Corked! Or is it?
“Have you ever sent a wine back?” I’m hearing this question more and more, whether it’s at a picnic or cocktail party. It seems to have made its way into our chatting to supplement the buffet of random conversation topics we come to when socializing.
It was a question frequently asked of me when I went on awkward first dates, and by that I mean all first dates. The humor, for me, is the way this question is almost whispered. People seem to pose it as though they’re asking something naughty, as though they were debating whether to ask me what color my underwear was or if I’ve returned a wine.
Sending back wine has become something most down-to-earth humans cringe at. Having worked in the restaurant industry for over 15 years, I can confirm that a lot of folks who send back wine are not very kind, or they cite inaccurate reasons for returning the wine; these are the people giving the send back a bad rep. That having been said, I’ve sent back wine myself and have also had perfectly lovely people send back wine.
Generally, when a guest dislikes a wine or detects something wrong with it, they say, “it’s corked!” There is, however, a general lack of clarity regarding corked wine.
So, let’s talk about cork taint and what could alternatively be fishy about your bottle.
How common is it? The published statistic changes every year, but typically settles around 3-5%. It should be noted this is likely to continue to go down, as more wineries turn to alternative closures.
How can you detect it? It smells like damp cardboard or musty dog. It tends to mask the fruitiness of a wine.
If a wine is corked, is it trash? This is perhaps the least talked about aspect of cork taint. THERE ARE VARYING DEGREES OF CORK TAINT. A wine can be completely corked, or just ever so slightly. I’ve witnessed a full roundtable of sommeliers debating about whether or not a wine had a tiny bit of cork taint. It is not always overt.
What causes cork taint? Cork taint refers to the presence of TCA, or 2,4,6 – trichloroanisole. Don’t worry, nobody can pronounce it, and even fewer remember it. Just stick with TCA. This is a chemical compound that thrives in cork.
Can a wine with a different type of closure (e.g. screw cap) be corked? Technically, yes. If the winery uses cork in other bottlings, there could be cross-contamination. However, this is super duper rare.
If my wine has something wrong with it, is it corked? No! Not necessarily. There are a number of things that can go wrong with a wine. The two below are the most common you may encounter.
Maderized/ “Cooked”- The wine was improperly kept in hot temperatures, causing notes of almonds or cooked fruits.
Oxidized- The wine was exposed to too much oxygen. The fruit is muted. There may be a vinegar-like taste. Whites look more golden or brown.
There are, indeed, other technical “flaws” that can be found in wine. However, these 3 are certainly the most common you will see in a consumer setting that would warrant returning the wine.
All of this leads us to perhaps the most important question:
Are you a jerk for sending back a wine?
Typically, no! I have certainly sent back wines, kindly, with respect for the sommelier and/ or server. As a restaurant professional, I also strongly prefer when a guest lets me know they have an issue with their wine, so I can turn the experience around. I want that person walking out the door feeling like they had a rocking, delicious good time. That is not going to happen if they are suffering through a bottle.
If you think your wine might be flawed, let your sommelier or server know. You are not expected to be a wine expert as a patron. Be kind and humble and say you aren’t sure what may be wrong with the wine, but it doesn’t taste right to you, and you would appreciate the opinion of the sommelier. We are not judging you for not being able to detect cork taint or being unsure if a wine is maderized. You can actually be quite proficient in wine and still be unsure.
Is it ok to send back wine if it is not technically flawed, but if you simply don’t like it?
Typically, yes, but be aware of the circumstances. If you are unfamiliar with the wine list, request help prior to ordering. This doesn’t mean you don’t know anything about wine. It simply means you are deferring to the people who created this list to be the experts on their products. You wouldn’t feel weird asking a florist to make an arrangement for you, even if you knew a hell of a lot about peonies.
Particularly in the event you tell the sommelier what you would like, and they open a bottle for you that is wildly different than what you anticipated, it is appropriate to let them know that is not what you had in mind.
When is it not ok to return a wine?
If a sommelier has specifically advised you that you are unlikely to enjoy a wine, given what you have told them about your taste, and you go ahead and order the wine anyway, you have made your bed.
If you drank half the bottle or more and then decided you didn’t like it, It’s too late. Alert your server or sommelier as soon as you know you’d like to trade the wine out. Waiting doesn’t make it better.
If you have selected a bottle of wine that is an older vintage of a well-known producer, it is rude to return it unless flawed. Let’s spell this out-- you picked up a list and ordered a bottle of rare wine $300+. Unless flawed, you should keep it. I have encountered guests who purposefully ordered very expensive bottles of wine, accepted the wine when they tasted, then drank a fair bit, and called me back over to send the wine back. This was a very clear maneuver to taste a very expensive and rare wine. Needless to say, we no longer accepted reservations from those guests.
Rules of the Wine-Ordering Road
Bottom line, just be a good human. Much like in the rest of life, your server or sommelier will be delighted to go out of their way to make your experience great, if you’re plain and simply kind and authentic. We want you to have a great time. We want you to drink great wine. We don’t care how much you know about wine. The people who aren’t total wine experts are often a lot more fun than the ones who are. One of our great joys is getting to help you find something you’ll love. It’s called hospitality, and any sommelier who doesn’t extend it to you isn’t worth their salt.