Fungi have a defense mechanism that chemically alters these compounds, rendering them harmless to the organism but creating TCA in the process. If they were, their resulting corks would damage any wine they touch. This is the most common way wines become TCA tainted, although others do exist, like barrel, equipment or winery contamination. It is possible, though rare, for screwcap wines to be cork tainted if they come in contact with this contaminated equipment.
TCA can also occur when sodium hypochlorite bleach reacts with lignin, a naturally occurring wood compound. This creates a compound called 2,4,6-trichlorophenol TCP. Mold, yeast and bacteria then convert this compound into TCA. Descriptions of cork taint date back to the early 20th century. Thank You! We've received your email address, and soon you will start getting exclusive offers and news from Wine Enthusiast. Humans have a remarkable sensitivity to cork taint, with people able to smell TCA between two and five parts per trillion, and some even below one part.
Cork taint inhibits olfactory signal transduction, creating a muting effect. Simply put, it interferes with your ability to smell. Heavy cork taint gives off an unpleasant aroma reminiscent of a musty basement. In lesser amounts, however, TCA can simply blunt aromas and flavors, making a wine seem muted and uninteresting. Recent research indicates that TCA itself has no smell, but it appears to suppress olfaction in such a way that presents as dull or moldy odors.
However, TCA itself has no harmful effect on humans, other than ruining your wine. TCA is quite stable over time, whereas other aroma compounds are not. This means cork taint can become more prominent as a wine opens up or as a bottle ages.
It also means cork-tainted bottles may not show obvious fault. You might have eaten corked bananas too, or even drunk corked coffee. In each case, the same culprit is responsible, a malodorous chemical known as TCA, or trichloroanisole. In wine, TCA can form in corks that have been treated with chlorine, which reacts with naturally occurring fungi.
It has a distinctive aroma that can be detected in minuscule concentrations, and has been responsible for spoiling countless of bottles of wine. That aroma is most often compared to damp cardboard or moldy cellars. However, the level of infection can vary widely, and everyone has different sensitivities. A corked wine does not mean a wine with small pieces of cork floating around in the glass. It is a word for a wine that has become contaminated with cork taint, which is caused by the presence of a chemical compound called TCA.
In the worst instances, the wine tastes of nothing but mold — which should be obvious. But there are many other times when the wine might just taste a bit flat or dull. The good news is that cork taint is increasingly less common.
Screw-caps are a big part of the solution, as is improving technology in cork production. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Welcome to Ask a Somm , a column in which experts from across the country answer questions about wine. Not every craft cocktail bar hires a sommelier, but that's indeed the case at Los Angeles' year-old intimate, retro drinking den, MiniBar.
Here in Hollywood, Jeremy Allen serves as both GM and sommelier, and he has curated a concise list of thoughtfully selected wines focused on value, sourced locally and from Europe. Below, Allen ponders the predicament of "corked" wine, and offers suggestions on how to handle such a bottle. Allen: Beer, wine, cider? Cooked, corked, tired? Oops, not awesome! Corked wine is a specific condition, more precisely it's wine tainted by TCA, a compound that reacts with wine and makes it taste and smell less than pleasant, ranging from a wet dog, to wet cardboard, to a beach bathroom.
This tiny molecule known as 2,4,6-trichloroanisole , or TCA, hangs out in various parts of the winemaking environment—sometimes on cardboard, sometimes on corks, sometimes on barrels—looking for ways to sneak into bottles and taint delicious wine. TCA is tricky since the compound is used in the winemaking processes leading up to the actual bottling.
Winemakers fight hard to stop it, and the winemaker wins 95 percent of the time. If this is the case, you should definitely take the wine back to the seller. If a winery has sold an entire batch of corked wine, then you should reconsider the quality of that wine. Murphy Perng Certified Wine Consultant.
Murphy Perng. If you find bits of cork floating in your wine, simply filter it out by pushing a coffee filter halfway into your wine glass, and then slowly pour the wine through the filter. Not Helpful 3 Helpful 0. When does it mean when pulling out the cork makes a hissing noise, and the cork is wet and soft with wine?
Not Helpful 3 Helpful 9. A toddler should not be drinking wine at all. So, no, corked wine is not safe for toddlers. Not Helpful 9 Helpful Not Helpful 11 Helpful 4. Not Helpful 14 Helpful 7. If you are unable to use a corkscrew, air or Co2 pump, then try to push the cork all the way in past the neck, turn the bottle upside-down and pour into a suitable vessel, either a jug or a very large glass!
Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. TCA is difficult to get rid of, and once it is introduced into a cellar, it can contaminate all of the wine in the cellar. Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0. TCA is not harmful to humans. People can detect TCA in as little as two parts per trillion 0. Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0.
Return the corked bottle of wine to the store where you got it. They should offer you a replacement or a refund for corked wine. Just put the cork back in the bottle and take it back with the wine still in it. They may send the wine back to the distributor to let them know about the corked wine.
If you come across a bottle of wine in your collection that is corked, get rid of it.
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