I always thought wine bottles were stored neck-down to keep the cork moist. Today I’m setting up a wine rack in a cabinet, and to test, grab a bottle of DW’s wine, set it in the rack, and before long, the top starts weeping through a hole in the top of the fake cork(is *nothing* sacred?). Wazzup?
Judging by eye, the rear part of the rack would need to be about 3/4″ lower than the front, to keep it dry. Then, what if they happen to get a bottle with a REAL cork?
BTW, the racks are store-bought diamond pattern. They look pretty stout, and cost at least half of what I could make them for.
Time is money, but quality counts.
Replies
If the wine's leaking through the cork it can't be in very good condition.
No, it's a fake cork with an obvious hole in the center.
I've bought wine with fake corks before--sort of like extruded polyurethane--had pores, but never tested it to see if they leaked. I agree--what's wrong with cork, an all natural product and renewable resource--"green" as can be. No oil wells were harmed in it's production. We always gotta be "improving" stuff. Makes me want to take up drinking!
"I've bought wine with fake corks before--sort of like extruded polyurethane--had pores, but never tested it to see if they leaked. I agree--what's wrong with cork, an all natural product and renewable resource--"green" as can be. "
The downside is that a certain number of corks will be bad. That is why there is all this fuss about smelling the cork and tasting the wine. When you get a bad one, it's vinegar city. Plus, the fake ones never dry out, break apart, or get stuck. Have seen one fake one leak, so they are not perfect.
Interestingly, a number of experts have suggested switching to screw tops for fine wine that is intended to age, but they have a big image problem to overcome, so it never happens.
I've heard a lot of good things about "wine in a box" again recently. Supposed to keep better after opening because air can't get in. Doesn't look as nice though in the racks! ;-)
I've seen at least three different fake cork technologies, including one that reminded me of OSB. A couple of things about them:
The reason that they have come into use is that there is not enough real cork which is suitable for bottling use and, of course, the price is up.
If a fake cork has leaked, you probably are looking at a bottle which was heated in transit. (Bespeaks a bunch of spoiled bottles. Avoid the merchant who tries to sell you this one.)
Good info. I once bought a bottle of wine from a merchant who left his bottles standing up. Don't know if that was the reason, but the cork had dried out and broke up when I used the corkscrew. The wine was still drinkable.
There's really no cork shortage. Most of it comes from Spain, as I understant it, and they're having a bit of a cork recession there. Keep in mind that cork used to be used for lots of other things (bottle cap liners, linoleum, lab ware, etc) that don't use it any more.
The real problem with cork is that it's difficult/expensive for the wineries to handle, and a fairly large % of bottles are spoiled due to bad corks. The fake corks are more uniform and don't require rolling prior to insertion, therefore they're easier to handle, plus they're more reliable.
I believe that most of the cork is from Portugal, but that's certainly close enough. As to a shortage, there seems to be controversy. I read your post and Googled. Some say yes, some no. It may be that the less traditional producers invented that to justify using other sorts of stoppers. But thanks for tickling my curiosity.
As to cork related spoilage, I must be very fortunate. We probably average six bottles of wine a week. Our spoilage has been minimal - Less than 10 bottles in 20 years? Something on that order.
I think most of the bad bottles are culled out before they're shipped. (Or by the wine shop, etc.)
Edited 8/25/2004 12:26 pm ET by DanH
Yep, probably Portugal. The distinction is minor to me, but probably substantial to the Spanish and Portugese.
6 bottles a week huh? now I am jealous...
are the wines fairly new, highly commercialized wines? I suspect that high turnaround on cheaper table wines keep failure rates low.
I'd sure hate to risk storing a 20year old cabernet upright. sounds like a bottle of vinegar after some time.
Speaking of wine: my brother and his housemate in college made some wine using pretty expensive juice (I think he said it was $35 a gallon). After they made the wine, they let it age. Have it stored under the sink. My bro moves away, and after what he thinks is the right amount of aging (with me it'd be a week or two, maybe--with him it was several years), he calls his friend and says he thinks it's about time to open one of those bottles and taste it. Guy says he has bad news--his brother came to visit and saw all the "dusty bottles" under the sink and poured them all down the drain!
I've never made wine but I have made alot of apple brandy. I have a great recipe that makes about 15 fifths of the best alcohol I have personally ever drank. recipe can be used for just about any fruit. bad luck with the wine story though ,sorry but It actually made me chuckle. Wines are a hobby that i am just trying to learn. Very fascinating. Cigars are my first love though, but they really dont compliment a meal (at least not during the meal).
I never developed a taste for tobacco--though I do love the smell of it before it's lit. I could stand around all day sniff unlit cigarettes, but I'd probably get some strange looks. Worse than the time in college when we brought a stick of burning incense with us to visit my roommate's girlfriend. Roommate goes in and leaves me standing near the dorm outside door with the incense. Turns out her parents are visiting and they all come out past me--I figure it looks pretty strange to be standing around with a stick of incense, so I pretend I'm smoking it! Oh, yeah, much better. Everyone files past without a word as if I just got off the boat from Mars.
>I have a great recipe
so where is it?
remodeler
if I dig it out in the next couple of days I'll post it. real simple and real tasty. Its just about apple season around here anyways.
Coincidentally; Today the wife and I were shopping and picked up a favorite bottle of wine. There was a cork with a note attatched to the neck of the bottle saying the following:
"There are 101 uses for cork- just not in a wine bottle. Cork taint, caused by the chemical TCA, (no explanation what TCA is) spoils as much as 10% of all wine, giving it the oder of wet cardboard."
