basic than that.
We often accept things without really thinking about them.
The cork on a bottle of wine is one such thing.
Simply put, why a cork? Do you put a cork on your milk? Your beer? What makes wine so special? The answer, of course, is found in the medium of oxygen.
Oxygen oxidizes wine, to wit, spoils it.
A cork is used to create an air tight seal so wine can age gracefully for a few years.
The bottle is stored on its side so the wine flows against the cork, keeping it from drying out, shrinking and letting the evil air in.
So, a cork is always a good thing, right? Nope.
In roughly one in 20 bottles, the cork wine relationship can go bad and you get something called "corked wine".
This does not refer to the closure of the bottle.
Instead, it refers to the taste of the wine.
It is nasty.
Any hint of fruitiness is missing and replaced more by a woody one.
The aftertaste can also be seriously bitter.
Throw in a mildew like smell and you have a bottle of wine gone bad.
So, what exactly happens to bring about a corked wine? The key seems to be a cleaning agent we are all familiar with - chlorine.
Yes, the stuff used in your pool.
Wineries use it to clean corks and various equipment.
If a bit remains behind when the bottle is corked, corked wine can end up being the result.
This is true even if the amount of chlorine is tiny, which is why many wineries are looking at different ways to close off bottles.
A seriously corked wine is easy to diagnose.
The problem is many wines are either slightly effected or in the early phases of degradation.
This can make it a difficult proposition to determine if this is the way the wine is supposed to taste and is simply bad, or if it has been corked.
In fact, this can become the major debate at a wine tasting party.
The only way to really make a determination is to obtain a second bottle of the identical vintage and do a comparison tasting.
Ah, it is a cruel world.
Is there anything in particular you can do to avoid a corked wine? Unfortunately, there really is not.
Just recognize that a wine that smells bad and has a sharp aftertaste may not be a bad vintage.
You might just have a corked bottle.
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