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Home > Blogs > Uncorked > Archives > 2006 > January > 10 > Entry
Uncork THIS: Time to Put a Stop to ‘Corked’ Wines
My wine-tasting buddy celebrated a milestone wedding anniversary last year by inviting four other couples to a Cincinnati-area restaurant. To transform the occasion into something even more special, he brought along a three-liter bottle — equivalent to four standard-sized bottles — of 1985 Caymus Special Select Cabernet Sauvignon, one of California1s most highly regarded and prestigious red wines.
The bottle was corked.
A few weeks ago, the same friend brought to a tasting a 1995 Huet Vouvray Cuvee Constance, a legendary dessert wine from France’s Loire Valley that earned a perfect 100-point score from both Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and by Wine Spectator magazine – a rare feat indeed.
It too was corked.
In both cases, the taint hadn’t permeated the wines completely. That almost made it more maddening. The faint aromas of wet cardboard, damp basement, old socks, wet dog — whatever your description of the smell associated with trichloroanisole, or TCA — were just enough to sabotage what should have been mind-blowing wines.
Whether you knew it at the time or not, you’ve tasted TCA-tainted wines. It can happen to an $80 cabernet just as easily as an $8 wine. Estimates vary on how many wines are turning up corked these days: Most run 3 to 5 percent, some reach 7 percent and higher. I’m beginning to suspect the higher estimates may be more accurate.
Ladies and gentlemen, to borrow from Shakespeare, we have suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, and it’s now time to take arms against this sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them. In other words: Enough!
Screwcap producers say their twist-offs represent The Answer, and just in the last few days, a group of New Zealand winemakers have decided to take their campaign for screwcap closures global through an International Screwcap Initiative.
Meanwhile, makers of synthetic corks tout their products, while producers of natural cork insist they can resolve the problem.
I’m leaning toward the screwtop solution.
Too many synthetic corks I’ve encountered don1t want to budge from the bottle. I’ve had corkscrews break in my hands while trying to remove synthetic corks. If these closures are ready for prime time, they haven’t shown it.
And I’m wary of the reassurances from the natural cork producers. To those whose product has fouled far too many wines already, I say: prove yourselves.
The International Screwcap Initiative –- an offshoot from an effort by a group of New Zealand winemakers — have already attracted the support of some large-scale French winemakers. More importantly, perhaps, long-term studies are underway to determine how wines age under a screwcap closure. I’m hoping for positive results.
Some wine aficionados — as well as some who pretend to be — bemoan the loss of the tradition-filled ritual of cork removal. I’ll mourn that loss, too. For about 30 seconds.
I am very interested in knowing what you think about this topic. Pick a question, or weigh in on ‘em all:
— Would you have any hesitation in buying wines closed with a screwcap? What about with synthetic corks? Have you had any negative experiences with those alternative closures?
— What’s your experience been with cork-tainted wines?
— What should my unlucky wine-drinking buddy do about his misfortune? Should he attempt to contact the wineries at this point to complain about wines that were 8 and 20 years old upon consumption? (I know I’d be willing to testify that these wines were not oxidized – they were corked. Period.)
And last but not least: if everybody moves to screwcaps, does that mean I have to change the name of my wine blog to “Unscrewed?”
