Cursed be the cork enclosure!

I opened a bottle of 1990 Grahams Malvedos vintage Port last night. Totally corked. Absolutely stinking of mouldy TCA. I had lovingly cellared this bottle for 17 years, only to have it turn out undrinkable. Fortunately I had another bottle, which was just fine and was all that one would expect it to be.

Corks have to go!

-Paul W.

[David M. Bueker]

Agreed. I lost a bottle of '06 Donnafugata Ben Rye to the Portugese menace on Friday.

Agreed. I lost a bottle of '06 Donnafugata Ben Rye to the Portugese menace on Friday.

Paul and David - I am sorry about your loss. Paul, it is heartbreaking to have stored a bottle so long only to have it dissapoint. David - I am not familier with the term "Portugese menace". Was/is TCA of Portugese origin?

[David M. Bueker]

Most of the natural corks are from Portugal, so it's just a fantasy term for "corked."

Got it. Thanks, David.

Paul, why not send an email to Graham's, asking them what they think about it and what they will do for you. I really think it is time for us wine lovers to start pestering the producers, letting them know that we do not accept this situation any longer.

Cheers,
Anders

I'd start with the retailer first.

Paul, I've returned corked wines to BLM, Gordon's and Wine Cask in Somerville with no problem at all.

One of my definitions of an honest and reliable dealer relates to the one who will replace a bottle of obviously corked wine at current value and that regardless of whether the wine has been in your cellar for 3 months, 13 years, or longer.

Best
Rogov

Still, I think it would be a stronger message if we sent it directly to the producers. Of course the ideal retailer should refund any defect bottle, but the important thing for me is to get the message to the producers to stop sealing wine bottles with a piece of tree bark and what could be more efficient than letting them know directly the pain we feel, in particular when we open an old bottle we have kept in the cellar for a long while.
/A

I agree with Anders, I opened a bottle of 85 Faively Gevrey Chambertin Les Cazetiers over the weekend that was corked. It was a wine that I have held since release in proper storage. I'm in the business and there is no way that personal disappointment can be made right. Different distributor etc. Take a 25 year old wine to any store and ask for it to be replaced with another wine of commensurate value and they would think you've lost your marbles.

Contrariwise, I don't think corks are going away any time soon, particularly on the high-end wines that you bemoan the loss of. To me, and this may sound stupid, but it not only adds to the mystique associated with fine wine, it sort of comes with the territory, like a dove shoot, if every one you went on was a "limit shoot" it would lose something. I do think that at least half of the wines on the market should be under screwcap. They will solve most of the TCA problems. But I do not believe that a wine will evolve as nicely under screwcap as it does under cork. Just my opinion, but I am willing to accept a 2-3% failure rate to achieve the maximum potential from a wine.

Take a 25 year old wine to any store and ask for it to be replaced with another wine of commensurate value and they would think you've lost your marbles.

I couldn't disagree more. I've taken back a few 20+ year old ports and received store credit for the current retail price.

As have I. After all, the wine was corked when you purchased it. The only qualification I would put on this is that you are known to the store and either you have a receipt or they know you well enough to accept your word that the wine was purchased there. Stores that have been in business for 25 years or longer obviously value their customers...

Best
Rogov

Contrariwise, I don't think corks are going away any time soon, particularly on the high-end wines that you bemoan the loss of. To me, and this may sound stupid, but it not only adds to the mystique associated with fine wine, it sort of comes with the territory, like a dove shoot, if every one you went on was a "limit shoot" it would lose something. I do think that at least half of the wines on the market should be under screwcap. They will solve most of the TCA problems. But I do not believe that a wine will evolve as nicely under screwcap as it does under cork. Just my opinion, but I am willing to accept a 2-3% failure rate to achieve the maximum potential from a wine.

The Romance of Cork, eh? Fooey. If any other food packaging failed as often as corks, they'd be replaced in a heartbeat.

(Also, I have read about much higher failure rates - 6% to 8% - than the figure you quote.)

(Also, I have read about much higher failure rates - 6% to 8% - than the figure you quote.)

Here we go again!

Jeff,

Everyone has a different tolerance for TCA and everyone has different wine buying habits so the % will vary for each of us.

That said, unless the numbers you are seeing are fairly recent, new technology has lowered the number somewhat significantly over the last 10-20 years.

Now the experts can weigh in.

This "expert" ain't gonna say nuttin!!!! Nuttin, nuttin and more nuttin!

As have I. After all, the wine was corked when you purchased it. The only qualification I would put on this is that you are known to the store and either you have a receipt or they know you well enough to accept your word that the wine was purchased there. Stores that have been in business for 25 years or longer obviously value their customers...

