George Taber, to cork or not to cork ?

[Don Giovanni]

George Taber, to cork or not to cork,

Taber believes the cork will survive this controversy, and remain as the world's favorite wine closure.

"Clearly, I believe the cork is here to stay," he said.

Click On Me

This I see too...plain and simple...

[Rebel Rose]

Interesting article. I'll look forward to the book's release in October. George Taber is a member here and posted some interesting background commentary in The Judgment of Paris thread. From the brief quotes included in the article:

"I got the idea while doing my book on the Paris tasting," Taber said. "While the tasting was an accepted fact, it seemed that wine people, everywhere, wanted to talk about closures. One Australian winemaker compared the issue to the wars of religion and said some feelings are so deep, he lost friends over it."

I think much of the story will be over the closure controversy and the people who have driven, discovered, and resisted it. Sort of a Hatfield and McCoy history, but with wine instead of moonshine.

If anyone can get their hands on an advance copy, I would love to see a review!

[Don Giovanni]

Mary,

What is going to be interesting is if he goes into the investments that are being made to eliminate TCA in cork...he has to tackle this as his premise that the cork will live on as the closure it must be tied to the irradiation of TCA...coupled with market perception...when the book comes out one thing for sure he will make some real $$$$ on it...

[Rebel Rose]

Well, I think the following quote is a clue that he will. One can hardly support an entire book on the subject without going into the chemistry, research and advances made on both sides.

Still, dry-as-dust graphs don't sell books. People do.

"There now are completely new methods for processing corks," he said. He noted that the original TCA link to corks was generally associated with the small, independent producers, who lacked quality controls.

[JohnL]

Taber is a good reporter so i am curious about his reasearch and his conclusions.

I am seeing some wines from france that are not cork sealed.

A major producer (Boisset) is in fact, using an alternative closure on half of their 2005 Chambertin!

Boisset also cites wines that were closed with metal enclosures forty years ago that show greater freshness than the same wines closed with corks.

The full story was posted on the Wine Spectator on line dated Feb 28th this year.

I tried to link it here but obviously failed--perhaps someone with a better skills can...

After several bottles of 1986 and older Bordeaux from my cellar turned out to be corked when opened last and this year I am firmly in the camp of the screw top or anything other than cork!

Consider that the vast majority of wines are for immediate or near term drinking the argument for cork and its supposed aging impact is moot for these wines.

Considering the Boisset "test"--it may be moot for wines meant for long term aging as well!

Thus, I am skeptical of Tabor's conclusion that cork is here to stay!

If so--I would ask why?

Another possibility is poor reporting on the part of Wine Business.com. Recently, some of their pieces are IMOP poorly written and reported and often confused and confusing.

The piece states that Tabor notes that the original TCA link to corks was generally associated with the small, independent producers who lacked quality controls.

This is either untrue or at best misleading.

The cork taint problem has inflicted a wide range of wineries large and small.

The conclusions attributed to Tabor in this article are suspect. I could be wrong but I can't help but wonder if the Wine Business folks are reporting accurately here.

Edited May 16, 2007 by JohnL (log)

[Rebel Rose]

The piece states that Tabor notes that the original TCA link to corks was generally associated with the small, independent producers who lacked quality controls.

This is either untrue or at best misleading.

The cork taint problem has inflicted a wide range of wineries large and small.

The conclusions attributed to Tabor in this article are suspect. I could be wrong but I can't help but wonder if the Wine Business folks are reporting accurately here.

TCA can infect a winery as well as corks. The compound is created by airborne fungi, and it can exist in barrels, hoses, even buildings if they are comsistently moldy and damp. Building infections are most frequently found in very old structures in cool growing regions, and where producers typically use very, very old barriques and equipment . . . who are also generally the smaller, independent producers in France, Spain and Italy.

Some people claim to encounter cork taint in ratios as high as 20%. Frequently these people are very excited about screwcap closures and blame their TCA rate solely on cork closures. One outspoken critic of cork is a German wine reviewer/importer who tastes mostly Austrian wines. So there you go.

I open hundreds of our own bottles each year and in working through our production and other California releases (although not at the same rate! ) my personal TCA rate is more like 3%.

See Cork Taint - Wikipedia and TCA Fact Sheet - Wine Institute.

We also have an ongoing thread, Looking for Closure: Screwcaps vs. Corks, for general discussion of closures and TCA taint.

By the way, I have heard from George Taber, and he will be joining this discussion later this summer as we approach the release date for his book!

Edited May 16, 2007 by Rebel Rose (log)

[JohnL]

It will be nice to hear from the horse's mouth!

Taber is a good reporter and interesting person.

Good points re the TCA issue. Even after discounting politics

clouding the issue--

the fact is, the problem remains for consumers.

I will check out the threads you link (I don't remember them).

My real concern at this moment is with the often poor reporting from the Wine Business folks. I would prefer Mr Taber clear up this issue (or non issue I may be wrong). Something about this article didn't work for me. At least he can clarify things.