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
Comments
By justin van der mei
January 26, 2006 10:25 PM | Link to this
I’ll answer to all the questions. To the first I’ll say that screw caps may lack the romance of pulling a sturdy cork from the bottle, but when that bottle is soured by the cork the whole romance is ended abruptly. Which leads me to my response to the second question, which is to say that I have indeed been very disappointed numerous times by the wrath of the cork. And yes, on more than one occasion I’ve returned the bottle, when possible, and recieved my refund. One winery even sent me a new bottle after I emailed them and told of my misery at finding my bottle bespoiled by the unworthy cork. So take action, and by all means, buy screwtops!By Niki
January 15, 2006 8:33 AM | Link to this
The ability to detect TCA is genetic, with some folks able to perceive it at parts per billion, while others may not perceive it until it’s measurable in parts per million. That said, once one becomes familiar with the tell-tale moldy cardboard scent,frequently one becomes increasingly sensitized to it and able to detect TCA contamination at lower levels. As Todd mentioned above, my biggest concern is those wines corked below my perception threshold; how many wines have I dismissed as flat and uninteresting when in reality they were mildly corked? I’m a fan of alternative closures and like both screwcaps and fake corks, particularly NeoCork, although I do wonder how those wines will age. I believe the folks in Australia have been studying how wines age under Stelvin caps (a form of screwcap) for a while now; it would be interesting to see how that study is progressing. Cheers, NikiBy SPRATT
January 13, 2006 12:58 AM | Link to this
Interestingly enough, Penfolds from Australia has a “re-corking program” for those who collect and cellar their wines. They hold seminars throughout the US where one can bring their Grange and other niceties and have them uncorked if it appears that there may be some intrusion of oxygen or some other bug, sampled for excellence by a Penfolds aficionado, topped off if necessary, and then recorked. I do believe that there needs to be some discussion of how you have stored these gems, but otherwise, they stand behind their product as the years go by….By CTheGee
January 12, 2006 10:02 PM | Link to this
Napa Valley’s St. Helena Star newspaper has an article on-line today on the same subject. And Shut My Mouth, the writer says glass is the perfect material for wine. How can I argue with perfection? http://www.sthelenastar.com/articles/2006/01/12/business/local/iq_3238424.txtBy CTheGee
January 12, 2006 9:45 PM | Link to this
Sorry I’m so late to this wonderful discussion. My view is that corks are obsolete. So are 55 Chevys but I still love them. CA wineries are rapidly but tentatively switching, and the good stuff is getting screwcaps too. As long as I can pull a vacuum on a bottle after it’s opened, I guess I’ll not be kicking and skareeming like a character in Piranha Club comix. I had a ‘99 Zin with a plastic cork go bad but I don’t blame the cork. I think a better and perhaps more future forward question to ask ourselves is: Is there a better containment for wine than GLASS?By Don
January 12, 2006 8:08 PM | Link to this
Bob, the obvious solution to your concern, is to use screwcaps or whatever alternative closure you like, on 90-95% of wines being bottled. Then use cork on those wines made to be aged for 20+ years. It still does not prevent the potential problem, but less need for cork could allow the cork producers to provide a better product—maybe even a guarantee to the winemaker. At any rate, we’ve all had at least one corked bottle. Mine was the last of a half case of ‘73 Margaux, opened at a restaurant for a friend’s birthday. It smelled so bad the waiter took it to the dumpster. The other five were great!By Scott T. Clark
January 12, 2006 5:44 PM | Link to this
A few comments. Back in 1999 on a trip to Germany, we had the pleasure of tasting wine with Herr Guntrum of Louis Guntrum in the Rheinhessen. In addition to his estate wines, he is also whatever the German version of a negociant is. In the cellar was a historical display of “bottle stoppers”. He had a big cross-section of a cork oak. I don’t know if we mentioned it, or he did, but the subject of bad corks came up. He said it was a problem for him, and that he had even tried premium corks that cost the equivalent of $0.25 (25 cents)each, but with no noticeable difference. He asked us what the USA market would think of a screwcap, and we were honest in telling him it had a negative connotation. OK, fast forward to 2005. Many premium Australian wines now use Stelvin closures. In November we were in Las Vegas for the American Wine Society national conference, and attended a tasting of the wines of Bonny Doon. All of his wines, with the exception