Charlotte County Florida Weekly

It’s time to put a plug in this controversy





 

 

The debate rages on, and now it’s starting to swing in an unexpected direction. The argument has to do with the venerable cork, used for centuries as a wine bottle stopper, and its opponent, the newer-technology screw cap.

Why, after all this time, has the industry started to drift away from cork? After all, there’s such romance in having the bottle presented in the restaurant, the faint “pop” as the server extracts the cork, the inspection of same as it’s placed on the table. And besides, we’ve been using them in wine bottles for over 700 years. Well, there’s a reason, and it’s all because of a fungus.

It’s called TCA, and I won’t clobber you with the polysyllabic technical name. But it’s a fungus, and it infects cork, which is, after all, just the bark of a certain kind of oak tree. This practically indestructible organism lives in the wooden pallets in wine cellars and on other unlikely surfaces.

 

 

TCA, or cork taint, as it’s most commonly called, spoils wine. At worst, it makes the precious liquid in the bottle taste like wet cardboard or newspapers. At its mildest, it robs the wine of flavor components and makes it taste … well, blah.

In fact, winemakers estimate that between 5 percent and 7 percent of all wine bottled under corks gets spoiled. People open the bottle, taste the wine and pour it down the sink. Imagine if you had a factory and 5 percent of your product turned out to be defective. You wouldn’t stay in business very long.

Hence the move toward more neutral, non-reactive stoppers, such as screw caps. The charge has been led over the past 10 or 15 years by New World wineries, especially in Australia and New Zealand. The advantage: no TCA, and the closure is supposedly perfect for wines that are going to be consumed within a couple of years.

But what about other wines? Cork, being slightly porous, allows small amounts of air into the bottle, which helps break down tannins and makes the flavor components come together and harmonize. And it’s true that bottles sitting around for 20-30 years will be slightly less full than newer bottles. The wine disappears — it goes somewhere — so air must be getting in or out. However, cork does break down over time, and collectors who have bottles that are 40-50 years old often get them recorked every couple of years. The high-end wineries, like Chateau Lafite Rothschild, provide such a service.

My advice? Don’t worry about it. The mistaken perception that only lower-quality wines have screw caps is an attitude left over from the old Ernest and Julio Gallo jug wine days. In fact, many top-quality wines are being bottled with screw caps. Example: Mollydooker “Carnival of Love,” a blockbuster Shiraz from Australia, was Wine Spectator’s #2 Wine of the Year last year. It costs over $65 a bottle and guess what? Screw cap. The closure is ideal for wines that are meant to be enjoyed in just a few years … or tonight … which is most of them.

There are tons of excellent bottling at great prices, and besides, you won’t need to search for a corkscrew to open them. We’re all born with opposable thumbs, and that’s all you need to enjoy the great values on the shelf today.

Speaking of wines on the shelf, here are some new discoveries.

Ciù Ciù Passerina Evoè Marche 2015 ($7) – This wine would be a steal at three times the price. The Passerina grape is an ancient white varietal, not seen much these days. In fact, it was new to me. The nose offers fragrant flowers and cantaloupe, with similar flavors on the palate. Highly recommended. WW 89+.

Scacciadiavoli Montefalco Sagrantino 2008 ($32) – A rich, powerful Sagrantino with a nose of leather, smoke and deep black fruit. The palate of dried plums, prunes and chocolate goes on forever through an amazing finish. Killer stuff. WW 92.

Fontanafredda Barolo 2012 ($46) – Possibly the most translucent Barolo we’ve ever seen. Pleasant aromas and flavors of mint and orange peel. Very light bodied for this type of wine. WS 87. ¦

— Jerry Greenfield is The Wine Whisperer. He is creative director of Greenfield Advertising Group. His book, “Secrets of the Wine Whisperer,” is available through his website or on Amazon. His latest novel, “DASPO — An Unhinged Novel of Vietnam,” has just been published.


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