Oh no, the wine tastes like cork! What to do?

"Tastes of cork"! How many times do we say that? Perhaps at the most beautiful moment when you are at the table with family and friends… worse still, if it happens in sweet company. And maybe you don’t have any other bottles! And maybe you paid an arm and a leg for it!

But whose fault is this defect? The cork? No, poor thing, it’s just a little piece of cork oak. It suffers too. The fact is that unfortunately, it has been infected by a microbial species that leaves no escape. The Armillaria mellea is a edible mushroom that can only be eaten after boiling, developing at the base of trees or on thick bark. And here lies its ability to attack the bark of cork trees. A massacre is unfolding in many Portuguese and Sardinian cork forests. Well, this parasite, once it settles on the surface of the bark, produces a compound that binds to the woody fibers and leaves an unmistakable aroma. Its name is "2,4,6-trichloroanisole", more conventionally referred to as TCA.

It is thought that the number of corks in the world that are infected by this fungus is around 1.5-2%, but estimates could be higher in recent years. This means that out there, it could be the same percentage of bottles to throw away! In France, they invented a special resin that fixed the TCA and returned the wine to its integrity. I tried it; it had the shape of an hourglass; you poured the “infected” wine into a glass connected by a constriction containing these resins, and then the wine dripped into a glass container below. In short, a slow filtration. In Italy, it never arrived… the resins were deemed unacceptable for food use.

So, the Armillaria mellea infects the cork on the plant, produces TCA, and the cork producer only notices it if it reaches certain concentrations. The problem is that even at concentrations not detectable at the source, corks can still compromise the wine.

So remember… we should say tastes of trichloroanisole! But everyone would think we’re crazy!

 

First thing to not do, logically, is to drink the bottle, not even after letting it air out! It is also a fairly common opinion that wine that tastes of cork can be safely used for cooking since the smell should dissipate thanks to the heat. This is partly true, as the odor may disappear after prolonged cooking, but at the same time, it’s difficult to be sure that the dish doesn’t carry any trace of the unpleasant “cork” flavor. The advice, therefore, is to avoid using it in cooking in general, especially when preparing marinades or sauces.

 

However, wine that tastes of cork can easily find use outside the kitchen. It can indeed be used as a “disinfectant” for fruit and vegetables: just add it to the washing water to eliminate certain types of bacteria, thanks to the action of the alcohol present within. Specifically, white wine that tastes of cork, but also wine that has been forgotten in the fridge for too many days, can be used to clean the kitchen countertop, as well as to stain fabrics and, paradoxically, it also helps to remove red wine stains. Red wine, on the other hand, is an excellent fertilizer, particularly suitable for making your plants and flowers strong and lush.