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To Cork or Not To Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle
In Judgment of Paris, George M. Taber masterfully chronicled the historic 1976 wine tasting when unknown California wines defeated top French ones, marking a major turning point in wine history. Now he explores the most controversial topic in the world of wine: What product should be used to seal a bottle? Should it be cork, plastic, glass, a screwcap, or some other type o...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
October 9th 2007
by Scribner
(first published 2007)
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I was very excited to read this book because began my professional career performing quality control for natural cork wine stoppers. It's an often overlooked aspect of the wine industry and the vast majority of the population (including a surprising number of winery tasting room employees) is uneducated or undereducated about TCA and other wine defects that can be caused by various bottle closures. Unfortunately, this book is not nearly as well-written as Taber's last book, The Judgement of Pari...more
I got to page 147 (of about 265 pages), and then just couldn't take any more discussion of how to close a wine bottle. From what I learned in the early part of the book, I think true purists would insist upon having their wine stored in clay amphorae rather than bottles or barrels, thereby following ancient Greco-Roman practice. Although I realize I'm the one who picked up the book, I think the essential points could have been covered in a long magazine article or blog post.
Anyway, the potential...more
Anyway, the potential...more
If you are a wine connoisseur, and I mean a true wine connoiseur, you will in all likelihood enjoy this book. Anyone else and you will be wasting your time. The theme of the book is the age old problem of what is the best closure for a bottle of wine.
For centuries all wine bottles were closed by a cork fitting. Wine makers started finding that a significant number of their bottles had a peculiar taste which they believed came from the cork (cork tainting). They determined that it was caused by -...more
For centuries all wine bottles were closed by a cork fitting. Wine makers started finding that a significant number of their bottles had a peculiar taste which they believed came from the cork (cork tainting). They determined that it was caused by -...more
OUTSTANDING Read!
This one will sneak up on you!
Besides Robert Hooke few people besides me can get excited about the physical properties of Cork. Taber has taken the seemingly boring facts and details of chemistry - microbiology and wove them into a fastinating story.
One would expect that a drink so universally consumed for more than 9000 years would be better understood.
It is not an exageration to say; wine making is more witchcraft than science. Taber has written a book that blends the art of...more
This one will sneak up on you!
Besides Robert Hooke few people besides me can get excited about the physical properties of Cork. Taber has taken the seemingly boring facts and details of chemistry - microbiology and wove them into a fastinating story.
One would expect that a drink so universally consumed for more than 9000 years would be better understood.
It is not an exageration to say; wine making is more witchcraft than science. Taber has written a book that blends the art of...more
Even as a non-oenophile, I found this to be quite a riveting read. Taber does a good job blending history (a brief run through of wine closures through the ages), interesting factoids (like how the term 'butler' came about), the science behind the phenomenon of "corking" and reduction, and the stories of wine makers and closure companies in their quest for the perfect closure. Stelvin screwcaps, natural corks, technical corks, agglomerated corks, colmated corks, T-tops, plastic corks, SupremeCor...more
You must be completely enamored with wine to enjoy the writing of Mr. Taber and his journey with the glass of wine and all the complexities that went into it and making it to your lips. It took me a long time to finish this book and although at times it bordered on "encyclopedic," I thoroughly enjoyed and found myself totally fascinated by the history and science behind a wine bottle, it's closures, and of course, the wine itself.
Finally finished this discussion of different wine bottle closures (screwcap, glass stopper, cork, etc.) after picking it up and putting it down several times. Lots of interesting trivia, but it's kind of all over the place and sometimes not very coherent.
This is a decent read if you are interested in wine. The first chapter is a terrific overview of both the history of winemaking and of cork. After that though it began to lose me, reading more like a textbook than a book directed at the lay person. After about four chapters I put the cork back in this one.
Enjoyed this even more than his Judgment of Paris. In Judgment, one learns about the characters that made the wine industry in California. In Cork, one learns apsects about what gives a wine its characters. More interested in the people in the wine business? Read Judgment of Paris. More interested in the wine itself and issues that affect it? Read To Cork or Not to Cork.
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The screwcap vs. cork debate has been going on as long as I've been in the restaurant business, and nobody has ever written such a concises historical and biological assessment of the cork industry, as it affects the wine industry. I don't actually know of anybody else who's even attempted to really break down all aspects of the debate. George Taber does an excellent job. This book is a must have for any sommellier, wine director, wine seller or just lover of wine. I am now better equipped to en...more
A fun quick look into the history and challenges of sealing wine
It's a little dry, but not bad so far.
Who knew there was so much to know about wine closures? I keep bugging my husband by relating little tidbits & I love the "corked wine" stories sprinkled between chapters. I know very little about wine--other than I enjoy drinking it--and this book is going to give me plenty to talk about at my snobby wine club next week!
This book was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. I'll definitely be paying a lot more attention to wine closures from now on, now that I know the positives & negatives that are associated with each kind. I like wine but don't know that much about it - this book made me feel a little more educated.
Very interesting book. There were a lot of things I didn't know about the different types of closures available in the market for wine bottles. Even with all of the bad reviews and issues with cork, it's still the best way to open a bottle.
An interesting, but scattered review of the history of wine closures.
Interesting book on the history of and current trends in wine bottle closures. Not exceptionally well-written, but interesting, for geeks.
Sooo informative I learned so much About wine. I highly recommend for anyone in an industry involving wine or any book worm/aficionado
Read my review at http://bookaweekwithjen.blogspot.com/...
Outstanding insight into the wine industry and the issues around wine closures!
Dec 05, 2009
Jojo Richardson
marked it as to-read
I'm probably never going to read this. But thanks anyway, Enright.
Mar 02, 2013
Chelsea
marked it as to-read
Feb 19, 2013
Wesley Mcbratney
marked it as to-read
Jan 25, 2013
Adam
marked it as to-read
Jan 22, 2013
Queenlisa1969
marked it as to-read
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