“Corked” I have heard the term a few times and I really don’t know what that means. I have asked and have been told it means the wine has been tainted by the cork, making the wine bad and undrinkable. I have also been told that I will know when the wine is “corked”. But will I really know? I don’t know much about wine. What if I taste a “corked” wine and just think that is how that particular wine is supposed to taste?
I came across an article by Kori Voorhees of Wine Peeps. She put the definition into terms I can finally understand:
Corked is the term used to describe a wine that has been spoiled by cork taint. Cork taint is most often recognized by the smell of wet cardboard when you sniff the wine. A wine that is corked is essentially ruined.
Wet cardboard is a smell I recognize, so know I know: wet cardboard = bad wine = don’t drink. One mystery solved.
The Splendid Grape 