Then goes on to expouse the merits of their screw cap. I looked closer and sure enough the same bottle that had always had a cork when we purchased it in the past, now sported a screw cap!
They suggested visiting http://www.corkamnesty.com for more info.
I'm thinking what with the cork producers and the wine snobs to battle, these folks probably have a pretty tough fight on thier hands.
BTW, I'll let you guys know if we can notice any difference in the wine as soon as we drink it. I'm guessin' probably not.
6 bottles a week huh? now I am jealous...
Hmmm... what do you drink with dinner?
I'd sure hate to risk storing a 20year old cabernet upright. sounds like a bottle of vinegar after some time.
You don't age a bottle, but a case. Make your best guess and open a bottle/yr. When it's peaked, enjoy. We once (long gone) had a few cases of '76 amarone. A wine steward friend wanted to call a dealer. I said "no". Much better to enjoy the experience. It's an art to determine which will mature gracefully.
We've never had a cork failure.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Hmmm... what do you drink with dinner?
water, Im on a diet. I would drink wine though with prolly half of my meals, but my DW doesnt drink (or really seldom at least). Opening a bottle for dinner leaves me the task of consuming it. So I stick to Port mostly cuz it keeps forever and goes well with cigars, but really overpowers food so not really a good match. Also there is a real shortage of wine retailers in my area. The closest is probably 50 miles away. only retailers here are big chain grocery stores and it seems so hard to pick a winner there.
'76 Amarone? And envy such a difficult vice to control!
'76 Amarone? And envy such a difficult vice to control!
Sorry. It's long gone, if that makes it any easier. <G>
While living in Denver (80's) we frequented what looked like a beer store. The owner would take me into the back room and unload his odd lots. We'd talk grapes, not labels. Had a cube van then, so it was a monthly trip. Buy 10-15 cases at a time, we got great pricing. Showed up in a car once and he asked what the hell I was doing.
I never thought amarone was worth the price, settling for valpolicella. Then he offered it at $36/case (roughly 1/2 price at the time). I mean, how bad could it be? Was on the phone the next morning when he opened, asking if there was more. He wasn't surprised. Odd label. It was bottled in Torino, Veneto grapes. I didn't know the significance of the year.
Made a pair of presentation boxes for 2 bottles of Chateau Lafite (Rothschild), 1878. I asked my wine steward friend what they were worth. He misunderstood me by a century and suggested a couple hundred dollars each. The owner didn't want me to handle them. His wife later told me that the boxes were nicer than the bottles.
If you ever happen onto a non-DOC vernaccia from Sardinia, grab it. I don't find the Tuscan (DOC) ones very interesting. Happened onto the Sardinian version one trip and fell in love. DW laughs recounting how I wouldn't let go of the bottle.
Very unfortunately the wine stores here are all pretty much Wine Spectator driven. Leaves out the thrill of discovery. PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
So is storing bottles horizontally ok, rather than having the bottom a little lower?
Does storing horizontally apply to bottles with non-cork stoppers, or does it matter? Seems like they might as well be stored vertically.
There is an advantage to having the sediment collecting at the lower end of the bottle for older wines. You can carefully decant them without disturbing the sediment. Some newer wines actually should have some aeration in the decanting process.
On a hill by the harbour
I use a wine merchant with a huge selection. Picture a full size supermarket converted completely to wine.
Every other week or so, I stop in and get a case, plus or minus. For every day with dinner use, I shop the $7 to $12 range. On the weekend, we cook more elaborately, and I shop the $12 to $20 range for Saturday & Sunday night suppers and holidays, etc. If I see any sign of seepage from the cork or capsule, I don't buy any of that particular wine on that visit. Ditto if any of the bottles look as if they've been wetted. Home is 200+/-YO stone construction, and the wine goes into horizontal racks in the basement to "rest" for a week or more 'til we want it. It seems to make a difference.
Over the long course of time, we've found some reliable favorites in those price ranges, and enjoyed a lot of experimentation at reasonable cost. I would like to be able to afford pricier wine on a regular basis, and once in a great while we will splurge. But the routine we've evolved has given a good deal of pleasure for a long time, and is more realistic in terms of our finances.
Six bottles a week ?
wow. is that with breakfast, lunch and dinner ?
mind if i stop by and sample some of that, i see you aren't that far down the road.
carpenter in transition
Check my reply to ai. You, by the way, are close enough to pricey NJ real estate that you probably have a good wine merchant nearby.
We may be a little further away than you realize, but let me know if you're going to be in the area.
If there was a hole in the (fake) cork then my guess is someone screwed the cork screw in and then changed their mind and backed it out.
I agree that this particular bottle most likely ought to be throwed out before some unsuspecting wino gets a really nasty vinegary suprise.
Ah, it ever ocurred to me about the corkscrew, I was always a beer&whiskey man. :^} I guess that would explain the hole!
Hi Dave,
This subject just happens to be my pet project right now !
I am approaching the end of the design phase for a passive wine "Cabinet" for a very good & longstanding customer. In this case passive means using the basement slab and humidity to generate an acceptable climate within a super insulated cabinet without the use of mechanical HVAC .
I was allways under the impression that wine should be stored cork down to keep the cork moist "BUT" the whole point of storing wine at an angle is to allow the sediment to collect towards the bottom of the bottle. That being said the wine still needs to be stored close enough to horizontal to keep the cork moist.
On a hill by the harbour