To Cork or Not To Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle [Format Kindle]

In To Cork or Not To Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle George Taber reviews the car wreck that exists at the intersection where Art, Science, Commerce and Snobbery collide within the wine world. It is a tale of passion, technology, arrogance and stupidity run amuck. And it is a much more compelling and entertaining story than one might imagine.

The cork has always been an imperfect vehicle for the sealing of wine bottles. While many over the years attribute it's shortcomings to an inadequate seal of the bottle it is in fact the introduction of a chemical called tricholoroanisol (TCA) into the wine. This introduction results in a product that has all the aroma and taste of, as the author phrases it, "a moldy pile of damp cardboard". Wine connoisseurs for literally centuries have been seeking an acceptable replacement.

So, technology to the rescue in the 21st century? Perhaps not. As Taber points out there is reason to believe that "the perfect seal" may not be perfect. There is reason to believe that some air in the bottle provides for a better product over time, especially among the red wines. The cork's seal was sufficiently imperfect that small quantities of air do get introduced to the bottle over time. The replacement technologies--plastic "corks" and metal screw-off caps--do provide an essentially "perfect" seal. The result? What's know as "reduction', a process that yields a wine that tastes, as the author phrases it, "like sulfur infused rotten eggs".

Vast portions of the wine industry have rushed to the corner of one or the other technology. Australia has all but converted to the newer technologies. So have some of the highest end wineries in the US and (gulp) France. This has the natives in an uproar, mainly because the traditionalists--and the sommeliers of the world--view the destruction of the tableside wine presentation vignette as the surest sign that the apocalypse is indeed upon us. Tradition and snobbery, meet commerce and technology. The casual bystander should turn his eye from this grisly scene.

Where are things headed? It's possible cork may make a comeback. The cork world has finally removed it's blinders, trashed the arrogance and started to effect some much needed quality control processes that should improve the product. As is always the case these days, other outside voices are being heard, in the case the green movement that wants to preserve the cork forests of Europe and have gotten on the cork bandwagon in a big way.

I hope so. As this entertaining book comes to a close Taber seems to hope so as well. "In this world there are sounds that bring joy to all but the most jaded>" says Taber. Examples? "The purring of a kitten. The crack of a perfectly hit baseball. And the pop of a cork being pulled from a nice bottle of wine." There is no perfect technology Taber concludes and as a default, the rise of the sensory joy over commercial efficiency is something to be savors as much as any Pinot Noir.

TO CORK OR NOT TO CORK outlines the history of how wine has been protected over the years utilizing wonderful stories of successes and failures in protecting the "nectar of the the gods." George Taber's historical perspectives bring light from various perspectives as to what has been used to preserve wine from the oxidizing air. Wine makers want to protect their wines and provide their buyers with the best wine possible. Customers want the romance of "poping that cork." The cork industry wants to preserve its business. Mr. Taber looks at these various perspectives and provides further alternatives, like ZORKS. This book reads well and is broken out in manageable chapters for reading. I highly recommend this book for any wine lover. It will definitely open a new perspective in wine appreciation. George Taber's expereinces in writing for a national magazine for many years plus his love for wine make this book enjoyable reading. The passion reads well in this book!

To Cork or Not to Cork is the book the wine industry - and the wine drinker - has needed for a long time. While I spent about five minutes looking into corks and screw caps, George Taber managed to research the facts on closures like a crime-scene investigator, examine them like a neurotic physicist, and yet write like an old friend telling you his engaging life story. Even if by the end of the book I still felt that jamming a piece of tree bark into the neck of a wine bottle ranks right up there with playing in the NFL without a helmet, George has helped me realize that the perfect - and perfectly preserved - bottle of wine is still a work in progress. It won't be forever, though, now that George has enlightened us all. Don't just buy the book; buy George a drink to say thanks.