Over five hundred bottles of wine were opened at the French Wine Society Conference, held Oct. 4-7 at the French Embassy in Washington D.C...and only 4 were affected by TCA, commonly referred to as "cork taint".
"The numbers are pretty impressive," states French Wine Society Education Director, Lisa M. Airey. "Obviously, we are seeing a very positive upswing in the soundness of natural cork."
"It"s nice to see the cork industry turn around a problem so completely...so resolutely" states Julien Camus, French Wine Society President, referring to a time when too many wines were affected with a wet basement, wet newspaper aroma most often stemming from the interaction of natural molds growing on cork bark and elements within the cork production process. "The problem made many producers turn to synthetic corks or screw caps...but four tainted bottles out of 501...those are pretty good odds...especially since we poured some older vintages such as 1964 Maury, 1990 Rivesaltes, and 1998 Vin Jaune."
"We hope to invite a spokesperson from the cork industry to address TCA and the integrity of natural cork at our next conference," continues Lisa. "There was a message in the bottles we opened this year. Far too many people consider any off-aroma present in wine to be TCA. They claim the wine is ‘corked.' This is unfair...and it's time to set the record straight."
The French Wine Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of French wine through French wine education in North America. For more information on the French Wine Society and its certification programs, log on to http://www.frenchwinesociety.org/
You may download the French Wine Society"s 2009 Conference Recap here.