All right. My sense of smell is coming around. Tonight we uncorked a bottle of Springhill Cellars 2003 Willamette Valley, McClain Vineyard, Pinot Noir with friends Joseph and Ann. While I wasn’t able detect any notes of tumbleweed or barbecued meat, a few extra seconds hovering around my taste buds really brought out the wine’s oak and smokey flavors. The Pinot was so delicious that we finished it all too soon - should have bought a case. Enough with the ringing endorsements. Try it for yourself at $35 a bottle.

We also had our first sniff of tainted (or corked) wine today in a controlled test conducted by a friend. According to www.wikipedia.com, cork taint is a broad term that refers to a set of undesirable smells or tastes found in a bottle of wine, especially spoilage that can only be detected after bottling, aging, and opening. “The chief cause of cork taint is the presence of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) in the wine,” explains Wikipedia. ”Corked wine containing TCA has a characteristic odor, variously described as resembling a moldy newspaper, wet dog, or damp basement.”

After a quick swish, my nose peeked over the glass rim. The liquid that should have offered a nice, pleasant aroma smelled a little like 50 parts wine, 49 parts bleach, with just a hint of wet mutt. The good news is that I worked up the courage to have a taste despite the foul odor, and it didn’t kill me. According to Wikipedia (where you can find everything you’ve ever wanted to know about corked wine and more), it is harmless; though I don’t recommend verifying that conclusion.

Believe it or not, cork taint is estimated to spoil between 1 and 15 percent of all bottles. In fact, a 2005 study by Wine Spectator revealed that 7% of 2800 bottles sampled were tainted.

Not to worry, word has it that winemakers and cork manufacturers are working diligently toward irradicating the dreaded taint. There are allegedly even filtration and purification systems available that can remove the TCA from corked wine and make it drinkable again. Maybe that’s worth a look. Seven percent of 2800 bottles (based on the WS study) is a lot of wine: that’s 196 bottles emptied into glass rather than down the drain. I’ll toast to that. Cheers!

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