How does corked wine smell

If you want to avoid corked wine altogether, the only surefire way is to…avoid cork. In fact, cork taint is the reason why the screw cap was introduced to the wine world in the first place it was previously used exclusively for spirits.

These crystals, which are called tartrate, are a natural by-product of some wines and are totally harmless. How Does Wine Become Corked? They conducted tests on European red and white wines and found that even tiny quantities of TCA could spoil your wine enjoyment. TCA is part of a group of compounds known as haloanisoles and it can be formed following a reaction between plant phenols, mould and chlorine.

Cleaning products containing chlorine were considered a major problem in both the cork industry and in the winery, but efforts have been made to reduce this source of contamination. Using chlorine to help make corks is banned, according to Apcor, the Portuguese cork association. However, studies have shown that TCA can also form on tree bark, prior to cork production, and can also contaminate equipment in the winery. Other compounds in the same family have been associated with cork taint-like aromas in wine, albeit less frequently.

Among them, TBA — or 2,4,6-tribromoanisole — has been traced to preservatives used to treat wood in the winery, for example. Again, wineries have changed processes to help avoid the problem.

Does your wine smell like a damp cardboard box or a wet dog? There is a misconception that wines are more likely to be cork tainted if they are less expensive. The line of thought is that cheaper wine uses less expensive, and therefore inferior quality, cork. Until the day when all natural corks can be reliably and individually tested for TCA and other musty compounds, winemakers and drinkers will have to contend with cork taint.

The best thing you can do as a consumer is learn how to reliably recognize it. The best way is to start by smelling the wet end of the cork every time you open a bottle. Look for a faint or strong musty aroma.

Then smell the wine and look for the same. The more you practice detecting cork taint, the more sensitive you will become to it. Soon you will start to perceive more subtle contaminations.

Wine fault kits that include TCA can also be purchased. Keep in mind, however, that these will have a very strong presentation. You may have had cork-tainted wine and not even noticed. Individual sensitivity to cork taint varies quite widely, with some people able to smell TCA below one part per trillion and others unable to smell it at times that amount. These differences are largely believed to be genetic, although training can help increase sensitivity.

However, the taint can still affect your enjoyment of a wine, even if you are not aware of its presence. Individual perception can also vary. One day you might be able to smell cork taint at two parts per trillion. Another day, you might struggle to identify it at five.

This is because the cork taint itself inhibits olfaction. In some styles and varieties, like many white wines and Pinot Noir , TCA can be detected at lower levels.

This is incorrect. The term should truly be used only for bottles that have a musty presentation. Even wine professionals trained to identify TCA contamination can miss mild cases. In such instances, the wine does not obviously present as cork tainted, but rather seems muted and disappointing. Winemakers utilize a variety of techniques to try and minimize the presence of cork taint. This can include soaking a selection of corks from each bale in a neutral alcohol solution and then smelling each to look for TCA.

If they find a contaminated cork in a sampling, they reject the entire bale.