corks should be cork, right?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

x( :shrug:

[pokerfan]

1. Synthetic corks prevent taint

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cork_taint

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. hmmm...interesting reading:

Improvements in cork and wine making methodology continue to strive to lower the incidence, but the media attention given to cork taint has created a controversy in wine making, with traditional cork growers on one side and the makers of newer synthetic closures and screw caps (such as Alcan's Stelvin cap) on the other. Screw caps and synthetic corks, however, can be prone to another aroma taint: sulphidisation, which arises from the reduced oxygen supply which concentrates sulphurous smells arising from universal preservatives.<2>

I think I am a traditionalist :shrug:

[pokerfan]

8. if you really want to be a traditionalist...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_cork

As late as the mid 1600s, French vintners did not use cork stoppers, using oil-soaked rags stuffed into the necks of bottles instead.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

9. aww...now

don't get all Renaissance on me :D

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. My dear Tuesday Afternoon!

Yes, they certainly should!

I LOATHE these plastic POS!

They don't seal, either...x(

[Tuesday Afternoon]

4. exactly !! corkers unite !!

:toast: :hug: :hi:

[deucemagnet]

5. If not, what will become of the cork soakers?

:evilgrin:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

7. I fear for their livelihoods

:o

[VenusRising]

13. One of the best SNL skits ever!

:rofl:

[Kali]

6. for reds and wines you want to keep

many whites are consumed "young" and using alternative cork products conserves the good stuff for the good stuff

[Bassic]

10. No,

cork trees are rapidbly dwindling, which makes switching to plastic, or better yet to screw ons, a very good idea.

[appal_jack]

11. cork CAN be sustainably harvested

Basically, the only reason that a large portion of Portugal, Spain, etc. are still forested with native cork oaks is that a sustainable harvesting industry has evolved to use their bark for wine bottle corks. Plastic corks threaten the profitability of that industry, and hence the forests themselves.

I try and seek real corks out in the (admittedly cheap) red wine that I drink (in copious quantities).

Plastic 'corks' suck. Screw-tops on wine are an abomination. I won't even discuss the other plastic/foil/boxed wine options, as Midlo might come kick my ass.

:hide:

-app

Edited to add this link:
http://www.corkinstitute.com/dominanttree.pdf
which is admittedly a forest-products-industry-perspective, but nonetheless valid from what else I've read. Note the point that the native cork oaks resisted the drought/forest fires better than did the non-native eucalyptus, etc. Glad that Tuesday Afternoon brought this up. Corkers unite!

[AngryAmish]

12. Best part of the Spanish cork industry: pata negra

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam%C3%B3n_ib%C3%A9rico#Pata_negra>

Sure it retails for about $110 a pound but, damn, it is some fine ham.

on edit: I don't drink much fancy wine. I think there should be a cork industry for ham-related reasons but I am fine with artificial corks. Having a picnic and finding out your wine is corked is no fun!

[Lex]

14. Not if cork has been depleted by not requiring sustainable growth

of the tree bark that supply it.

The faux cork is actually less prone to breakdown over time and ruin the wine.