Corked Wine Screw Top

[why]

I was at a restaurant tonight and this guy behind me tried to return a bottle to impress his girlfriend by saying it was corked -- as if he could really tell.

I tried my best not to break out in laughter at his total douchebaggery but couldn't help but chuckle a little when the server picked up the bottle from the table and plainly said 'Sir, this is a screw top wine.'

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by why

I was at a restaurant tonight and this guy behind me tried to return a bottle to impress his girlfriend by saying it was corked -- as if he could really tell. I tried my best not to break out in laughter at his total douchebaggery but couldn't help but chuckle a little when the server picked up the bottle from the table and plainly said 'Sir, this is a screw top wine.'
Now that is funny.

 

[IUtoSLU]

Yikes. That is so satisfying and yet still painful.

 

[why]

Wie sagt Ihr 'Schadenfreude'?

 

[Joffrey]

Life's little victories...

 

[appolyon]

...wish I was there

 

[Johnny_5]

I CANT STAND THIS ****

This has actually happened to me a couple of times. I always reply, "Sir, are you sure it is corked?" and he or she replies "Um...I think I would know...Open another bottle." followed with me laughing and putting the screw top in front of them and walking away.

 

[gomestar]

wonderful!! Why is it so comically satisfying to hear stories like this?

 

[HORNS]

This was bound to happen. What a fool.

 

[PandArts]

That's better than when I saw a guy trying to impress a couple of girls on the "L" train with "big money deal" phone call and his phone started to ring with some rediculous rap ring tone!

 

[Dragon]

Well at least the guy thought it was corked. It`s even worse when people return the bottle just because they think the wine is not good enough for them.

Since we are on the topic of corked wines...how many bottles have you encountered that were corked?

Maybe I am lucky, but I have only encountered 1 corked bottle so far. I suspect I have opened many bottles that were not at their true potential though (not age, but condition).

 

[gomestar]

Originally Posted by Dragon

Since we are on the topic of corked wines...how many bottles have you encountered that were corked?

Maybe I am lucky, but I have only encountered 1 corked bottle so far. I suspect I have opened many bottles that were not at their true potential though (not age, but condition).

I've encountered a handful, but when I was working in a wine store between college and my current job, we would taste about 5-6 new wines a week so it was inevitable every now and then. I actually had one last week, I could tell right after i popped the cork (before I even poured it into a glass), just off that faint smell you get upon opening. I took it back to the store and the manager there was like "woah - wicked" and let me switch it up.

I've mentioned it before, but if anybody does get a corked bottle, don't be afraid to take it back to the store. If they refuse to take it (pending the obvious reasons like you bought it 3 years ago or drank half of it), it's time to find a new wine store. Returned bottles don't cost the stores a thing, the distributor will pay for it all.

 

[HORNS]

Originally Posted by Dragon

Well at least the guy thought it was corked. It`s even worse when people return the bottle just because they think the wine is not good enough for them.

Since we are on the topic of corked wines...how many bottles have you encountered that were corked?

Maybe I am lucky, but I have only encountered 1 corked bottle so far. I suspect I have opened many bottles that were not at their true potential though (not age, but condition).

Good question. If any of us drink wine regularly, we are statistically bound to come across a corked bottle, but only if it is a natural cork. Wines can be oxidized, past their prime, or damaged in other ways, but corkage is very specific. It's a chemical that leeches into the wine from a cork that, if I remember correctly, is tainted in the sterilization process (don't quote me on the last part).

I think we've encountered and drank more corked bottles than we remember. I know, in retrospect that I sure as hell have. That just happens to be the pains of becoming more knowledgeable about wine. I wonder how many people say they don't like wine because one of their first encounters with the stuff was a corked wine.

Some wines are more corked than others. Some you can smell as soon as the bottle is opened. Some, it may take several minutes in the glass or open bottle to have it develop into something stronger to tell; but an experienced nose can tell it right away regardless.

 

[HitMan009]

Originally Posted by Dragon

Well at least the guy thought it was corked. It`s even worse when people return the bottle just because they think the wine is not good enough for them.

Since we are on the topic of corked wines...how many bottles have you encountered that were corked?

Maybe I am lucky, but I have only encountered 1 corked bottle so far. I suspect I have opened many bottles that were not at their true potential though (not age, but condition).

I had a gewurz and a chenin blanc that was corked. Just thinking of the musky smell makes me want to puke. I don't remember any reds tasting corked though. Perhaps the tannins had an ability to mask some of the corked taste.

Anyhows a simple remedy is to pour the wine into something or stuffing saran wrap in the bottle. It removes most of the corked taste because the molecules that cause corked wine are similiar to the polyethylene molecule so the saran wrap attracts them.

 

[gomestar]

Originally Posted by HORNS

It's a chemical that leeches into the wine from a cork that, if I remember correctly, is tainted in the sterilization process (don't quote me on the last part).


that "last part" is indeed correct. If chlorine bleach is used to sterilize the corks, cork taint can be triggered. It's more complex than that, but that's a start.