how do you tell if wine is corked?

Answer 1

The easiest way to tell is if the wine tastes or smells like wet newspaper or wet cardboard.

Some wines can be so slightly corked that one may not know unless they have a very sensitive palate or they know how the wine should taste. Others are quite obvious - when you smell the bottle, you almost gag.

As far as the other answers - Corked does not mean:
There is a cork in it
Bits of cork are floating around
It's turned to vinegar
It's "gone bad"
The wine has bled through the cork
The wine has lost it's "fruity" taste
Etc.
People, if you don't know, look it up and then post. Don't give out bad information just for the points.

As stated, it's a chemical reaction to the materials and chemicals in the cork. Some estimates say that up to 10% of wine is corked. Others say it's closer to 1%.

If you think you've had a corked bottle, bring it back to the place you bought it and tell them. Chances are, they'll take it back. Even if it's not corked, they'll steer you towards a less dry, less earthy wine that won't easily be confused as 'corked'.

I agree with decanting and seeing if that helps to clear things up. It can work wonders on a tight and earthy wine that may not be appealing to a beginner wine drinker and could easily be confused with 'corked' for those who aren't quite sure.

Hope this helped.

Answer 2

"Corked", is a generic expression that covers a lot of sins. Don't smell the wine in the bottle immediately afteropening if it had a cork in it because you get a faint wood-like smell that tends to deceive. The best way is pour 1/4 to 1/2 a glass, swirl it round and sniff deeply, there may be something there that lets you know that it is off. Sometimes in still wine if there are tiny bubbles there after about 30 seconds, then it is off, if a young white (12 - 15 months) is a deep yellow almost amber colour, thenlikliehood it's off as well.
Remember, when you go to an offy or a restaurant and you don't like it - send it back or return it.
In an off licence they send it back to the warehouse, then to the supplier for a credit, and guess what same with a restaurant.
If they say there is nothing wrong with it DO NOT be put off, YOU are spending the cash.
An off licence keep the receipt, do not drink too much they know are taking the rip. Most importantly stick to you guns.
To learn more, if you are interested, go into a book shop, and look up a wine reference book and check the section on "Wine Problems", or whatever it is called.

Answer 3

At the extreme, it will smell like a wet dog, and will taste flat, lifeless, dull and have little to no fruitiness. These blatant examples are usually pretty obvious to most people.

The second case would be when you try a wine you're familiar with, and, although not obviously like the above example, it lacks liveliness, fruitiness and just seems a bit dull. This is probably a more mild case, and if you pick it, ask for a replacement bottle.

The third case (and the one which would worry most wineries) is the most subtle level, when the wine just doesn't seem very interesting or complex. These are the bottles which have you making a mental note that that winery just makes bad wine (because you don't think to blame the cork, it is too subtle).

As you can see, it will take more experience to pick up the more mildly affected bottles.

Answer 4

The smell is the first way of telling if a wine is corked and if it is badly corked, you won't need to go any further. When you remove the cork from the bottle, smell inside the bottle and if you smell vinegar, it's corked. Don't smell the end of the cork that was closest to the wine because it isn't a reliable way of determining it. If it isn't badly corked, you may need to have a small sample to see how it tastes. Basically, what you are looking for is a bitter, possibly vinegary, taste. Also, if it tastes musky or like a swamp, than it's bad.

Answer 5

The Corked Wine
Wine wouldn't quite be the same if it all came in screw-capped bottles. It would, however, be free of cork taint. A wine is corked when it has been in contact with a cork infected with a fungus that produces 1,2,4-trichloroanisole, otherwise known as TCA. It is this chemical, rather than the fungus itself, that imparts the unpalatable flavours to the wine. For years now the wine industry has been dogged by cork taint, and possible solutions include screw caps, beer bottle caps, man-made corks and cork sterilisation using microwaves. Nevertheless, cork taint continues to spoil up to 5% of all bottles of wine.
How to avoid buying one: I'm afraid other than sticking to bottles with screw caps or man-made corks, you'll just have to take your chances with the rest of us!
How to spot one: As with cooked wines, corkiness may appear in a spectrum from barely noticeable to very obvious. A corked wine is not one with bits of cork in it, as shown here! A subtly corked wine may appear fruitless, a little unbalanced, uninteresting, but without any definite signs of cork taint. Leaving the wine for a few hours, or even days, may make the unpleasant aromas characteristic of a corked wine more apparent. By this time, however, it's likely you've either drunk it or poured it down the sink. More obviously corked wine has aromas of wet cardboard, mushrooms, mould and smelly socks! The palate (if you get that far) will taste similar, will lack fruit, and is often quite bitter.

Answer 6

"Corked" flavor in wine can be subtle or overwhelming. It occurs when the cork itself contains a mold that emits a substance called trochloroanisol or TCA. As that enters the wine it causes the musty and usually unpleasant moldy flavor we call corking. If you taste that mustiness, accompanied by a faint smell of cork, then your wine is likely corked. Sometimes when an oder wine is first opened it can give off some pretty unusual aromas, sometimes confused with corking. Let it breathe for at least one to two hours and a lot of that unpleasantness wil dissipate. If at that point your wine still smells and tastes musty, then it may well be corked.

Answer 7

The wine reacts with the cork in the neck of the bottle and the taste of the wine is degraded. You'd better know what you're talking about if you accuse a somelier of serving corked wine. It normally happens if the wine has been kept in incorrect conditions. Buy screw-cap wine and drink it through a straw.

Answer 8

you can usually tell by looking at the cork when you pull it out. If it is dry and dessicated looking.

Also if the wine tastes like battery acid or Idi Amin's armpits, this is also a good indication.

seriously, if it tased like CORK then that would tell you. Once tasted never forgotten And don't be afraid to ask for a replacement bottle.

Answer 9

If it's corked the wine will taste of cork and will also smell of cork. It doesn't mean there'll be bits of cork floating in your wine glass!!

Answer 10

oh..it tastes really rotten when it is corked. its when the cork reacts with the wine and turns bad...you will notice the rancid taste and its really bitter when its corked.