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The good news: Calorie restriction seems to work. The bad news: Lots less ice cream. More...
Miriam Wolf
today at 5:27pm |
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Return it to the brewery and get more. More...
Lessley Anderson
yesterday at 3:14pm |
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Destination Doughnuts in Los Altos
At Donut du Jour and Esther’s German Bakery. More...
Cicely Wedgeworth
yesterday at 12:26pm |
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My Hawaiian vacation fantasy. More...
Daniel Duane
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 3:45pm |
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Some say it works, most say it is bunk. But if you want wine that tastes of saran wrap . . .
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saran wrap is tasteless - or should be anyway.
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Yes, though it's not 100% effective and won't restore a corked wine to what it would have been were it not corked. And the plastic doesn't have to be Saran Wrap -- any polyethylene bag or wrap will do. And vigorous shaking isn't necessary. And the wine doesn't have to be decanted, though decanting makes it easier to retrieve the plastic.
www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-w...
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There is something in the polyethylene that binds up the 2,4,6-trichloranisole and, thus, removes it from the wine.
I would NOT SHAKE the wine -- you'll only introduce excessive amounts of oxygen in the wine. You need one piece of plastic wrap, and either push it inside the bottle -- leave overnight -- or decant it (carswell is correct; it *is* easier to remove it if you decant it, but it's not necessary).
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When this thread appeared on alt.food.wine some years ago, I snickered, but some were pretty serious about it. Just so happens that I opened a mildly-corked Cal-Chard, while reading that thread. I grabbe the Saran Wrap and lined a funnel, pouring the wine slowly into another vessel. "Hm-m," thought, "a bit of a change for the better." I discussed this little, non-controlled experiment (I was, however, familiar with that wine), on the board. The suggestion was made, that I had not exposed the wine to the plastic long enough, so I sampled, then wadded up the plastic, placing it into the wine for the night. Next evening the wine was better, as far as the TCA was concerned. It was not gone completely, but better. Now, the wine was no where close to what I expected from it, only somewhat freed of the TCA taint. Damage had been done. The wine was now, at least, drinkable, but I would just return it (if possible) in the future and not go the Saran Wrap. My snickering died out to the sound of Saran Wrap being crinkled...
Hunt
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The aroma/flavor is still "scalped", but the TCA is gone. I've found it works best with sturdy wines like vintage port or German riesling, that can handle being open and exposed to oxygen long enough for the process to work (e.g., overnight in the fridge). I push it into the bottle with a chopstick. The wine will be drinkable or you can salvage it for cooking.
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Melanie, to work with your last sentence: have you ever cooked with "corked" wine? I have not, and have never considered doing so, but, others have indicated that the TCA does not affect the food, in which the wine is used for cooking. Another reason that I ask is because of one of my few "run-ins" with a sommelier. When rejecting a btl. of Red Shoulders Ranch Chard, the sommelier asked what I wanted him to do with the wine. My reply was to just replace it with an uncorked bottle. He then stated, for all of the restaurant to hear, " if that's the case, the chef will just cook with it." I was agast, but others have indicated that the heat renders the wine fine for cooking. Any experience? I just schlep it back and ask for a replacement - two in the last two weeks, but that is life, and I have never had a retailer, who refused, or even hesitated. Usually, I have to ask them to get off their knees and quit apologizing, as "it happens."
Just curious,
Hunt
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Sue Courtney, the owner of the New Zealand Wine of the Week website, reports that TCA disappears when cooked. www.wineoftheweek.com/stories/winered... Have never been able to bring myself to test her thesis; like you, I tend to return the bottle.
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I've not tried cooking with a TCA-affected bottle. Can't stand pulling out the stopper and having the smell in the house, even for a moment. But I have heard from some friends who keep a vinegar barrel that the corkiness disappears in the process. Don't know.
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I once made the mistake of popping a bottle and pouring it directly in a hot pan to deglaze, I tasted my sauce to test for seasoning and my sauce was corked! It was awful and no amount of cooking could get rid of it. Never again will I cook with a wine I have not tasted first. Always return the bottle, the retailer can then return it so they are not out anything.....they along with the winery should want you to have the best that bottle has to offer.
