Are you looking forward to an aromatic glass of wine, but then realize that it corks? Read here what you can do if the wine corks – and why you should still not dispose of it.

When wine begins to cork, you don’t see it visually at first. Because the cork changes neither its color nor its appearance. You can primarily tell from the smell that the wine is corked. It then gives off an odor that smells like damp cardboard or cardboard. This makes the wine appear less fresh. In technical jargon, this is also known as a “cork error”.

Tip: If you are unsure whether the wine really corks, you can easily check this by adding some carbonated water. This will enhance the smell and make it easier for you to tell if the wine is corked.

Why does wine cork?

Wine is corked by the breakdown product trichloroanisole (TCA), which reacts with certain substances in natural cork. However, you only notice the obvious smell when (invisible) mold has already formed on the cork and is producing the strong-smelling chemical. Nevertheless, according to current knowledge, corking wine is not harmful to health because the harmful substances are not available in sufficiently high quantities.

By the way: not only bottles with a cork, but also bottles with a screw cap are affected. In these cases, the TCA gets into the alcohol via barrels, hoses or cartons, for example. Ideal conditions for TCA to be released could also exist in wine cellars. Since the warm, humid cellar climate offers microorganisms an ideal breeding ground, they could react chemically and thus release the odorous anisole.

What else can you do with corked wine?

Before you pour the wine down the drain, you can try the following trick: Clean the neck of the bottle with a clean cloth and pour the wine into another container. Place a large piece of cling film in the wine. This attracts the TCA and reduces the cork taste. You can theoretically enjoy the wine again after 15 to 20 minutes, when the cork taste has reduced.

Alternatively, you could also try making vinegar from the leftovers of the wine. All you need is wine, water and naturally cloudy apple cider vinegar. Follow these steps to prepare the vinegar:

Take a larger glass jar, wash it out and let it dry well.
Pour the wine and water into the jar.
Add the apple cider vinegar to the wine and water mixture. Mix everything well with a wooden spoon.
Secure a piece of cloth over the jar with a rubber band to act as a “lid” and store in a warm place.
Now the acetic acid bacteria do the rest. They multiply and convert the alcohol so that after a few weeks you get acetic acid. During this time, you can let the vinegar “rest” and don’t have to stir it extra.
Tip: You have to decide for yourself whether you want to use the wine for cooking or not. In principle, it can still be used, but it can happen that the bland taste takes over the food and makes it inedible. However, if the cork smell isn’t too strong, you could still use the wine for cooking. Alternatively, you could also try to exchange the corked wine with the manufacturer. Smaller traders and winegrowers sometimes take back the fine wine as a gesture of goodwill.