Imagine my angst when I received two bottles of wine in my wine club selection from Ste. Michelle winery (very snobbish establishment) that have screw tops.
I feel like I need to drink it asap before it turns to vinegar.
I don't want to burst your balloon, but a lot of the higher end wineries are going with screw tops. They eliminate the problem with "corking" where wine is contaminated by mold contained in the cork. If you've ever had corked wine, you'd know it. Not very enjoyable. The screw tops, though less elegant, totally eliminate the problem.
Cork taint is a broad term referring to a set of undesirable smells or tastes found in a bottle of wine, especially spoilage that can only be detected after bottling, aging and opening. Though modern studies have shown that other factors can also be responsible for taint – including wooden barrels, storage conditions and the transportation of corks and wine – the cork is normally considered to be responsible, and a wine found to be tainted on opening is said to be "corked". Cork taint can affect wines irrespective of price and quality level.
The chief cause of cork taint is the presence of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) in the wine. Corked wine containing TCA has a characteristic odor, variously described as resembling a moldy newspaper, wet dog, damp cloth, or damp basement. In almost all cases of corked wine the wine's native aromas are reduced significantly, and a very tainted wine is completely undrinkable (though harmless). While the human threshold for detecting TCA is measured in the single-digit parts per trillion, this can vary by several orders of magnitude depending on an individual's sensitivity. Detection is also complicated by the olfactory system's particularly quick habituation to TCA, making the smell less |
