Ordering wine at a restaurant shouldn't be a stressful occasion, but there is plenty of language and ritual associated with wine that can feel foreign to the casual drinker. One such practice is the obligatory tasting after the bottle is opened and before it's poured for you and your guests. Despite what you -- and many others -- might think, this is not really to determine if you like the wine, but rather, to ensure the wine is not spoiled or "corked."
Because of that, you don't even need to sip the wine, though it's fine if you do. If you want to show you're a wine drinker in the know, simply give it a big swirling sniff, since a bad bottle is usually detectable by smell alone. But that flex is valuable only if you know how to sniff out a bad bottle.
An estimated 1% to 7% of bottles are corked -- we'll explain what that means below. Knowing what to look, taste and smell for is key when scrutinizing wine for problems.
To get the full scoop on corked wine and how to tell a good bottle from a bad one, we turned to the experts.
What is corked wine?
"A corked wine is caused by a compound called trichloroanisole, or TCA, which contaminates the cork, bottle or wine itself during harvest, production or even shipping," said Vinnie Miliano, bar manager for the famed Waldorf Astoria Chicago.
Corked wine can come from a restaurant wine cellar or your own collection. Cavan Images / Getty Images
TCA often exists as fungi in corks but can also present itself in pesticides, preservatives and cleaning products found in wineries. Barrels and cardboard boxes can also be sources of "contamination," even if high-quality control standards have been rigorously implemented.
"A corked wine isn't harmful to consume, but it certainly isn't pleasant to drink and will definitely detract from the experience," Miliano said.
Despite the temporary awkwardness and disruption of dinner service, it's OK to send something back that doesn't taste up to par. After all, if you're shelling out hard-earned cash to treat yourself and a loved one, you don't want the evening to go, well, sour.
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