Andrew Polmear writes for the love of wine…

Twenty years ago the answer was simple: you were tasting to see if it was corked, ie whether it tasted musty because the cork had gone mouldy. Back then it was estimated to be detectable in 10% of wines, although people’s ability to detect the chemical responsible was very variable. Now it’s more like 0.1%. Or if it’s a screw cap, 0%.

So is it still worth tasting before it is poured? First, let’s be clear, you are not being asked whether you like it, merely whether there’s anything wrong with it. The answer is, yes, it’s still worth doing; there are other things that can go wrong with wine apart from the cork.
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