Wine Talk: The Cork Problem

Wine Talk: The Cork Problem
It's high time to return to natural cork as the primary wine closure, especially for age-worthy red wines. Marko Poplasen/Shutterstock
Updated:

You may recall the issue of so-called cork taint that ravaged the wine industry not so long ago.

Many natural corks were infected with a compound called TCA (short for trichloroanisole, which forms through interactions between plant phenols, chlorine, and mold). TCA was a huge problem until recently, spoiling many bottles of wine, including some of the most expensive, with an unpleasant, musty aroma.

Robert Whitley
Robert Whitley
Author
Related Topics