Molecule In Corked Wine Plugs Up Your Nose 134
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."
Re:So stop using corks (Score:4, Informative)
Re:So stop using corks (Score:5, Informative)
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 (Score:5, Informative)
But sometimes you want the oxidation. A couple of my favourite wines need decanting before the flavour is right.
Re:So stop using corks (Score:4, Informative)
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?
Re:So stop using corks (Score:4, Informative)
Interestingly, polythene (e.g. cling film) neutralizes the TCA molecules in corked wine...
carafe (Score:4, Informative)
If you want to oxygenate the box wine before serving, just pour it into a carafe a little ahead of time. The wine remaining in the box stays as it is but the wine in the carafe gets the oxygen needed to take care of some of the tannins. Seriously, even with wine in a bottle, using a carafe is a good way to deal with tannins.
A nice carafe can also help show off the wine itself.