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I return it, too . . .
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Thank you for this tip. Since smetimes the wine has been purchased at the vineyard and I won't be going back anytime soon this is good to know. Happens rarely, but what a disappointment when it does. Thanks will give it try, I have never found it good to be cooked with or anything else. I usually dump it.
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I'm with you on NOT cooking with wine, with any flaws, whatsoever. However, I know many, who claim that it does not affect the sauce, whatever. For me (and a poster above, with a "corked" sauce), it just seems bad economy.
Yeah, when purchased from the winery, there could be a problem. I have had two, IIRC, that came as club wines, and an e-mail brought replacement bottles, with an apology. In both of these cases, they asked me to not ship the bottles back, but I was ready to do so, if it might help them in any way.
For me, there are two things to consider:
Having my bad wine replaced with good.
Helping the producer track down, and eliminate any problems.
In a perfect world, all wine would be free from cork-taint, and other faults. It would have been stored (even if purchased at auction, etc.) perfectly, and transported, so as to arrive in perfect condition. It would also pair exceptionally well with whatever I serve it with! Hey, I can dream, can't I?
Hunt
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Oh I just must have an extra sensitive palate, I can't handle that taste at all, and found corked wine not fit for anything at all.
I would not want to waste the sauce ingredients or risk the meal.
That's why I was so surpried to see the saran wrap and decanting thing. I think I will still try it and I"ll let you know. However, I have to say I am skeptical.
We'll see.
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Again, the wine will NOT be returned to pristine condition, as if the taint had never been present. But it more than makes the wine "passable." It will be good, not great.
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Do not expect miracles, but I was surprised how effective it was to reducing the TCA. Now, if you know the wine, or what to expect from the wine, you will be dissapointed. However, I had to eat my words, when using this method, and I did not leave the wine in contact with the Saran Wrap as long as recommended. OTOH, my first line of defense would be to just return the bottle for credit.
Hunt
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TCA 2,4,6 is a microbial infection. saran wrap cannot undue organic degredation. sorry.
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"TCA 2,4,6 is a microbial infection."
Actually, it's a chemical compound produced when chlorophenols react with mould in the presence of moisture, i.e. a contaminant, not a sign of organic degradation.. And it does bind with polyethylene.
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No. Microbes are essential to its creation, but it is NOT a "microbial infection."
I would suggest you look at "The Science of Wine from Vine to Glass" by Jamie Goode, (c)2005, UC Press, pages 146-147.
At the International Wine Challenge in London, the rate-of-taint in 2001 was 6.0%; in 2002, 4.6%, and in 2003, 4.9%.
The Australian Wine Research Institute ran tests on every cork during three different Wine Assessment Courses, these tests consisting of chemical analysis via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). They tested a total of 1,625 bottles sealed with cork closures. 6.46 of these showed TCA taint. Applying "statistical confidence limits" to the market as a whole, there is a 99 percent certainly that if the sample (of 1,625 bottles) is representative of the entire market at large, then the "real world" rate-of-taint is between 5.0-8.2%.
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hey, then i'm batting right at the average! and i was worried my nose was out of kilter ...(vbg)
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That's in the ballpark for my winemaker acquaintances, who state 4-10% and I seem to be running in the mid-range of that.
Thanks for the data,
Hunt
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I, too, was incredulous, through different logic, but a quick test yielded results that surprised me. The wine was NOT returned to original condition, but the TCA was diminished to a barely noticable level. Mind games? I kinda' doubt it, especially as I expected it to NOT work in any way.
Hunt
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am i reading this correctly? and i have tried the plastic issue, it mutes it faintly but i might be wrong but even a little bit of poison is still poison.
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Are you saying "poison" seriously? TCA will not harm you. (No known human pathogen can live in wine.)
But "corked" is still "corked" -- this will indeed go a long way towards cleaning it up and making it drinkable, but my "option of first resort" is always to return the wine . . .
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