Which wines are more prone to being corked: whites or reds?

Totally unscientific, but I have been wondering about this lately. Yeah, I don't have enough to do at work.

The correct answer, I suspect, is that the color of the wine has nothing whatsoever to do with whether a wine will be contaminated with TCA.

Having said that, based on my years of opening wines only to be disappointed, I would have to say that I feel red wines are more susceptible to being corked.

Comments?

Of the eleven corked bottles we have opened ten have been white.

Loire Whites

Rhone Reds

[David M. Bueker]

Assuming all corks are equal in order to simplify the discussion, all wines rae equally likely to be corked.

White wines are more likely to show it.

David, it should be the same, but for whatever reason, Rhone reds and Loire whites seem to have a much higher percentage of TCA. It could just be random luck, but that's what I've encountered.

Isn't TCA more prevalent in young cork bark? If so, wineries that purchase the cheaper (or reformed) young corks would be affected more.

Also, since TCA can appear in barrels and other areas, the conditions of wineries would be a factor as well, no?




Best,
Joe

[David M. Bueker]

David, it should be the same, but for whatever reason, Rhone reds and Loire whites seem to have a much higher percentage of TCA. It could just be random luck, but that's what I've encountered.

Isn't TCA more prevalent in young cork bark? If so, wineries that purchase the cheaper (or reformed) young corks would be affected more.

Also, since TCA can appear in barrels and other areas, the conditions of wineries would be a factor as well, no?




Best,
Joe

There are a zillion facotrs at play, but as far as random chance the odds should be the same. People tend to notice TCA more in things like Loire and German whites because the flavors are so transparent. that TCA just plows right through them.

I'd agree with David, that it's the transparency of those wines that make borderline corktaint more evident when it might get missed in say a big red.

And I'd nominate Loire Chenin for "most likely to generate debate about whether its corked or not."

Thanks for posting this question Bruce. For years I drank only red wine (with very few exceptions), and it's only this year that's I've been learning about white wine.

Corkiness has been a constant problem with my red wines -- 5 to 10% on an annual basis -- but I've rarely had a corked white wine.

But then I've rarely drunk white wine. :-)

I'll be more alert in future -- thanks. Bob

This is a question where the answer seems obvious - it should be 50-50 - but the previous responses definitely raise questions.

I would say that the probability of a whole lot of wine being tainted with TCA would be higher for red wines than white due to their increased exposure to environments where fungus may be producing TCA - eg. barrel cellars.

White wines and roses are much more likely to use a screw cap or synthetic cork so these individual bottles would not be contaminated via a cork (although the whole lot could be contaminated in the winery).

Wineries that are selling their wines at a lower profit margin might not be controlling their corks as well as one with a higher budget. Similar logic could be used for purchasing cleaning products that don't contain chlorine bleach. I don't have a feeling as to whether this might affect white or red wines more.

In the end, I would have to guess that red wines might suffer more problems with cork taint. I'm definitely going to start trying to pay more attention.

Lisa

(edited for mistaken conclusion due to posting late at night)

[James Roscoe]

Lisa makes some excellent points. Most of the whites I drink (about 40% of the total) are screwcap or synthetic cork. Therefore almost all of the TCA wines I've had are red or sparkling. I'm fairly tolerant of TCA so a lot of it goes undetected. I also try to get screwcaps or synthetics for anything I'm drinking in the next year or two.

Lisa is spot on eh. Made the same arguement (more or less) at a wine tasting this evening. Nods and approvals!!

Regardless whether red wine or white wine: the TCA is brought in from outside and does not cut itself around the color of the wine. What can be at most is that you notice it less at red wine there red wine i.d.R. a higher tanning substance and tannin density<A> has than white wine. Are you now for example onto wines that to cork taste in any case not not so particularly sensitive (see above), then the impression can arise with you, that at red wine of few wines that one tastes of cork would occur than at white wine.
At white wine that often is really more filigree in the sensory perception become noticeable to you the typical taste of the TCA maybe rather.


Sorry for this "german-english"

RUTH

Yeah, I agree with David.

Reds don't show it as easily - whites show it very readily. I expect there is no real difference in incidence of corkiness though.

I've sat there many times while a corked bottle gets drunk by people either insensitive to TCA or not enough into what they are drinking to care. What do you do - do you send it back when everyone else is happy with it, suffer in silence, or get a glass of something else?

I am one of the group that is fairly sensitive to TCA in terms of detecting it, but I can still drink a lighlty affected bottle without tossing my cookies. At the other ends of the spectrum are those who wouldn't know TCA if you doused them with a bucket of it, and those to whom a whiff repels even the thought of consuming the wine.

I've sat among wine-knowledgeable people who made excuses for the corked bottle - "It still tastes pretty good". Point is that you will never know what the wine might have been as the fruit is certainly muted to one degree or other.

Hello once more,

spoke just with my husband and he think nevertheless there would be differences:
A white wine is in connection with cork more "aggressive" (not means negativ )
what refers to his contents materials for example the acid, and therefore can "attack" the cork more quickly and incorporates the taste more quickly.

I hope, you understand my translation :O)))))))))))

Yours Ruth