Corked consumer products!

On a more conventional note, the other day I opened a TCA-ridden bottle of Brugal rum from the Dominican Republic. Some people who are more into rum than me tell me it's been common with Brugal for years - at least in the Brugal that reaches Spain. (Could it be some form of post-colonial revenge?)
 
Corked carrots and potatoes for us. Pretty icky, but I still doubt that your average civilian would know where to place the blame.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by Josh Beck:
originally posted by Bwood:
Corked bottle of Patron here, recently.
Click to expand...

Serves you right for drinking Patron! Hehehe...
Click to expand...

I know, I know...

We actually usually go for something much more reasonably priced for the quality or now occasionally spring for a Del Maguey Mezcal, something vlm introduced us to this past summer.
 
originally posted by robert ames:
if i haven't used any for several hours, for the first 30 seconds or so my hot tap water reeks of tca.
Click to expand...
My cold water used to have that problem, but it's much less of an issue lately.
 
Apparently Geosmin is a common problem in municipal water supplies, and the one time I smelled a sample it had a distinct similarity to TCA.

If J and J is having trouble finding a lab that can analyse for TCA, any wine lab can help them. Not much of an excuse.
 
Many municipal water supplies are chlorinated to kill germs. Is it possible for that chlorine additive to break down / mutate into TCA ?
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Many municipal water supplies are chlorinated to kill germs. Is it possible for that chlorine additive to break down / mutate into TCA ?
Click to expand...
That would provide plenty of active chlorine. It probably still needs some fungi along the way to make it efficient, and to provide the phenol or anisole component.
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Many municipal water supplies are chlorinated to kill germs. Is it possible for that chlorine additive to break down / mutate into TCA ?
Click to expand...
That would provide plenty of active chlorine. It probably still needs some fungi along the way to make it efficient, and to provide the phenol or anisole component.
Click to expand...

Having gagged on any number of "corky" municipal water suppies (hear me, Chicago?) I'll venture that a fair number of chlorinated organics, the byproducts of chlorination, smell not too unlike TCA. Sometimes I get a more classic mildew odor and sometimes something reminiscent of patchouli oil (which I can't stand because of its similarity to TCA/mildew for me), none of which is particularly pleasant.

Mark Lipton
 
I had some corky sprouts in my veg delivery box this week. Sprouts in general have some of the overtones for me, so I wasn't sure, but then... yup.

Del Maguey Mezcal is the shizzle.

The hot buttered version I made with mole negro infused butter worked out amazingly well.
 
originally posted by SFJoe:
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Many municipal water supplies are chlorinated to kill germs. Is it possible for that chlorine additive to break down / mutate into TCA ?
Click to expand...
That would provide plenty of active chlorine. It probably still needs some fungi along the way to make it efficient, and to provide the phenol or anisole component.
Click to expand...

The role of several widely available moulds [fungi] in the formation of the haloanisoles TCA, TeCA, TBA et al is the transformation of halophenols e.g. trichlorophenol, tetrachlorophenol/pentachlorophenol and tribromophenol to those products by 'methylation' - in effect detoxifying the halophenols to haloanisoles.

Bleach/sodium hypochlorite as a precursor to a chlorophenol where wood might provide the phenolic component is believed to have been the basis of TCA formation in certain wood-related winery contaminations along with TCP, PCP and TBP used variously as wood treatments/pesticides with the latter as a fire-retardant.

However as Mark has said, other 'chlorinated organics' that may be present in sufficient quantities in water supplies are likely to provide similar aromas and be called 'corked'.

Nevertheless there are known incidents where wine has been contaminated in wineries pre-bottling by TCA already present in their external water supplies e.g. when using it to dilute additives used in the winemaking process.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top