Speakinig of wine, these new rubbery "corks": dud or dud?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

they're tuff as hell to get out. is it true that it's because of some crazy cork shortage and corks only come from special trees in some remote location? ugh. carry on.

― andrew m. (andrewmorgan), Sunday, 16 November 2003 22:49 (twenty-two years ago)

i like em, they don't split in half if you botch the opening

― the surface noise (electricsound), Sunday, 16 November 2003 22:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Your not wrong about corks coming from some crazy trees i n crazy locations; they come from Cork oaks which like particularly steeo hills to grow on, but plastic corks are the work of the devil, they are far too tough and far too elastic which makes them hard to remove an even harder to drive in when you haven't got a cork screw. Screw tops are acceptable though in certain cases where the wine is such that it will get overpowered by the flavouring from the cork.

― Ed (dali), Sunday, 16 November 2003 22:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, and I guess the chances for popping one and discovering that the whole thing below the lip is crumbling rotten is slim. Maybe I should quit whining and drink up.

― andrew m. (andrewmorgan), Sunday, 16 November 2003 22:54 (twenty-two years ago)

They don't decrease the incidence of corked wine though, as proven by science (possibly funded by cork oak growers).

― Ed (dali), Sunday, 16 November 2003 22:58 (twenty-two years ago)

for mucho amusement, try asking a handful of wine drinkers what "corked" means. i've seen dipshits on more than one occasion tip out perfectly good wine because it had "bits of cork" in it (fuckheads!!!)

― the surface noise (electricsound), Sunday, 16 November 2003 23:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Also as proven by science, the thing is though you can tell in a second when wine is corked and it very very rarely comes with chunks of cork in it.

― Ed (dali), Sunday, 16 November 2003 23:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I've had 2 corked bottles in my entire wine drinking career the most recent was last week, The wine was a white bordeaux and when poured (from it's green glass bottle I hasten to add); it came out brown.

― Ed (dali), Sunday, 16 November 2003 23:09 (twenty-two years ago)

ewwww, ed. the plastic corks feel all false but are not that bad if you get used to them. I have switched to rubber stoppers if I don't finish a bottle of wine and this is working very well for me. Also I have switched to one of these, which I feel is far superior to anything with a corkscrew:

http://www.corkscrew.com/images_sales/monopol_ahso.jpg

― teeny (teeny), Sunday, 16 November 2003 23:35 (twenty-two years ago)

although the two-pronged opener above really makes the foil cutter U&K.

― teeny (teeny), Sunday, 16 November 2003 23:39 (twenty-two years ago)

I was there for Ed's 2nd corked bottle! The green glass was clearly designed to obfuscate.

Rubbery corks, no matter what their other charms, are dud for the above-mentioned reason that they are very difficult to get back in the top of the bottle.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 16 November 2003 23:55 (twenty-two years ago)

I visited a winery in Western Australia where they've switched over to screwtop caps, and they assured me that the whole industry will soon be headed in that direction, outside of France, which will of course cling to Proper Cork And Only Proper Cork until the lion lies down with the lamb

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Sunday, 16 November 2003 23:58 (twenty-two years ago)

i had some of that WA screwtop wine on saturday. it were good stuff.

― the surface noise (electricsound), Sunday, 16 November 2003 23:59 (twenty-two years ago)

N.D.:yellow tail shiraz(fake cork)

i'll have to remember to add that to my posts from now on like when people put NP for Now Playing at the bottom of posts or e-mails.

― scott seward, Monday, 17 November 2003 00:14 (twenty-two years ago)

That yellow tail is not bad for a budget wine. Drinkable and consistent.

― teeny (teeny), Monday, 17 November 2003 00:17 (twenty-two years ago)

had the yellow tail shiraz/cab blend last nite and it wasn't half as good. i'm working my way thru the 10 dollars and under at the grocery store.

N.D.:Terrilogio Toscana 1999(85%Sangiovese10%Cabernet Sauvignon5%Merlot)

― scott seward, Monday, 17 November 2003 00:31 (twenty-two years ago)

I haven't had the shiraz/cab blend, just the shiraz and the merlot. I am loving sangiovese and spicy cabs lately, will have to look that Terrilogio up; what's your verdict?

