How to Drink Better: I have never found sniffing the cork to be of any use, but others swear by it
, sometimes go through an elaborate performance before pouring you and your fellow diners a glass of wine. I know some people find it intimidating, but done well it can be great to watch. The waiter should first show you the label so that you can check that it is the wine and vintage you ordered. Some will offer to decant the wine.
Then they will open the bottle. Some will sniff the cork before pouring you a small sample of wine to try. Both of these are done to check if the wine is faulty. The most common fault is that the wine is “corked”. This is caused by TCA a chemical compound found in natural corks and very occasionally in wood. I have never found sniffing the cork to be of any use, but others swear by it.
In the past corked wines were quite common, 2-10 per cent of wines depending on who you talk to. Some people can detect TCA in tiny quantities, others are far less susceptible. Very corked wines smell mouldy, or of wet cardboard or dirty dish cloths. Others just smell of very little. Neither are pleasant.
These days the manufacturing process is much better and faulty corks are rare to come across. Wines bottled with screw caps or plastic corks cannot be corked, yet the practice of offering a sample persists. If the wine is corked, the waiter should replace it with another bottle of the same wine. However, if you really don’t like the smell or taste of the sample you have been served, you could try politely sending it back. It might just be a horrible wine.
John Creedon: ‘I was always being sent away, not because they didn’t love me, but because they couldn’t cope’‘I knew ... I couldn’t stay with him any more ... I had a husband who was addicted to drugs and raping me’Éanna Ní Lamhna: ‘In 1970 we had twice as much biodiversity as we have now. Twice as much: 90 per cent of our curlews are gone’
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Are expensive wines always better than cheap ones?How to Drink Better: Any difference after €30 is likely to be marginal
Read more »
The cooking wine rule: if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with itHow to Drink Better: It’s best not to use the cheapest bottle of plonk
Read more »
Drink driving case against former Eirgrid chief executive dismissed over failure to offer a urine testBlood sample taken from Mark Kelly which showed him to be four times over legal limit ruled inadmissible
Read more »
Spain Implements New 'Six-Drink Rule' at All-Inclusive ResortsRecent years have seen reforms in Spain driven by the effects of the Covid pandemic, Brexit implications, regional law changes and over-tourism concerns. One notable change is the introduction of a 'six-drink rule' at some all-inclusive resorts.
Read more »
Jeremy Clarkson jokes about drink-driving when filming episode of The Grand TourThe TV presenter was speaking during a Q&A session following a screening of the episode, released on Amazon Prime earlier this month, which sees him and co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May downing beer and spirits while sailing boats
Read more »
Celine Dion, 56, soaked at football game as drink poured all over herIn 2022 Celine Dion announced she was diagnosed with the neurological condition stiff person syndrome
Read more »