The other day I opened a bottle of Rioja from a famous retailer. It was of 2015 vintage. The wine had oxidised and was nearly fully on its way to becoming wine vinegar. I suspect that air had leached into the bottle through the seal of the plastic cork. The wine had been laid down. There was no way of telling that the cork was a plastic one and no warning on the bottle.
The idea of plastic corks was to prevent wine spoilage owing to fungal "infected" natural corks which render a musty taste to the wine and ruin it. Natural corks ,however, expand when the wine bottle is laid down to prevent air leaching into the bottles - but you run the risk of a corked wine.
Plastic corks do not guarantee that the wine will be protected from spoilage. If you suspect a wine has a plastic cork it maybe best to cut the top of the foil off the bottle. If it is sealed with a plastic cork , it will probably be best to drink the wine within a few months of purchase. Better quality wines will either be sealed with natural cork or a screw top. I have never had a problem with screw top wines but the seal could get compromised.
As a general rule it might be best to examine all bottles of wine for damage or leakage before buying. However, a wine sealed with a plastic cork will most of the time not reveal itself until you cut the capsule.
No comments:
Post a Comment