― teeny (teeny), Monday, 17 November 2003 00:42 (twenty-two years ago)

fake corks ok in my book

― Orbit (Orbit), Monday, 17 November 2003 01:08 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah esoj you can get properly tanked on those WA winery tours, esp. if someone you're with has a sister workin' for the winery

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Monday, 17 November 2003 01:33 (twenty-two years ago)

ooh lucky! i went down there on hols early last year. winery tours kick major ass

― the surface noise (electricsound), Monday, 17 November 2003 01:34 (twenty-two years ago)

a bit astringent, teeny. nothing to write home about.but fer under 10 bucks i take me chances.

― scott seward, Monday, 17 November 2003 01:45 (twenty-two years ago)

unfortunately sometimes you take your chances over ten bucks too!

― teeny (teeny), Monday, 17 November 2003 01:52 (twenty-two years ago)

I read that oak corks come from a stunning place in Portugal where cork farmers work totally in harmony with the eco-system and have done so for centuries. There is no shortage but wine makers will soon all be switching to plastic or rubber and there is a danger that an inportant eco-system will be lost to farmland, so definitely a DUD.

You think it won't happen, I thought that about vinyl and reality TV, (Shit that's still with us)

― Paul Kelly, Monday, 17 November 2003 02:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Can someone stop me from constantly reading this thread title as "...these new rubbery 'cocks'"?

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 17 November 2003 02:39 (twenty-two years ago)

No.

― andrew m. (andrewmorgan), Monday, 17 November 2003 02:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Hate, hate, hate the fake plastic corks. (Do they come from Fake Plastic Trees?) Especially when they are colour coordinated to the bottle - i.e. blue corks for blue bottles.

They have no traction. We had a bottle of wine with one yesterday and it got stuck on the cork, and HSA's mum and I had to wrest it off with a pair of plyers!

― Citizen Kate (kate), Monday, 17 November 2003 09:12 (twenty-two years ago)

John D, what winery did you go to in WA? I went to loads when I went over there in about a week, I was very glad I couldn't drive! And also had some of the nicest wines I've ever had!

The only Screw top wine I've had t5hat passed itself as good was some Malcolm Gluck superplonk stuff. I unscrewed the top and all the little grains of rust fell into the wine (which tasted awful) never again.

The black corks though I think are good, and lets face it it's a rare occassion that a bottle of wine doesn't get finished in our house.

― chris (chris), Monday, 17 November 2003 09:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Plastic corks are almost impossible to force back in the bottle should you wish to keep your wine another day.

― Ed (dali), Monday, 17 November 2003 10:46 (twenty-two years ago)

then get a vacu-vin

― chris (chris), Monday, 17 November 2003 10:49 (twenty-two years ago)

We have a vacuum thing for putting rubber corks in, but we never have any wine left over!

― Citizen Kate (kate), Monday, 17 November 2003 10:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Of course this is a purely theoretical dilemma.

― Ed (dali), Monday, 17 November 2003 10:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Peter Lehmann wines are often screw-capped, and the grenache is an excellent red.

On average I serve about four bottles of corked wine a week at the restaurant, so in theory I'm in favour of plastic corks and screw-caps, as I've never had an oxidised wine out of one of them (also I never have any trouble opening them), however they lack a degree of romance, and the incidence of wines spoiled by oxidisation really is that low that I don't see the point.

Interestingly, practically 90% of corked bottles have been spanish, so maybe it's a problem their wine industry needs to look at.

― Matt (Matt), Monday, 17 November 2003 11:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Peter Lehmann is the only new world winemaker to get past my food miles hangups.

― Ed (dali), Monday, 17 November 2003 11:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Paul Kelly said "cork farmers"!!

― Markelby (Mark C), Monday, 17 November 2003 11:28 (twenty-two years ago)

I have it on good authority (my old boss that was a bit fo a wine buff)that so far as the quality of the wine goes, it's only wine that needs to be kept for a long time that requires a real cork. Everything else you can use a plastic cork on and it makes no difference whatsoever, except for the eobvious inconvenience of geting it back in the damn bottle for keeps.

― Johnney B (Johnney B), Monday, 17 November 2003 11:50 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't like the plastic corks because they do look like a section of penis. They have veins and stuff.

― N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 17 November 2003 12:18 (twenty-two years ago)

those plastic corks are neither good for the environment nor OK for you. therefore DUD.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Monday, 17 November 2003 17:13 (twenty-two years ago)

The upside to not being able to get the cork back is that it means you just have to drink it all.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 17 November 2003 17:23 (twenty-two years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.