Found this article on one of my newsfeeds (taken from
"wineloverspage.com") - thought many of you might also find it interesting.
I'm rather intrigued at the remark attributed to the Portugese cork makers -
that the term 'corked' is misleading --- maybe we should be saying 'tainted'
instead?



Corked?
One of the more frustrating experiences in wine appreciation is the
discovery that the wine you've been looking forward to enjoying was the
victim of a random drive-by slaying perpetrated by a tainted natural cork.


The musty, moldy, mushroomy, chlorine-scented damp-basement and
wet-cardboard stench that cork taint imparts, even in homeopathic amounts,
is sufficient to spoil the enjoyment of your wine and prompt pouring it out,
or if you're willing to make the effort and have a cooperative wine
merchant, taking it back for a refund or exchange.

Even if we grant that the incidence of cork-tainted wine has diminished
somewhat in recent years, thanks to increased quality control efforts by
some cork producers and wine makers, there's no question that a significant
percentage of wines stoppered with natural cork will be spoiled.

But here's a twist, and I don't mean the twist of a screw cap: The other
night I opened a bottle of decent Alsatian wine from a respected producer -
specifically, Trimbach 2002 Pinot Blanc - only to be greeted by the telltale
aroma. Tasting confirmed the first impression: Musty wet-cardboard and fruit
that was muted at best left me in absolutely no doubt. I'll stake my
reputation, such as it is, on my judgement that this wine was corked.

But here's where the story goes off the rails: The bottle was not fitted
with a natural cork. It was closed with a slick-skinned, foam-filled
synthetic stopper, a modern invention explicitly designed as a taint-free
replacement for natural cork.

What's up with that? We've been kicking this topic around on our WineLovers
Discussion Group, and the consensus is that the chemical malefactors
involved in taint - trichloroanisole (TCA) and the less-familiar
tribromoanisole (TBA) and others - is not limited to natural cork. These
compounds may turn up in barrels, in wood used in winery building and other
organic materials that may come in contact with wine.

It's for just this reason that the folks at Amorim - the major Portuguese
cork producer that I had the pleasure of visiting last autumn - object to
the term "corked" to describe tainted wine. Cork defenders argue that taint
comes from many sources and that it's not fair to associate it with the bark
of the Portuguese oak tree.

While I don't buy it completely - most tainted wine is affected by the
cork - this tasting certainly offers a compelling wake-up call and
demonstrates that alternative stoppers can't guarantee that a wine won't
pick up taint from other sources.

I've E-mailed Trimbach asking for comment but at this point have had no
reply. If and when the company responds, I'll pass it on.