Cork bits

THE_RB

Joined Feb 11, 2008
5,438
As far as I can see they are very wrong. Any contact with the cork will not harm the wine itself. But it may ruin the wine experience of course. Then you have to filter the wine through your teeth. Tell your friends to stop w(h)ining about cork
That's why it is traditional for Gentlemen and Ladies to both carry fine (often silk) handkerchiefs. So when on a picnic if the cork is broken for whatever reason you can pour the wine through a fine handkerchief and filter any bits out. Was nobody here alive in the 1700's?
 

t_n_k

Joined Mar 6, 2009
5,455
Several years ago there was a TV program here that was of the "extravagant feast" genre at which the very finest wines were served along with extraordinary gastronomic delights at the table.
The paying guests tended to be an eclectic bunch, which sometimes included one or two food critics / connoisseurs.
In a particular episode the very expensive rare vintage red was in the process of being uncorked and the fragile stopper failed in the hands of the expert host waiter.
The embarrassed waiter had no option but to push the remnant cork into the bottle on camera but away from the dining area. The precious contents were then decanted through a muslin filter into the serving vessel.

The savvy guests were none the wiser nor disappointed.
 

edwardholmes91

Joined Feb 25, 2013
210
I work in a ship and most of the wines we sell at screw caps these days. One day a lady bought a single glass wine bottle. She came back 5 minutes later and demanded a refund because the wine was "corked" I apologized and asked how it could be corked because it had a screw cap. She start to rant and demand a replacement, telling me that both of her friends had tried it and agreed too and that maybe I should try it too. I refused to try it because I was working... not to mention I didn't know if she had done anything with the bottle. I replaced it with another, again apologizing and on her way she went. I decided rather than argue, replacing a £2.50 bottle of wine was an easier option!
 

edwardholmes91

Joined Feb 25, 2013
210
Also aren't corked wines for wines that cost more then $15 a bottle, and screw caps for ones under it. And spickets for plastic boxes.
In the UK Wines are tending to be in glass bottles with screw caps these days, regardless of price. Champaign and the likes still come with a cork of course, but other than that screw cap. The only real exception is when Wine comes in card boxes with foiled plastic bags inside and a little tap on.
 

t06afre

Joined May 11, 2009
5,934
I work in a ship and most of the wines we sell at screw caps these days. One day a lady bought a single glass wine bottle. She came back 5 minutes later and demanded a refund because the wine was "corked" I apologized and asked how it could be corked because it had a screw cap. She start to rant and demand a replacement, telling me that both of her friends had tried it and agreed too and that maybe I should try it too. I refused to try it because I was working... not to mention I didn't know if she had done anything with the bottle. I replaced it with another, again apologizing and on her way she went. I decided rather than argue, replacing a £2.50 bottle of wine was an easier option!
If even a small amount of oxygen leaks in, say due to some production error. The wine may become ruined. This may even happen with screw caps. Then this happen most people will use the term corked. Even if it is not quite correct. As you said a wine with screw cap. Can not be corked. But anyway the wine will taste bad. Next time you experience this. Even if you are working. It is no problem taking the wine back stage and do some tasting. And then do as wine tasters. Spit the wine out in the sink.
 

edwardholmes91

Joined Feb 25, 2013
210
It is no problem taking the wine back stage and do some tasting. And then do as wine tasters. Spit the wine out in the sink.
I don't really like Wine though so I wouldn't know... and I didn't know if she had done anything to it or not. I meant to say shop in my original post, not ship! :D
 

maxpower097

Joined Feb 20, 2009
816
I work in a ship and most of the wines we sell at screw caps these days. One day a lady bought a single glass wine bottle. She came back 5 minutes later and demanded a refund because the wine was "corked" !
Hahahaha LOL She meant the wine had been opened previously then recorked or recapped to serve again. She was claiming the wine had been opened previously not that it had a cork in it. Its a term for when bars re-cap their wines and sell them by the glass. Usually you can sell a bottle in a night so its not an issue. But many bars don't and will try to save their "Corked" wine for 2-3 days for people who order glasses. People who know wine will pick up on this immedietely. People who don't just drink it like its normal wine cause they can't taste the difference. I've worked in many o bar and have seen this scenario played out dozens of times.
 

edwardholmes91

Joined Feb 25, 2013
210
She meant the wine had been opened previously then recorked or recapped to serve again.
I work in a shop though and the bottles are sealed. So you would know if it has been opened. We are talking about single glass bottles of wine, not 75cl ones. Anyway, either way she was happy with me giving her a replacement lol.
 

maxpower097

Joined Feb 20, 2009
816
I work in a shop though and the bottles are sealed. So you would know if it has been opened. We are talking about single glass bottles of wine, not 75cl ones. Anyway, either way she was happy with me giving her a replacement lol.
Oh I'm not saying she was right or wrong, just that when she said the wine had been "Corked" she meant it had previously been opened. Nothing to do with a cork or cap. Wine people tend to be on the snotty side anyways so stuff like that is nothing new. We would hear it all the time at the bar too. Sometimes from a fresh bottle as you say. But 9 times out of 10 they drink the "corked" wine and don't know.
 
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