(or not...)
If in fact the bottle you have chosen with dinner even comes with a cork (screwcaps are everywhere!), the practice of presenting the just-removed cork to the host is part of the ritual and tradition of fine wine service. For older bottles especially this practice makes good sense.
The Sommelier, Wine Steward or waiter will have inspected the cork themselves, looking for signs of seepage, mold or other abnormalities that could add up to a bottle full of vinegar rather than wine. Once removed from the bottle neck the cork may be presented to the host, or head of the table for inspection.
No, you aren’t supposed to smell it, though you may since it can offer a very pleasant scent. However, smelling the cork would tell you very little, if anything about the wine. Smell it if you want to AFTER the Sommelier goes back to his cellar, is my advice.
You may have seen corks that are stamped with the vintage and name and image of the Chateau or winery, and this is one thing you might look for when the cork is placed in front of you. More than a century ago when the phylloxera scourge reduced the grape harvests in Old Europe, wine fraud was not uncommon. An unscrupulous merchant could refill a real bottle or slap a fake label on a wine in a bottle from anywhere and attempt to pass it off as genuine. Seeing that the cork is authentic and true was one guarantee of authenticity.
A still contemporary reason for you to at least look at the cork is to check whether it is brittle or unusually dry. For aged wine this could be an indicator that the wine was not kept laid down on its side, so the cork remains wet allowing for a good seal. If the cork dries and shrinks then air and microbes can ruin the wine. If you believe that the wine was not well-cellared then you may find reason to pass on that bottle.
Wine will penetrate up into the cork as bottles rest in cellar, and this is expected. For some especially old bottles, say 20+ years and beyond, a small amount of wine may actually seep past the cork and begin to degrade the foil capsule. If the wine is indeed ancient you may take this in stride and judge the liquid content on its own merit. If you should see this on a younger wine it could be a sign of a faulty or mal-fitting cork, or that the wine has been subjected to temperature extremes. In this case, beware!
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| Credit: DrVino.com |
What if there is mold on the top of the cork? It is the Sommelier’s task to inspect the condition of the top of the bottle after removing the foil. For older wines it is often necessary to wipe away residue from seepage or foil stuck to the lip. Sometimes there is mold! Not inside the bottle, of course, just where air and spores could get at any tiny bit of moisture and nutrients under the capsule. Completely harmless and easily wiped away before the cork is removed such that none ever touches your wine.
Another rather common reason for mold on the cork is that some wineries, especially in the Old World, will cellar wine in bottles without capsules and labels until they receive an order for shipment. At that time they will label and cap for the specific market where the wine is destined, since many regions have distinct labeling laws (see last week’s “True Facts”). Rustic European cellars are often underground, or in caves hewn into solid rock. These are cool and damp and, yes, very moldy. The mold spores are present on the top of the cork even after the dusty bottles are washed and the capsules are put in place. Again, no reason to doubt the wine inside. Just something to take note of.
Next up: Do you ever find crystals in the bottom of your glass or stuck to the bottle cork?
How about those dark chunks and other “sediment”? And what's the deal with cloudy wine, anyway (a la Seinfeld)?
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