>Can you describe a tainted cork? Maybe I'm missing something huge here ...<
Well, I have to say, I have stood at wine fairs and watched dozens of people taste obviously corked wine and not utter a complaint. Is this because they don't know what corked wine is? Or are too shy? I suspect plenty of both. I teach wine classes, and many people, even regular drinkers, are unaware that the flavors corked wines deliver are not natural and are defects.
Aintd, with all due respect, I think you need to research this issue quite a bit more. When you say things like,
>It's just there is no problem with corks. If there is a failure, then it's an exception, too bad ... tough luck ... but noone really thinks of it as an issue and a tendency.<
you are literally stating the opposite of conventional wisdom. No one thinks it is an issue? In fact, it is virtually universally accepted that it is a problem. EVERYONE thinks it is an issue. The only people who differ are those making the corks.
First, this is hardly an American problem as all the corks come from Portugal.
Second, the number of wineries reporting issues with TCA taint, in famous scandals, range all over the world. Currently, BV Vineyards is addressing such a scandal, but French wineries have, too. I've had badly corked wines from everywhere, Germany, Spain, South Africa, USA, Australia, France, Italy. No one is immune. At one dinner I had corked Yquem. At another, I had two famous French wines corked, back to back. Surely, it is not simply an American issue.
Here's one article on a big scandal with an Italian producer recently:
<I>
News 12/04/2001
Top Piedmontese Producer Finds Cork Taint Problem in 1997 Barolos By Jo Cooke
Despite 1997 being hailed as one of the greatest vintages in Piedmont, one of the region's best-known producers, Elio Altare, will not be releasing his Barolos, due to a contamination problem. The respected Italian winemaker believes that the cause can be traced to a batch of bad corks, and he is suing his cork supplier for about $650,000 in damages.
Altare estimates that more than 2,300 cases of his wines have been affected: almost all of his 1997 Barolo, 1997 Barolo Brunate and 1997 Barolo Vigneto Arborina, as well as his three 1998 Langhe DOC reds -- Arborina, La Villa and Larigi. None of the wines had left the winery before he discovered the problem and decided not to sell them.
During prerelease tastings in Italy late last year and early this year, Altare discovered the musty aromas and dry papery flavors characteristic of corky wines. Altare then organized independent tasting teams of Italian wine experts to examine his wines, serving those that he suspected of being tainted alongside others that were not corked. "The results of the test proved conclusively that 95 percent of the wine with the 'suspect' cork was contaminated," said Altare. "The wines all tasted corky."
A local laboratory also analyzed the levels of TCA -- trichloroanisole, the chemical considered to be the cause of many cases of corky wines -- in a number of his 1997 and '98 reds and found them extremely high, said Altare. TCA, which is formed by the reaction of phenols (organic compounds present in cork, grapes and other plants) with molds and chlorine, is known to develop on live cork-oak trees, during processing, or after corks have been shipped to winemakers.
"It's absurd," Altare lamented. "I spend a year working the vines. I spend millions of lira on vineyard rental. I invest further millions on new oak barrels. Then the whole thing is ruined by corks that cost 1,000 lira [about 45 cents] apiece."
The preliminary court hearing on the matter is set for May 18, in Alba, Italy. Altare said he would have to convince the court that the fault lies with the cork supplier and that the corks did not become contaminated during the two months they spent in his possession before bottling. Due to Italian legal procedures, he would not reveal the name of the cork supplier.
"Italian wine laws stipulate that I can use only corks to close my bottles," he said, in frustration. "On the other hand, there is no law, at present, that requires the cork supplier to issue a guarantee that his product is uncontaminated. It's all done on trust. ... I can't believe that, while we're sending people to the moon, we can't, at the same time, remove mold from a cork." </i>
Or, as wine writer Jamie Goode wrote in his online publication, "The <B>widespread existence of cork taint, caused by chloroanisole compounds, is now universally acknowledged,</b> although there is still debate over the prevalence. Whether it is 2%, or 5% - or as some claim, as high as 7% - it's a huge problem, and so wine producers have been looking for alternative closures for some time." Note that he is British, not American, and tastes his wines there.
Estimates vary on how many wines are "corked." Estimates generally fall in a 3 to 8% range. No one knows for sure. One recent study from the Department of Enology and Viticulture at U.C. Davis, one of the world's leading enology schools, stated that about 5 percent of the wine ...contains cork taint, or trichloroanisole (TCA). ... It can range from a subtle "off" flavoring to an odor that smells like a damp cellar, mildew or wet cardboard. Regardless of the origin, price or brand, all wines are susceptible."
One issue that is a huge problem is that many corked wines are only subtly corked. Meaning, the level of TCA is imperceptible to most in terms of creating that wet cardboard note characteristic of corked wines. BUT the TCA still robs the wine's fruit of vibrancy and flavor, making it seem dull and flat. The reality is that corked wines are probably a bigger problem than perceived.
No one can make a case that wines are never corked, or that there is no problem, or that it is only an American problem.
