Molecule In Corked Wine Plugs Up Your Nose

sciencehabit writes "Ever send a bottle of wine back at a restaurant? If you weren't just being a pretentious snob, then it was probably because the wine seemed 'corked' — had a musty odor and didn't taste quite right. Most likely, the wine was contaminated with a molecule called 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA), the main cause of cork taint. But a new study by Japanese researchers concludes that you do not smell TCA directly; rather, TCA blocks up your sense of smell and distorts your ability to detect odors. The findings could help the food and beverage industry improve its products and lead to less embarrassment for both you and your waiter."

Comments

So stop using corks

[geek]

Seriously, other than nostalgia why are they still using corks when much better methods have existed for decades?

Re:So stop using corks

[binarylarry]

"Greetings sir, I've selected the finest cans of wine for your dining experience tonight. Would you like some pork rhines to help wash that merlot down?"

Re:So stop using corks

[Nerdfest]

Very true. Stelvin closures, Plastic corks, glass stoppers, all superior. The really amazing part if all the labour that goes into each real cork. Cut, cleaned, bleached, sorted, the re-sorted, much of it by hand. It's actually amazing that they're so cheap. It really sucks when a bad $0.30 cork ruins a 60$ bottle of wine.

Re:So stop using corks

[bill_mcgonigle]

Seriously, other than nostalgia why are they still using corks when much better methods have existed for decades?

There's almost nothing rational in the entire wine economy.

Re:So stop using corks

[DNS-and-BIND]

In fact, a box is one of the best ways to store and distribute wine.

Re:So stop using corks

[horm]

All that work creates jobs. Do you want to destroy American jobs?

Re:So stop using corks

[blueg3]

Plastic corks, glass stoppers

No, no. Those things suck. Plastic corks are like regular corks, except they don't get moldy and they're a royal pain to get out of the bottle. Glass stoppers are easy to get out unless you break a bottle opener on it by accident. They're also vaguely resealable.

There are two modern methods that are amazing for wine. Screw caps are stupid easy to use, cheap, and resealable. Modern, pioneering winemakers that don't worry about what people think about the presentation use screw caps. (They also often make great wine at affordable prices.) The other method is the box (or rather, a bag inside a box). A box looks completely classless, but it's one of the best ways of storing wine because pouring wine doesn't expose any of the remaining wine to oxidation. This means you can make a (disturbingly compact) 3L box of wine and use it over the course of a week. Or two days. Or a month. The wine stays good. Mercifully, some people -- not all Australian -- are making good wine in boxes now.

Re:So stop using corks

[arth1]

But sometimes you want the oxidation. A couple of my favourite wines need decanting before the flavour is right.

Re:So stop using corks

[mrmeval]

Bag in a box wine review: The polyvinylchloride adds a particularly delightful emphasis to the cardboard while the shades of petroleum
byproducts are a welcome ablative to the virus stunted grapes musty
grandeur.
--mrmeval 2007

Re:So stop using corks

[aXis100]

You can still decant the amount you'll be drinking that night (e.g. usign a fast breather) and leave the rest in the box for another day.

Seriously, was that so hard to figure out?