What Does the Cork on the Wine Bottle Tell You?

When a waiter presents you with your wine selection, it is often thought that it is a good time to smell the cork.

It is often suggested that you feel the cork when you open your bottle of wine. When you “play” with the cork you can notice if it is warm or cool, wet or dry, or hard or soft. Feeling the cork can tell you whether the wine has been properly stored or at least hint a few clues to you about how the wine will be.

A cork should be flexible, elastic, and soft enough to be compressible and hard enough to hold together. The fill line on the wine should be pretty close to the bottom of the cork as well.

If all the factors look good, smell the wine and seek fresh aromas. The wines should never smell dead, dried or stale. Stay alert for wet cardboard, wet cork and musty aromas as the wine may be “corked”.

If you feel a bad cork and notice the aromas of the wine to be unappealing, send the wine back.

Test out your cork reading abilities on some of our Premium Award-winning Wines!