Corked & Cling Film

[DRT]

Tonight I opened a bottle of Kopke 1983 from a case that a few of us here shared and has proven to be very corky. After opening the bottle with false hopes of finding something drinkable I inhaled the unmistakable stench of wet cardboard. I then remembered reading something about the ability of cling film to remove TCA from wine so poured half of the decanter into a pint glass that had a huge scrumpled wad of cling film in it.

The result is remarkable. I now have two glasses of port in front of me from the same bottle that was decnated less than an hour ago. One smells of wet cardboard and the other smells of sweet red fruits. The downside is that both of them taste quite awful. I have no way of knowing if that is the fault of the cork, the cling film, both or if this is just a port that isn't very good. But the lesson is that cling film removes or significantly reduces the smell of TCA.

[RonnieRoots]

We tried this as well at the 1977 offline in 2008. Gould Campbell was corked beyond belief. The consensus was that the port was very drinkable, but only after all the other bottles were finished and this was the only one left.

[DRT]

I put what was left into a decanter and stuffed some cling film in to see what happens over 24 hours. It no longer smells corked but I haven't tasted it yet so will report back tonight.

[oscar quevedo]

Should Port producers start to put cling film in the bottles just to prevent some further TCA in the wine?!? Well, IVDP would need some years to decide on that! Julian would be the guy to fight for that!

[DRT]

Should Port producers start to put cling film in the bottles just to prevent some further TCA in the wine?!?

No. The port producers should just stop using dodgy corks

[g-man]

Fun experiment, but i find for dry reds it REALLY changes the flavor alot.

[DRT]

The verdict is that it is drinkable but not great. It doesn't smell of TCA but you can still taste it a little, which is remarkable as this was one of the most corked bottles of port I have ever had and was completely foul.

[g-man]

You certainly do not have me convinced mr. drt. I'd go with door #2 with Ronnie's suggestion instead

[Andy Velebil]

I've heard that the original "Cling Wrap" is the best to use for whatever reason, and that other types of film don't work as good.

I've also heard while it takes the smell away, it still doesn't make the wine taste good.

[Alex Bridgeman]

There are two types of Cling Film - polyethylene only or a mix of PVC and polyethylene. From what I understand, this effect of removing TCA requires the pure polyethylene variety for the full effect.

[griff]

It works to remove TCA but it strips the wine to a certain extent as other flavour molecules associate with the plastic as well. But it is the only option at present for drinking the wine. I also find it useful for checking whether a wine that is closed is actually stripped due to TCA.

cheers

Carl