of Bouteille Call, are screwcaps. It too will be screwcap as soon as he can find a producer of 500ml screwtop bottles. They have a hilarious DVD called “Vive Le Screwcap” which I believe is also available on their web site as a download. Watch it, it’s great. Randall Graham is convinced that corks have no place anymore. As romantic as corks are, they contaminate wine. Just this Saturday at Arrow we tasted a bottle of Luzon that was corked, and I asked someone whose palate I respect if he agreed. “No, I’d just say it received a bit of oxygen” Bleah, it stank! Another bottle was opened and it was fine. Some experienced wine drinkers have reached the point where they will accept a corked bottle just because they expect it to happen occasionally. Valid questions need to be asked though. Do you refer to a tainted wine with a screwcap as being “screwed”? In the future, if we bring our own wine to a restaurant will they charge us “screwage”?By Bob
January 12, 2006 3:54 PM | Link to this
This is a very complicated and controversial topic. I wonder if that is why Mark raised the issue. :) When it comes to tradition, I do really like real corks. There are a number of negatives to real corks though beyond the TCA issue. For those of us who enjoy wines that can take decades to mature there is the issue of the corks disintegrating over time. The simple downside to this is the pain involved in pulling the crumply corks, or accidentally stuffing them into the bottle. The real down side is the deterioration to the point that the cork leaks and the wine becomes oxidized. To me an oxidized wine is more undrinkable than one affected by a small about of TCA. Beyond missing the traditional joy of pulling corks (that I think I could get over pretty easily), what concerns me about screw caps is the unknown effect that they will have on the long term ageability of wines. It is bad enough that we have the ‘international’ style of wine making causing some to forsake making the kinds of wines that I enjoy, I fear that an eventual use of screw caps vrs corks may be the final death knell for the wines that I enjoy. I have read what I can find on the subject. This link gives lot of interesting information. http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=2535 I have read a number of discussions about how wines age. Is ‘breathing’ through the cork a part of the equation or is it all an anaerobic chemical reaction? I have heard some of both side of that argument but neither seemed clearly convincing. The above article talks of 2 different liners for the screw caps which allow different levels of oxygen to pass through. This information really raises my concern as to how screw caps will affect the aging properties of the well-aged wines that I enjoy. Screw caps are a great solution for the 99+% of wines that are consumed within 5 years of bottling. I am hoping that there will be more empirical results from long-term aging of wines before any of the really great producers give up on corks. I will suffer through both ‘corked’ and oxidized wines rather than have no classically aged wine at all. Of course this is all probably a moot point for me. It would be at least 15-20 years before they can have good empirical results on long-term wine age ability and then 15-20 more if the classical producers wait for these results to start using screw caps, for old screw cap wines to be ready for me to drink. At that point I probably won’t be up to drinking them. Maybe I’ll just have to worry for the sake of my kids and grandkids, if they acquire my taste for classically aged wines.By Justin Stephen
January 12, 2006 1:25 PM | Link to this
Here is a good website that explains the difference (w/ pics) between molded and extruded synthetic corks: http://www.wineanorak.com/cork.htm Also, this blurb is from the website of a company that makes extruded synthetic corks: “Extrusion is a continuous process and will provide very consistent quality each time you run the product. Injection molding is a batch process which is slower and less consistent. With injection molding, there are frequent density, size and cell-size variations, resulting in inconsistent protection of the wine.” I can’t vouch for how true that is, however, considering the inherent bias of the source.By toddN
January 12, 2006 11:54 AM | Link to this
The truly disturbing trend is bottles that are not overtly corked, but only carry a small amount of TCA; not enough to give of the tell-tale wet dog, damp newspaper aroma, but just enough to make the wine muted and dull. Some professionals have trouble detecting cork at these lower levels (I forget the PPM), let alone the average consumer. All they know is that they did not care for the wine; not enough to think anything was wrong with it as far as taking it back for a refund, only enough to not buy it again — this is what keeps many producers, and all others in the trade awake at night.By Lenn of LENNDEVOURS.com
