Have you ever opened a bottle of wine and discovered that it tastes like a cork?
Typically, this unpleasant phenomenon affects 3-8% of the total production of that product and is caused by the spread of a fungus. This is Armillaria Mallea , a parasite that sneaks up on the cork oak, even provoking its root rot. Therefore, in view of its incisive and damaging action, the eradication of the plant and the disinfection of the area is preferable.
But when does the fungus begin to infiltrate the wine product?
Already a few hours after its bottling. Then, it is clear that, being a friend of humidity and cold environments, the fungus will tend to act with greater force on wines stored for a long time in refrigerators. However, when this reaches the cork of the bottle, there is nothing more to be done: the wine cannot be served, much less used in the kitchen. In fact, the risk is that the smell of mold, released by trichloroanisole, a substance present in Armillaria, also infects your dishes.
Solutions?
Although most of the bottles of wine on the market have the classic cork stopper, an excellent insulator and object-symbol of this product, there are many possibilities to overcome the parasitic problem.
Indeed, innovation has reached this sector, launching alternative seals on the market. Not only in one-piece, agglomerated or "mushroom" cork (for sparkling wines), the vast range of corks would focus precisely on the choice of the right material to effectively preserve the quality of the wine.
The mid-nineties is the synthetic cork , usually in silicone, whose discreet cost and duration of a few years make it a good material for bottling young wines, perhaps ready for consumption. Furthermore, the impossibility of crumbling would greatly advantage it compared to the classic cork.
Another type is that of glass stopper , which, in addition to winning in simplicity and elegance, has the benefit of being totally hermetic, so as to maintain the quality of the wine.
On the scale of immunity to the action of time there is also the metal screw cap , which balances the good price with the ease of opening and closing the bottle.
However, as mentioned above, each wine needs its cork, so it is assumed that a coherent choice takes into account the type of product to be bottled.
And what cork do you use to protect your wine? Write it below.