Corked wine

[Norvis]

I have heard of wine flavour being adversely affected by being 'corked'. What does this mean exactly?

[Thomas]

"Corked" is not a good word, since all wine that is not capped with a screw cap or plastic stopper is corked. "Tainted Cork" is a better reference, and it identifies the problem accurately, for the wine was ruined by a cork that was tainted by bacteria growth; there is a long technical explanation of how it happens. Estimates of wine ruined by tainted cork run from 2 to 5 %.

[Innkeeper]

To my mind, a much bigger problem than corked wine is cooked wine. This occurs when wine is shipped by container ships or transcontinental rail in uncontrolled temperatures exceeding 90% F. (to hell with Parker's 70%). This just about completely ruins wine. Have also seen with my own eyes, cases of wine sitting outside so-called respectable wineries in 100% heat.

Now, a new problem. Was on an island in the middle of Penobscot Bay for a lobster bake the other night with 30 other people, and the only wine opener. Somebody brought me a Villa Maria, Marlborough, Sauvignon Blanc to open. I prefer their Hawkes Bay, but this was one of their new screw tops, of which I thought I was a fan. The capsule was made out of the same material as either the Monitor or the Merrimack or both. I cut myself in six different places just trying to get the capsule off. After that, the screw top was easy, but it took an hour to stop the bleeding.