To Cork or Not To Cork
Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle
George M. Taber
- In
- Judgment
- of
- Paris,
- George
- M.
- Taber
- masterfully
- chronicled
- the
- historic
- 1976
- wine
- tasting
- when
- unknown
- California
- wines
- defeated
- top
- French
- ones,
- marking
- a
- major
- turning
- point
- in
- wine
- history.
- Now
- he
- explores
- the
- most
- controversial
- topic
- in
- the
- world
- of
- wine:
- What
- product
- should
- be
- used
- to
- seal
- a
- bottle?
- Should
- it
- be
- cork,
- plastic,
- glass,
- a
- screwcap,
- or
- some
- other
- type
- of
- closure
- still
- to
- be
- invented?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.The
- 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.With
- 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."
pro-mbooks3 : libris