Comments on: Should you, do you, the smell the cork?

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 22:40:20 +0000

I’ve been a winemaker for many years and have a degree in Enology and Viticulture, and can tell you smelling a wine cork only makes you look like you learned about wine from watching TV sitcoms. You can’t tell anything from smelling a cork, and “corked” wine doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the cork.
The proper thing to do with a cork a waiter hands you is to feel it, first to make sure it was stored on it’s side; is it hard, soft, wet, dry, cold, warm, spongey, flexible?
All else should be gathered from the first pour.

By: Sage

Sage — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 06:56:15 +0000

Beer corks and wine corks are different. Wine corks are generally produced by punching stoppers out of slabs of cork bark (that is sheets of bark harvested from a cork tree). The corks in beer bottles are generally made from ground and re-compressed cork scrap. Since cork has evolved a naturally water and fire resistant cellular structure, very little should penetrate a cork made from a sheet of cork bark. Thus, if you’ve got a wine cork that absorbed wine or smells off or musty, you’ve probably got a bad bottle of wine. Beer corks on the other hand won’t give you that kind of indicator since they’ve be ground and re-compressed, destroying the cellular structure of the cork, and making it much more likely to absorb some of the liquid it stoppers. So smelling a beer cork doesn’t really tell you anything.

By: Kristen England

Kristen England — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 02:08:19 +0000

Try 90% of Saisons and Biére de Gardes and you’ll get your taste of a corked beer.

By: Chipper Dave

Chipper Dave — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 22:10:41 +0000

I’ve yet to smell a beer cork. i’d much rather wait until the beer is in a real glass before smelling anything. Sometimes the aroma will be very strong that you can smell it right away out of the bottle. But for the cork iteself? Meh. It’s a nice touch to some of the specialty beers but to me it’s just another type of cap. I do save all my corks and caps however.

By: Jim Eastman

Jim Eastman — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:58:18 +0000

Kevin is correct. There’s two reasons why a sommelier should hand you a cork and those are the two he lists: to verify the wine’s authenticity and to visually inspect the cork. I don’t really know how this whole sniffing the cork thing got started, but it cracks me up every time I see someone sniff the cork.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:54:32 +0000

I thought that the reason that the sommelier gave you the cork was to verify that it was the one that was supposed to be in the bottle (most wine have brand names or other indicators on the cork) and that it was not dried out (and therefore stored properly). As for beer I don’t see the need to sniff the cork.

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:51:05 +0000

For still wine, you smell the cork for signs of wine spoilage — not to determine that it’s “corked,” because the flavor profile of TCA-infected wine doesn’t translate to aromas, but to get a warning that it’s turned into vinegar, or has mighty off-putting odors, or, or, or. You also smell the cork because often it’s a wonderful aroma! It can be a good prelude to what will come.

You probably wouldn’t do this for a bottle of wine that costs as much as a bottle of Ommegang, and I’ve never heard of someone smelling a Champagne or other sparkling wine cork… but if you’re investing hundreds or thousands of dollars in a bottle, any hint helps.

By: Mario (Brewed For Thought)

Mario (Brewed For Thought) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:39:15 +0000

My 18-month-old daughter demands I give her the cork to my bottles of beer. She then puts the cork to her nose and goes about her merry way. When have kids lead you astray?