Best
Rogov

You're obviously not the average customer in a wine store considering you write a wine column in one of the best newspapers in the area. If Dan Berger (wine writer for numerous publications) said he bought something at our store we would accept it as gospel. No one wants bad publicity on a public level.
Hey people bring in empty bottles to the store and say the wine they drank was corked. We have on many occasions made these bottles good if we know the customer, but an expensive bottle more than 10 years old that's very "iffy". The wholesale on a new bottle of the wine I described that was corked, the wholesale is around a 100.00. If you sell your wine in the store at a reasonable markup one cannot stay in business and throw away $100.00 bills too often.
No expensive product sold on a volume basis would the public accept a 3 to 5% FAILURE RATE.

[David M. Bueker]

No expensive product sold on a volume basis would the public accept a 3 to 5% FAILURE RATE.

Even a 2% failure rate would be unacceptable. Heck, a 2% failure rate on milk (very cheap) would be a scandal played out all over CNN!

Has anyone every encountered TCA/Cork Taint in anything besides wine? I was reading elsewhere that some folks claimed to have encountered it in beer, since there are more brews stoppered by cork now than in the recent past it certainly seems possible that it would be cropping up. That said the wet cardboard issue with beer is usually an oxidation problem. I've certainly never encountered it in beer, and lord knows I've have drunk a lot of corked stoppered beer, or in spirits though maybe the strength there would cover or not allow that fault. There's also the occasional other liquid food product with cork closure.

Thoughts?

TCA Taint has been around a very long time and has been a problem for not only the wine industry but for the entire food and beverage industry. (I believe medicine producers are now having to deal with it. It wasn't until wine lovers started "speaking out" that those who "should of cared" started taking notice. I believe finally in the early 1980's the compound was finally identified and "isolated".

Salute

You're obviously not the average customer in a wine store considering you write a wine column in one of the best newspapers in the area.

I never buy wines in stores at which I am known as a critic. In such cases I send my assistants (if in Israel) or friends (if in the USA or EUrope) to make my purchases for me.

...people bring in empty bottles to the store and say the wine they drank was corked.

If they drank the wine they are not entitled to a refund of any kind. Only if they have opened and tasted the wine, re-sealed it and brought it with them to the store so you can check that the wine is indeed corked and not suffering from some other fault which may not be the problem of the wine (e.g. problems with cellaring) should their request be considered.

As to your (and others') observation that " No expensive product sold on a volume basis would the public accept a 3 to 5% failure rate", I would like to agree but find that rather wishful thinking. Do, for example, please consider how we "accept" the number of cruise missiles that go wildly astry, the number of automobiles and cellular phones that are re-called on an annual basis, and yes, even failures in various space programs. Note that I am not defending either the wine or the cork industry in this. Nor do I think the situation cannot be improved. What I am saying is that bad things happen even to good people.

Best
Rogov

I never buy wines in stores at which I am known as a critic.

That's interesting. Is there any reason? It's not like a restaurant where they can give you special meals. And in this case you're a critic of wine not wine shops?

Rahasaan, Hi...

Simple enough. Once most stores recognize you as a critic they want to give you discounts of anywhere up to 50% on the regular price. If not that, they will often "throw in" a few high-end wines in your delivery or take with you packag. Accepting such discounts is clearly a breach of ethics and by not buying personally, those offers do not have to be refused.

Locally (that is to say, in Israel) my assistants are known to the stores but only as regular clients. They do not know that they work for me and receive a regular's discount of 10-15%.

With re assistants: Those good people do not taste for me. Their role is largely in helping set up my blind tastings, as research assistants, in helping answer email, and in helping me keep my schedule more or less in order.

Best
Rogov

Simple enough. Once most stores recognize you as a critic they want to give you discounts of anywhere up to 50% on the regular price. If not that, they will often "throw in" a few high-end wines in your delivery or take with you packag. Accepting such discounts is clearly a breach of ethics and by not buying personally, those offers do not have to be refused.

I guess I sort of understand why you want to avoid any questions but I don't see how this is clearly a breach of ethics. What does the store have to gain by getting in your favor, besides repeat business. (Again, this is assuming that you critique wines and not wine stores). Do the stores expect you to rate the wines favorably? Do they even care? It would be a different story if you were buying directly from wineries who added gifts as a way of getting in your good graces.

I guess the only way I could see this benefiting the stores' profits is if they were trying to hype interest in a particular region that they were known for and any press would indirectly steer more customers to them. But how likely is that.