Talk Cork

When was the last time you enjoyed the moment of cork-pulling??

Being in NZ, I have not used my corkscrew for a long long time. Most of the wines here (and in Australia?) are now fitted with metal screws - very user-friendly.

If you are still sticking to cork pulling... you must be buying mainly the European wines; perceived more expensive wines; you are the traditional romantic kind and chances are you are not a volume drinker!

But if you are a cork lover, you might as well know some of the facts: Portugal and Spain combined supplied over 85% of the global natural cork from their cork oak barks. Be warned, up to 10% of the wines with the natural cork can be off flavour due to cork taint as the cork is susceptible to bacteria and molds. Cork is useful in those cases where the red wines need maturing..

In NZ and Australia, people can't wait for such maturation... they drink faster than the wines can even reach puberty!

And since we are talking corks, you might as well know that there are three types of wine corks - the standard one piece cork made from a single piece of bark; the agglomerate cork made up of tiny pieces of cork bound together by glue (and it is shorter) and then the Champagne cork with mushroom shape (bigger head for better grip .... a bit like what God has given to you down there!).

It is time to go beyond the cork ... time to drink the fermented grape juice!