January 12, 2006 10:00 AM | Link to this
I’d like to see the Aussie-invented Zork Cork catch on…though I admit to not knowing a ton about how it works long-term. I hate synthetics…and too many local winemakers think they are being “cutting edge” by using them.By jens at cincinnati wine warehouse
January 12, 2006 8:33 AM | Link to this
I was one of the accounts that didn’t get to taste some of the wines due to Jenny’s corked bottles. I have noticed that the more wine one drinks, the more sensitive one becomes to the slight taint of cork. In the beginning of my wine career I was clueless probably of a slightly corked bottle, now I am becoming hyper sensitive, and just a slight taint ruins the whole experience. I wonder if others have found this to be the case.By Mark Fisher
January 12, 2006 12:27 AM | Link to this
Justin: Can you explain to us the difference between a molded and an extruded synthetic cork? MarkBy Justin Stephen
January 11, 2006 11:00 PM | Link to this
I can say that molded synthetic corks are not the answer. I continue to have serious oxidation ruination problems with the molded synthetic corks, and on very young wines. They are also the type of synthetic cork that is very difficult to extract from the bottle. Extruded synthetic corks are a much better alternative. They are generally easier to remove, looking and acting much more like a real cork, and I have yet to have a ruined wine, either corked or oxidized, due to one of these corks. I was speaking to the owner of the largest volume winery in Pennsylvania (Blue Mountain) on this very subject several months back. He uses some real cork and some extruded. He indicated that a real cork with his logo stamped on it runs him almost $1 per. The extruded corks, similarly logoed, runs him about a fourth as much. Seems like a win-win to me, but my experiences with extruded corks may be more fortuitous than most.By JennyC
January 11, 2006 8:01 PM | Link to this
Mark, Being in the wine business I understand the logic to the screwcap but I still like the “ambiance,” so to speak, of pulling out a cork. However, today I had an importer with me and we got to our first retail store, opened the wines we were going to sample — and two were corked. Two of the better ones I might add. So the rest of the day we were missing two awesome wines to sample because of corkage. If only they would have been screwcaps!!By Gordo
January 11, 2006 4:28 PM | Link to this
Mark: In the 3 years I sold wine retail and also poured wine, I’ve had some corked wines. The better the wine was supposed to be, the bigger the disappointment. Our customers regularly returned corked wine, we replaced it with an identical bottle (hoping that this one was not corked) and sent the corked back to the distributor for a credit. In this way the customers did not lose any money. However, no one ever returned a wine that was 5+, 10+ years or older wine, so I don’t know what to tell your friend. If he loses those two investments, it would be a double disappointment. I have never had a synthetic cork destroy the opener I was using on it. The only wines I’ve had with a synthetic cork or with a screw cap were advertised (usually) by the winery as being meant to be drunk within a year or two. I would not buy what I would consider to be a truly stellar wine with a synthetic cork nor with a screw cap until someone reputable proves that it allows the wine to age properly. If the readers of this blog do not like it to be called “unscrewed”, you could always change it to “screwed”. Those screw caps go both ways.By Andy
January 11, 2006 2:27 PM | Link to this
How common is TCA used to treat corks? The supplier I have used does not purchase corks treated with chlorine. I think the time of corks has passed. Cork, natural or synthetic, is not cheap. My only concern is that to reduce the threat of oxidation, bottles will need to be filled almost completely full to take up the space of the missing cork. Fine by me, but will that lead to changing labels (because the volume is increased) or how bottles are manufactured?By Larry
January 11, 2006 2:17 PM | Link to this
Mark, You bring up excellent points. I’m probably less sensitive to cork aromas than most. Even had the the opportunity to do an A-B comparison at a winery where the winemaker first opened a corked bottle. I sure didn’t find it objectionable. As to the ‘85 Caymus, there are lots and lots of ‘85 California Cabs that have wound up tasting like dried out cardboard lately. He that ages California Cabs does so at their own risk, that’s why I’ve stopped cellaring them.By cathy
January 11, 2006 1:07 PM | Link to this
jj: You should go to different parties, maybe even find different friends. There is no reason to be ridiculed for bringing wine with a screw-cap to a party.By DanD
January 11, 2006 12:34 PM | Link to this
