Cork taint

Cork taint is the undesirable effect the cork contaminant 2,4,6-trichloroanisole has on wine which had been sealed in a bottle with a cork.

A wine afflicted with cork taint is said to be "corked". Corked wine has a characteristic odor, variously described as resembling a moldy newspaper, wet dog, or damp basement. In almost all cases of corked wine, the quality of the aroma of the wine is reduced significantly, and a very tainted wine is completely undrinkable. While the human threshold for detecting 2,4,6-trichloroanisole is measured in the single-digit parts per trillion, this can vary by several orders of magnitude depending on an individual's sensitivity.

The incidence of bottles with cork taint is estimated to be between 1 and 15 percent. The former figure is from the cork-industry group APCOR, which cites a study showing a 0.7-1.2% taint rate. Anecdotal evidence from wine professionals suggests that the rate may be substantially higher.

From the bottles contaminated with the undesirable effect of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, not all is due to transmition by the cork. Several studies show that wood barrels, bad storing conditions and bad transportation of corks and wine can also transmit the bad effect.

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