To Cork or Not To Cork

Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle

Leesfragment
€14,53
  • 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."
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