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Wine 101 - Cork
Why does the waiter give you the cork? He may not even know, yet through his training he sets the cork aside the bottle after giving the person who ordered the bottle a taste to be sure the wine hasn't been "corked" (by smelling and tasting). Is it because it has an elegant customary tradition? Well maybe that's the partial truth, yet the tradition started through the fact that one can judge whether a bottle has been properly stored. It is simply because one can generally get an idea whether his nose and eyes is telling him/her the story behind the bottle. That is, how it was cellared. Was the bottle properly stored on it's side, thus keeping the cork wet and sealed from air oxidizing the wine? If the cork is wet from the 1st eighth to quarter of the cork on through to 3/4 to only an eighth of that cork showing dry, then you can almost guarantee the wine isn't corked. Yet was it stored in a temperature that allowed it to "age" gracefully? That can almost be a loaded question if the history of aging wasn't fairly well documented by the Italians and French. Yet in America and more specifically California through several movers and shakers such as the Mondavi and UC Davis relations, we are seeing somewhat of a revolution in wine making. Through modern methods, wine is being made to drink almost directly from reaching commerce shelves. As "aging" isn't really a subject much related to cork I will address this at another time and leave you with the last idea that is new to the wine cork perspective and that would be finding out what the web address of the winery is. Many corks are now adorned with whimsical messages and marketing that many will certainly appreciate viewing the cork for.
