I keep hearing about wines that are corked or flawed. What are corked wines?
Carole, February 2007 Technically, a corked wine is a wine that has been infected by the chemical compound, TCA (trichloranisole). Wines can become corked when they are sterilized with a chlorine solution. Wine experts estimate that 3% to 5% of all wines are tainted with this faulty cork problem. Although it rarely is detectable in the taste of the wine, seriously corked wines have a musty smell and make the wines so unpleasant that they become undrinkable. The problem really becomes interesting when the TCA levels are so low that it is difficult to differentiate between corked wines and just bad wines. If you think your purchased wine is corked, return it to the merchant or restaurant server. One word of advice; return the wine as soon as possible and after the first inclination that it is flawed. Returning a mostly consumed bottle probably wont fly!
