Tastevin's cork question

[Thomas]

Whose definition?

In my view, and now that research shows it ain't just corks, the word "corked" is wrong. Even if TCA were just a problem in corks, the word should either be "corky" or simply TCA tainted.

For my wine class, if I haven't come across a tainted wine that week, I use a piece of cardboard dropped into a glass of wine to illustrate the smell--which is a cross between a wet rag and wet cardboard.

Many times I have opened a wine that on the cork and in the first pour I detected what seemed like a hint of taint. The wine would taste ok. But within minutes the wine would truly smell bad and then taste like nothing. It seems that oxygen exposure helps along the taint process.

Of course, there have been equally as many times when the taint was so bad I have not had to pour the wine at all.