Since I've given my blog a new banner with glasses, it's only fitting that one of the first posts be one with a glass...of Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin. While my 'kids' were on their honeymoon, I opened a bottle of this champagne that my daughter and son-in-law had bought at the duty free shop on their way here. I wanted to share this bottle with some dear friends who'd flown over for the wedding, both of whom are wine connoisseurs."Cheers,' we wished each other, and took a sip. My tastebuds told me that something wasn't quite right, but it wasn't so wrong either...I just imagined I was in a wine cellar drinking champagne, for there was a distinctive musty scent and taste. My friend was sniffing the cork, and I knew what was coming: "Cork taint," she announced. "It happens now and then."
Although she decided not to drink anymore, her husband's first question was, "Will it hurt me?" Upon receiving a negative answer, he and I finished off the bottle....
Wiki says this: "Cork taint is a broad term referring to a wine fault characterized by a set of undesirable smells or tastes found in a bottle of wine, especially spoilage that can only be detected after bottling, aging and opening. Though modern studies have shown that other factors can also be responsible for taint – including wooden barrels, storage conditions and the transport of corks and wine – the cork is normally considered to be responsible, and a wine found to be tainted on opening is said to be "corked". Cork taint can affect wines irrespective of price and quality level. The chief cause of cork taint is the presence of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) in the wine. Corked wine containing TCA has a characteristic odor, variously described as resembling a moldy newspaper, wet dog, damp cloth, or damp basement."
I'm none the worse for it...
