Text 66, 124 rader
Skriven 2007-12-30 19:30:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av GLEN JAMIESON
Ärende: WINE CHOICES? 619
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 GJ> According to wine writer and taster, Philip White, one in twenty of
 GJ> the wines put up for judging has a faulty cork or cork taint, and a
 GJ> replacement has had to be requested.

Ian has a lot to say about cork taint, mostly that it happens
very seldom that he can discern. I find it about twice as often
as White's numbers), but then I am sensitive to that kind of
things. But then I don't really mind a touch of TCA; in fact,
it is said that every bottle of Pichon Lalande of every vintage
has TCA, for whatever reason, and it doesn't detract from the
experience of the wine as a whole.

 ML> A somewhat smaller but distinctly nonzero percentage of screwtop
 ML> wines has what has come to be known as cork taint, which would
 ML> lead one to believe that there are other mechanisms for TCA
 ML> generation, perhaps related to imperfect bottle washing?
 GJ> I have tasted quite a few screwtops, and have not noticed any defects.
 GJ> It is possible that inferior standards of closures or bottling hygiene
 GJ> in USA may have resulted in the defects that you have noticed.

You're getting Kevinitis. One thing that you dangerous subversives
down under must realize is that the USA is not the root of all evil.
Another is that I'd say that 90 percent of the screwtop wines I have
had have been New Zealand or Australian in origin. And there is TCA
in some of these. Have I ever had a USA-bottled screwtop premium
wine? Probably, but I don't recall the occasion. More frequently
there are the artificial corks, which have their own problems
attached, mostly related to their nonrecyclability.

 GJ> Australian wines are normally filled into brand new bottles.

The new bottles still have to be processed before filling.

 GJ> 100 red wines with corked bottles which had been stored for a period
 GJ> in the tropical sun with the corks pointing upwards, had been converted
 GJ> to vinegar or rust deposits by the time they arrived at the table.  All
 ML> That's not the same.
 GJ> Different from TCA, but still a cause of defective bottles of wine.
 GJ> After all, that is what matters - at least to me, when tropical.

It's not the wine that was necessarily defective. It's the storage.

 GJ> wine transported and stored in screwtop bottles or flagons or in
 GJ> bladders, remained in pristine condition.
 ML> I have my doubts! Bag-in-box wines have a finite shelf-life as well.
 ML> Wine changes with time; you can delay the change but not stop it.
 ML> This fact gives much hope to those of us who like aged wines.

Being on a roll, I might venture the guess that perhaps your
decades of assaulting your innards with Stanley and De Bortoli
products have coarsened your palate to the degree that what you
consider pristine may in fact be, sadly, merely of Stanley and
De Bortoli grade.

 GJ> Sadly, it looks as if the days of the poor Portugese cork producers
 GJ> are numbered.  Looking through today's top 20 wines listed by Philip
 GJ> White, the only corker was a German wine.

I haven't any particular interest in what my wine comes in
or with; I will assert, though, that wine with corks isn't
so tainted as people claim and that wine with fake corks,
stelvins, etc. isn't so impervious to taint as people claim.

 ML> No, they were all peed in. At the Koru lounges there was a goodly
 ML> assortment of Sauv Blancs, and I refrained from trying any of them.
 GJ> Sad, sad.  Pre-judgement is a sin!

No it's not, if it's at least halfway intelligent.

If I have eaten 50 zucchini and hated all of them, why should I
imagine that the 51st will be any different?

If I tasted 50 New Zealand SBs and hated all of them, why should
you imagine that the 51st will be any different?

 ML> Aside from a half bottle of Pouilly Fume, I had no SB on the trip.
 GJ> You should have been more daring.  What about the beers?  Did you try
 GJ> any of the local brew?

Various Mac's, Monteith's, and Speight's, with the occasional
Steinlager for giggles.

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.01

      Title: Beef and Vegetable Soup #2
 Categories: Meats, Microwave, Soups/stews
      Yield: 6 servings

           BEEF STOCK: Made one day                 -dice
           -ahead                              2 lg Parsnips cut in 1/2 inch
      5 lb Short ribs of beef                       -dice
      1 lg Onion skin left on                  2 ea Stalk celery cut in 1/2
inch
      2 ea Whole cloves                             -dice
      3 ea Cloves of garlic                    6 ea Sprigs fresh dill
      2 ea Stalk celery with leaves          1/2 lb Green beans 1 inch lengths
      1 lg Carrot                              2 ea Leeks cut into thin strips
      3 c  Low/no sodium beef broth          1/4 c  Chopped parsley
           VEGETABLES:                       1/4 c  Chopped dill
      3 lg Carrots cut in 1/2 inch                  Salt and pepper to taste

       Place short ribs in a soup pot. Halve onions and stud with
     cloves. Add garlic, celery, carrot and broth. Add water to
     cover by 1 1/2 inches. Cook, covered, for 1 1/2 hours or until
     meat is tender. Remove meat, cool slightly and shred from the
     bones, trimming and discarding all fat. Cool meat completely.
     Wrap well and refrigerate until ready to use. Discard bones.
     Strain stock, discarding solids, and cool completely.
     Refrigerate overnight. Remove and discard alll the fat that has
     risen to the top before using. To make soup, return defatted
     stock to large soup pot. Add diced carrots, parsnips, celery
     and dill sprigs. Bring to a boil slowly. Reduce heat and
     simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Bring reserved meat to room
     temperature. Add green beans and leeks; simmer for an
     additional 10 minutes. Remove dill sprigs. Add reserved meat
     and half the chopped parsley and dill. Season with salt and
     pepper; cook 3-4 minutes more to heat through. Add remaining
     chopped parsley and dill, then serve steaming hot. Source: ?

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