{"id":65,"date":"2018-08-17T13:23:41","date_gmt":"2018-08-17T17:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rdilauro.com\/CarpeVino\/?p=65"},"modified":"2018-12-11T10:33:33","modified_gmt":"2018-12-11T15:33:33","slug":"to-cork-or-not-that-is-the-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rdilauro.com\/CarpeVino\/2018\/08\/17\/to-cork-or-not-that-is-the-question\/","title":{"rendered":"Cork"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Every since I was a little boy, I remember all bottles of wine had corks that\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

needed to be pulled out using a winged cork screw.\u00a0 There was always something magical about how the cork screw went into the cork and without a lot of effort, the cord would pop out with\u00a0 little fanfare.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Natural cork is very expensive, it actually adds to the cost of the wine.\u00a0 Cork is grown in Portugal and comes from cork trees\u00a0(Sobreiro) that need to be at least 25 years old.\u00a0 But then the cork can only be harvested (stripped)\u00a0 every 9 years.\u00a0 \u00a0Even though these cork trees\u00a0 can live for over two centuries,\"\"<\/a>\u00a0 there has been a decline in the quantity of cork trees and the quality cork (harvested too soon, poor techniques)\u00a0 That is making natural cork more and more expensive.<\/p>\n

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About 10 years ago, some wine makers came up with the idea of using artificial cork.\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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These corks were so smooth and dense and were excellent in keeping oxygen out.\u00a0 But these corks presented a new challenge.\u00a0 They could be very difficult to remove without breaking the cork screw or chipping the bottle!<\/p>\n

One of the worst enemies of wine is oxygen (oxidation), but at the same time it is also its\u00a0 best friend.\u00a0 Once you open a bottle, the living wine starts to breathe.\u00a0 \u00a0For many young reds, this allows time for those harsh tannins to turn from little brats into cozy comfortable\u00a0 grandparents.<\/em><\/p>\n

At the same time however, once the wine is exposed to the air, it\u00a0 starts to break down.\u00a0 This oxidation process eventually will make the wine almost tasteless over\u00a0 time. (much depends on the type of wine)\u00a0 \u00a0 So what was next?<\/p>\n

The nostalgic screw top<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We all remember those that came on inexpensive bottles of wine and the jug wines.\u00a0 \u00a0But in reality, the screw top is an excellent way to preserve wine.\u00a0 It keeps air from coming into contact with the wine better than all other stoppers.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0One drawback, on that special occasion, do you really want to see the waiter opening a bottle of wine by twisting the cap!<\/em><\/p>\n

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Which is really the best?\u00a0 The best for us or the best for the wine!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is a topic that can go on and on and around and around.\u00a0 \u00a0I know that the old school wine folks will insist that only real cork should be used and that it is the best\u00a0 .\u00a0 \u00a0But why, I question?\u00a0 It does provide the best fit when it comes to being placed in the bottle.\u00a0 BUT since cork is a natural resource, in time, that resource will begin to dry up.<\/p>\n

When that starts to happen, the cost of using natural cork will continue to rise.\u00a0 \u00a0Just like we have to pay more money for daily game tickets because the salaries of the professional athletes continues to rise. All of this is passed on to the consumer.\u00a0 The cost of using natural cork has to be included in the price of the wine.\u00a0 Add to this,\"\"<\/a> that the number of trees in\u00a0 Portugal and Spain producing quality cork is<\/p>\n

diminishing.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

So, its Rocky vs Apollo Creed.<\/em>..\u00a0 \u00a0 The Great Wine Cork Debate!
\nNatural corks vs synthetic corks:\u00a0 Which on wines?<\/p>\n

Weighing in at so many pounds, the challenger *<\/strong>\u00a0S<\/strong><\/span>ynthetic wine corks<\/span> *<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Good
\n<\/strong>-Synthetic corks DO effectively prevent the most annoying ‘cork taint’
\n<\/span><\/em>-The second advantage of synthetic wine corks is simply economics: they’re cheaper
\n<\/span><\/em>The Bad<\/strong>
\n-Synthetic corks don\u2019t expand\/contract within the bottle<\/em>
\n-Synthetic corks can be difficult to remove<\/em>
\n-Synthetic corks can’t allow small amounts of oxygen that help age bottled age\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Standing in the other corner, is our champion from Spain.\u00a0 \u00a0Weighing in at the perfect weigh is\u00a0 *<\/strong>\u00a0The Natural cork<\/span> *<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Good
\n<\/strong>– Harvesting does not kill the trees<\/em>
\n– Can be recycled<\/em>
\n– An old and generally effective method of enclosing wine<\/em>
\n– Allows wine to breathe; best for aging<\/em>
\nThe Bad
\n<\/strong>– Susceptible to cork taint<\/em>
\n–\u00a0Take a long time to age and can only be harvested every 9-12 years<\/em>
\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The WINNER\u00a0 ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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I still remember reading To Cork or Not to Cork by <\/em>George Taber and how interested I became on this simple subject.\u00a0\"\"<\/a> \u00a0 A few paragraphs from his\u00a0 book<\/p>\n

For nearly four centuries virtually every bottle of wine had a cork in it. But starting in the 1970s, a revolution began to topple the cork monopoly. In recent years, the rebellion has been gathering strength. Belatedly, the cork industry began fighting back, while trying to retain its predominant position. Each year 20 billion closures go onto wine bottles, and, increasingly, they are not corks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>
\nThe cause of the onslaught against cork is an obscure chemical compound known as TCA. In amounts as low as several parts per trillion, the compound can make a $400 bottle of wine smell like wet newspaper and taste equally bad. Such wine is said to be “corked.” While cork’s enemies urge people to throw off the old and embrace new closures, millions of wine drinkers around the world are still in love with the romance of the cork and the ceremony of opening a bottle.\u00a0<\/em>
\nWith a thorough command of history, science, winemaking, and marketing, Taber examines all sides of the debate. Along the way, he collects a host of great characters and pivotal moments in the production, storage, and consumption of wine, and paints a truly satisfying portrait of a wholly intriguing controversy. As Australian winemaker Brian Croser describes it: “It’s scary how passionate people can be on this topic. Prejudice and extreme positions have taken over, and science has often gone out the window.”<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Every since I was a little boy, I remember all bottles of wine had corks that\u00a0 needed to be pulled out using a winged cork screw.\u00a0 There was always something magical about how the cork screw went into the cork and without a lot of effort, the cord would pop out with\u00a0 little fanfare.\u00a0 \u00a0 … <\/p>\n

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