A Barolo That Went Bad

Pulled this out of the cellar the other night and it turned out to be faulted.
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What will Montezemolo have to say about that?

 

He won't say a word.

 

Corked or vinegar?

A surprising number of wines recently have tasted corked to me. I guess that is one more reason to go with caps instead.

 

All the more argument for spiral closures. Just sayin'.

 

that's an expensive bottle!
sorry you lost her!
barolo is my favorite.

 

Well, I call it corked, but the wine professional in the house would have a name for the specific fault.

She's more disappointed than I am that we lost this one.

 

More likely "cooked" than "corked". Most "bad" wines get that way due to overheating and xpansion due to bad shipping or storage methods.

What did the cork look like?

 

Much agreed. However, being in the wine industry, I can tell you that even the highest grade natural cork from the "best" suppliers is flawed with TCA and/or TCB (cork taint bacterias) at a rate of about 1 in every 12-14!

The general public (myself included) loves the "romance" of pulling a cork out of a bottle of wine. After all, that's the way it's been done for centuries. Unfortunately, synthetic corks have, after about 10-15 years now, proven themselves to be inferior closures in many respects.

When it comes down to it... the good 'ol screw cap is the #1 scientifically proven BEST closure for wine. And, yes, there are $125 bottles of Napa Cab with screw caps, not just $9 bottles of Aussie Shiraz.

The only question is: When and how will consumers ever make the mental transition?

Owning a winery is a very difficult business in many, many respects. Especially since most (read: ALL) customers judge a winery based on each-and-every bottle they consume. One bad bottle can cost you a customer forever. Screwcaps would eliminate certain inconsistencies for both the winery and the consumer. A win-win situation.

 

Absolutely correct on all counts, but I hate to admit I'm one of those "romantics" that likes to pull the cork on a bottle of wine! I don't think I'll ever make the psychological switch to screw caps: what would happen to my collection of used corks? I can't imagine saving the screw caps instead!

How are you involved in the wine industry?

 

I worked as the winemaker for a small boutique winery in CA for 10 years. Now I'm in the process of getting my license and bond for my own winery. Should be up and running by June or July. Nothing fancy. Just focusing on quality.

 

Oh, good for you - I wish you well in your venture.

 

Wax - Thanks. It's a tough biz but I enjoy it.

 

That's very cool! Best of luck on your new venture...

 

That's great, I'm a big fan of nothing fancy quality!! I see a group buy coming from this crowd in a year or so.

 

Norm - Thanks for that comment. I will be very happy (and humbled) to offer a group buy to the FC community when the time comes. I anticipate that it will be more like 2 years before I'm ready since I will probably only produce red wine. Cheers!