Cork taint: What is a “corked” wine?
Corks have been the traditional wine-bottle closure for about 300 years, and when they work well, they make about as good a stopper as anyone has invented. The cork is so enshrined in tradition that most of us chuckle at the very idea of a quality wine closed with a beer cap or jug-wine cap. But the wine industry isn’t laughing. Here’s why: Natural cork is all too often afflicted by a fungus called 2,4,6-tricloroanisole (TCA), a chemical that imparts its flavor to wine and, basically, ruins it. If you’ve ever tasted a wine with a dank, moldy aroma that reminds you of wet cardboard, a damp basement or mushrooms, that’s TCA, and the wine is said to be “corked.” By some estimates, as many as one bottle of wine in 20 is tainted by the TCA fungus. Some wineries have reduced the incidence of corkiness by using expensive corks that undergo intense inspection before use. Even then, however, some afflicted corks get through. Crown caps and screw tops offer alternatives; another modern solution
