Customer Reviews

To Cork or Not To Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle

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In To Cork or Not To Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle George Taber reviews the car wreck that exists at the intersection where Art, Science, Commerce and Snobbery collide within the wine world. It is a tale of passion, technology, arrogance and stupidity run amuck. And it is a much more compelling and entertaining story than one might imagine.

The cork has always been an imperfect vehicle for the sealing of wine bottles. While many over the years attribute it's shortcomings to an inadequate seal of the bottle it is in fact the introduction of a chemical called tricholoroanisol (TCA) into the wine. This introduction results in a product that has all the aroma and taste of, as the author phrases it, "a moldy pile of damp cardboard". Wine connoisseurs for literally centuries have been seeking an acceptable replacement.

So, technology to the rescue in the 21st century? Perhaps not. As Taber points out there is reason to believe that "the perfect seal" may not be perfect. There is reason to believe that some air in the bottle provides for a better product over time, especially among the red wines. The cork's seal was sufficiently imperfect that small quantities of air do get introduced to the bottle over time. The replacement technologies--plastic "corks" and metal screw-off caps--do provide an essentially "perfect" seal. The result? What's know as "reduction', a process that yields a wine that tastes, as the author phrases it, "like sulfur infused rotten eggs".

Vast portions of the wine industry have rushed to the corner of one or the other technology. Australia has all but converted to the newer technologies. So have some of the highest end wineries in the US and (gulp) France. This has the natives in an uproar, mainly because the traditionalists--and the sommeliers of the world--view the destruction of the tableside wine presentation vignette as the surest sign that the apocalypse is indeed upon us. Tradition and snobbery, meet commerce and technology. The casual bystander should turn his eye from this grisly scene.

Where are things headed? It's possible cork may make a comeback. The cork world has finally removed it's blinders, trashed the arrogance and started to effect some much needed quality control processes that should improve the product. As is always the case these days, other outside voices are being heard, in the case the green movement that wants to preserve the cork forests of Europe and have gotten on the cork bandwagon in a big way.

I hope so. As this entertaining book comes to a close Taber seems to hope so as well. "In this world there are sounds that bring joy to all but the most jaded>" says Taber. Examples? "The purring of a kitten. The crack of a perfectly hit baseball. And the pop of a cork being pulled from a nice bottle of wine." There is no perfect technology Taber concludes and as a default, the rise of the sensory joy over commercial efficiency is something to be savors as much as any Pinot Noir.

TO CORK OR NOT TO CORK outlines the history of how wine has been protected over the years utilizing wonderful stories of successes and failures in protecting the "nectar of the the gods." George Taber's historical perspectives bring light from various perspectives as to what has been used to preserve wine from the oxidizing air. Wine makers want to protect their wines and provide their buyers with the best wine possible. Customers want the romance of "poping that cork." The cork industry wants to preserve its business. Mr. Taber looks at these various perspectives and provides further alternatives, like ZORKS. This book reads well and is broken out in manageable chapters for reading. I highly recommend this book for any wine lover. It will definitely open a new perspective in wine appreciation. George Taber's expereinces in writing for a national magazine for many years plus his love for wine make this book enjoyable reading. The passion reads well in this book!

To Cork or Not to Cork is the book the wine industry - and the wine drinker - has needed for a long time. While I spent about five minutes looking into corks and screw caps, George Taber managed to research the facts on closures like a crime-scene investigator, examine them like a neurotic physicist, and yet write like an old friend telling you his engaging life story. Even if by the end of the book I still felt that jamming a piece of tree bark into the neck of a wine bottle ranks right up there with playing in the NFL without a helmet, George has helped me realize that the perfect - and perfectly preserved - bottle of wine is still a work in progress. It won't be forever, though, now that George has enlightened us all. Don't just buy the book; buy George a drink to say thanks.

I'm a wine industry professional and this book was packed with new information that was fascinating while not being overly technical. I think my favorite parts were little facts about TCA 2,4,6. I highly recommend reading this if you ever have to deal with the question of cork vs screw cap. However it doesn't draw a definite conclusion but gives you enough information to formal an intelligent opinion.

Having read "Judgment of Paris" by this author and frankly finding it a bit of a single topic disappointment, I happily discovered in this book that not only does the author choose a subject worth a whole book, but he also makes it an exciting read! Don't get me wrong - the cork vs. screwtop vs. synthetic cork debate may not interest everyone, but if you are interested in wine (and drink it at least a few times a week) this book will entertain you with a bit of science and lots of great anecdotal points to give the topic some juice.

I've read maybe 10 wine books this Summer and this was by far my favorite. Whether you're still romanced by cork, a lover of plastic or a true lover of wine (Stelvin closures) this book thoroughly covers the topic and makes it interesting as well. Cork industry, beware!

I am a neophyte wine drinker, and I purchased this book to give me some detail on this subject.

"To cork or not to cork" gave me that and much more. I feel much more informed and am now able to hold a meaningful discussion on the topic of the wine closure.

I found this book's treatment of the history of the cork to make it much more interesting thatn one would expect at first glance.

This is a fascinating book, written by George Taber author of Judgment of Paris: California vs France, about the attempts to substitute screw-tops and synthetic corks for natural corks for sealing wine bottles.

As a microbiologist and wine-drinker I found the positions taken my different wine-makers and information about the interactions between the closures and the wine equally fun to read about while as a New Zealander I applaud the move by NZ wine-makers to use screw tops for the majority of their white wines.

Worth reading, got a broad insight into the merits of different bottle closures. The time line of development was very interesting. The development of the business aspect and human inertia was good.

George Taber has finally unearthed what so many of us in the wine industry have been saying; Closures are dependent on the varietal, region and the target consumer. Mr. Taber has taken a rather dull topic and made a page turner book revealing personal and industry stories of the history of wine closures and their varying success. This author has obviously spent a lot time investigating and interviewing notables in the wine world to bring us all up to speed. I hope this book reaches international readership so the wine world can continue its quest for quality and ultimately, a better consumer experience.

As a Foodie and Wine Geek, I enjoyed this book with all of the details about cork, the stories on how the alternate closures came about and the debates that are still going on today. But I really enjoyed the science that was interwoven in the book. The sections about TCA and TBA and how they are detected as well as the science on wine reduction was fascinating to me. So if you like all that stuff about wine, you've got to read this book. Had a hard time putting it down.