Q: Is it safe to drink a cork-tainted wine?—Clive, Cambridge, U.K.
A: Wine is said to be corked when it has unpleasant, musty aromas and flavors, which are often compared to moldy newspaper or a wet basement. A corked wine may also have muted aromas or smell like nothing at all. Wine scientists are still trying to understand everything that causes corkiness, but the most common culprit seems to be a molecule called 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, or TCA. This compound forms when chlorophenols in cork, wooden barrels, pallets and more react with mold, and just a few parts per trillion are enough to ruin a bottle of wine beyond repair. Cork taint may also be caused by a related chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (or TBA—not to be confused with the common abbreviation for trockenbeerenauslese), as well as by a number of other factors.
Is Drinking Corked Wine Dangerous?
Most everyone agrees that drinking a cork-tainted wine isn’t very enjoyable, but could it be dangerous? Dr. James Osborne, a microbiologist at Oregon State University, told Wine Spectator that a corked wine “might smell unpleasant, but it’s not going to cause you to feel ill.” TCA may cause eye irritation in pure form, and it is toxic at high concentrations—but scientists say those concentrations are far higher than the amounts found in wine.
According to Dr. Gavin Sacks, a food science professor at Cornell University, “the odor thresholds for aroma compounds are almost always much, much lower than the concentrations associated with toxicity.” In the case of TCA, which has an estimated acute toxicity of 500 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, a person “would need to consume several billion bottles of wine in one sitting before reaching this TCA limit.”
Is TCA Present in Other Foods and Beverages?
Dr. David Jeffery, a professor of wine science at the University of Adelaide, agrees that even a wine that’s badly corked and contains relatively high levels of TCA wouldn’t cause any problems, even if you drank the whole bottle. He also points out that “TCA (or TBA) can be [found] at higher concentrations in fruit, vegetables, coffee, tap water [and more] due to contamination, but you never hear about that.” So while you probably won’t want to finish the bottle (or even a glass) the next time you open a corked wine, you’ll be in no mortal peril if you do.
What About Other Wine Flaws?
Is it safe to drink wine affected by other flaws, such as volatile acidity and brettanomyces? Read our next Health Q&A, on brett, to find out!
And as always, consult your healthcare professional about incorporating wine into a healthy lifestyle.—Kenny Martin
