According to a study from the Department of Enology and Viticulture at U.C. Davis, about 5 percent of the wine produced in the United States contains cork taint, or trichloroanisole (TCA). TCA is caused when microorganisms in the natural cork combine with chemical contaminants used in the production process to kill bacteria.
It can range from a subtle "off" flavoring to an odor that smells like a damp cellar, mildew or wet cardboard. Regardless of the origin, price or brand, all wines are susceptible.
Wine insiders say the industry is losing an estimated $100 million annually in the U.S. alone, due to TCA problems. More importantly, winemakers are worried that the average consumer will not recognize a bottle with a slight taint of TCA and will avoid the product in the future.
Artificial corks in the Future
To combat the problem, several alternatives to bark cork are available. As with any change in a traditional market, response has been favorable but slow.
The largest producer of synthetic or artificial cork is Supreme Corq, Inc. of Kent, WA. Company president and CEO Robert Anderson said the plastic corks are a neutral product that "doesn't add any flavors or scalp from the wine."
"A synthetic cork still preserves the traditional ritual of removing a cork," said Anderson. "However, there is no chance of TCA with a synthetic closure. This is changing the wine industry. We're changing the industry."
Synthetic corks are just one alternative. The agglomerate cork, known as an "agglo" was originally developed as a closure for Champagne and sparkling wine. It uses pieces or granules of clean, natural cork bound together with a chemical binder and sometimes a thin disc of natural cork stuck on the contact end of the wine.
Sabate USA manufactures the "Altec" or non-agglomerate cork, produced by removing a major part of the lignin/wood content that harbors TCA and replacing it with synthetic cells rather than bonded to cork granules with resin. But Van Duzer Winery in Oregon's Willamette Valley has filed a lawsuit against the French firm, claiming that Sabate's Altec stopper ruined 1,200 cases of 1999 chardonnay with a retail value of more than $250,000. The wine was contaminated with TCA.