When I was traveling abroad last Summer I talked to one of the winemakers about the issue of screw caps. He told me that he was experimenting with glass caps. My own feeling is that anything than decreases the risk of a bad bottle of wine is OK with me.By over the top
January 11, 2006 8:41 AM | Link to this
Assuming the cause is the cork and not improper storage, would contacting the winery be worth it? Has anyone had any experience in doing this? I’m not sure contacting Huet would be possible, but what about Caymus???By Roger
January 11, 2006 7:34 AM | Link to this
In the past month we have encountered 4 corked bottles of various costs, which is on the order of 6%. Not only is it a disappointment, it gets expensive, in that most of the bottles were bought years ago and were supposedly “improving with age”. A resounding yes for screw caps no matter the pedigree of the wine.By Mark Fisher
January 11, 2006 7:09 AM | Link to this
Larry: You’re kidding, right? A backup, “extra” 3-Liter ‘85 Caymus SS? Or a backup to a double-100-pointer? Those were one-of-a-kind wines! But you bring up an excellent point: There is no doubt that some folks are more sensitive to the corked aromas than others. But even for those who don’t immediately detect the TCA taint, I’m sure the wines don’t smell or taste as complex or profound as they should. So like you say: Who knows how many of those thousand(s) of bottles you’ve opened over your lifetime were mildly disappointing precisely because they were corked, and you attributed their shortcomings to “bottle variation?” MarkBy Larry
January 11, 2006 4:14 AM | Link to this
Dang, you people got sensitive noses. I don’t want to take a guess at how many thousand bottles of wine I’ve opened, and I can honestly say I can count the number of truly corked wines I would have returned on one hand. Put screw caps on the really cheap stuff- fine and dandy. If it’s $10 and up, it better have at least a synthethic cork. Get a better two stage corkscrew to handle the toughies Mark. Finally, I have to wonder if it’s a bad cork, or just plain faulty winemaking. Did your friend who had bad luck have backup bottles that were obviously superior?By jj
January 11, 2006 3:13 AM | Link to this
I took a bottle of screw capped wine to a party the other night and was made the joke of the evening as a result. It’s an idea that will take time to catch on.By cathy
January 11, 2006 12:08 AM | Link to this
“Unscrewed”??? LOL!! Truthfully, though, ever since Bonny Doon (aka a weird and wacky place) began offering their wines with screwcaps, I have been sold… at least for those wines I’ll be drinking sooner than later (i.e., within a year). Think of it a different way: if you were the chef of a gourmet restaurant with delectable foods, but the plates used to serve them made 3 to 7 percent of the dinners inedible, wouldn’t you change to a different type of plate?By jens at cincinnati wine warehouse
January 10, 2006 11:04 PM | Link to this
Synthetic plugs are aesthetically displeasing, so I vote for screw caps, although there is something primordially satisfying in pulling a real cork out of a real bottle of wine, unless of course it is “corked”. Corked wine sucks. I have heard that 95% of wine is consumed within one week of purchase, so let’s go with screw caps as there is no need to age the wine. On the other 5% put a good cork in it and stand behind it with a guarantee that the wine is good or your money back.By Bradley
January 10, 2006 10:03 PM | Link to this
Bring on the screwcaps. There are no rational reasons for keeping a centuries-old closure method that fails so often. If a major food producer had a 5 to 10% failure in their packaging somebody in QC would get shot. But in the wine business we’re supposed to absorb it and our customers are supposed to “understand” why this happens. I understand why it happens but I don’t understand why we keep putting corks in bottles and continue to think it’s okay.By Richard
January 10, 2006 10:00 PM | Link to this
How does one top Hamlet? As Mr Scrooge once said, Bah, humbug! Get a better corkscrew! On the other hand, having just opened a nice Zin that went the ways of all flesh, it might be time to settle this grapes of wrath and go with the screw caps and harken back to the days of not so ill spent youth drinking good ole boonesfarm. From a styrofoam cup, of course. As for your friend, I’m afraid as Dirty Harry once said, he’s SOL. Don’t wait so long next time.By kirk
January 10, 2006 8:40 PM | Link to this
2 years ago I would have said no way to screw caps, but over the last year have tasted several wines that have changed my mind. They may not be Caymus, but they have been enjoyable and palate friendly. I like the ease of opening, it is just way to convienent to twist open a bottle of Pinot (either the noir or grigio) and enjoy. It’s about time wineries trust that we “get it” and start offering more $15+ juice in screw cap.