Cork It or Zork It?

Have you ever gone to open up a nice bottle of wine and as you take that first heavenly whiff you notice that rather than hints of citrus or berries, it instead smells like your dog after she came out of the rain? I have to admit, when I was a novice wine drinker there were times when I experienced this and thought maybe my nose and taste buds weren’t yet trained to appreciate the fine nuances of moldy smelling wine. Now I realize that these characteristics are attributed to what is known as “cork taint.”

Luckily there are folks working toward solutions to this stinky problem. Screw caps and synthetic corks to name a few, but recently I was reintroduced to a really cool bottle closure, meant to be sort of a cross between a screw cap and a cork. “Zork corks” are found on wines of a medium to higher quality since they are geared not only towards maintaining a uniform brightness from bottle to bottle but also towards their potential ageability. Don Sebastiani and Sons are currently using these in some of their wines and the ones I tried lately lead me to believe that the creators of the Zork are really onto something.

Different studies suggest that anywhere from 7 to 10 percent of any particular lot of wine may show levels of cork taint, more commonly referred to as being “corked.” This means that in one case of wine at least one bottle out of twelve might smell and taste like your basement. To me, that seems like a lot. To put this phenomenon in everyday terms, “cork taint” is a wine fault involving real cork which occurs after the wine is bottled.

The most common cause is a compound by the name of trichloroanisole (TCA) which reacts with the wine to create a harmless yet potentially undrinkable wine of disagreeable smell and taste. There are varying levels of exposure and the more fine-tuned your wine beak is, the easier it is to detect the flaws. When a wine is slightly corked you may not even realize it, and might just chalk it up as a wine you don’t like. Despite the stigma sometimes associated with sending a wine back or returning it to a store, you should always do so if it truly seems flawed to you. Any quality dining or retail establishment should gladly take it back and/or offer you a new bottle.

Imagine anticipating the uncorking of a coveted bottle of wine, only to discover that the wine is corked! In response to this potential wine tragedy that affects every level of price and quality, different solutions have started to appear over the last few years. Screw caps—often of the Stelvin brand—and synthetic corks provide a couple of options.
Recently though, I was reminded of another interesting alternative, the patented Zork cork. This unique wine closure according to the website has “the convenience of a screw cap, but pops like a cork.” It was specifically designed for midrange quality wines and does not require a corkscrew. It is also made from 100% recyclable material. Basically you pull a tear tab, unwind and remove the “cork.” There is a foil welded between the cap and the plunger which is placed there to insure a long shelf life. The “cork” easily pops back into and effectively seals the bottle if you won’t be finishing it in one sitting.

My latest exposure to these nifty caps came from some wines I brought into my store from The Other Guys Wines by Don Sebastiani and Sons. One line of what they call “bistro wines” is meant to evoke feelings of laid back wine drinking without a lot of fuss. The Hey Mambo brand comes in a white and a red blend, both at right around $11-$12 per bottle with the blend changing from vintage to vintage. The 2007 Sultry Red is a blend of Syrah, Barbera, Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, Malbec and also some Alicante Bouche which may not be the most common varietal but is really fun to say. Being a little on the spicy side, pasta, burgers or pizza are all awesome partners for this seductive red.

On the other hand the Hey Mambo 2007 Swanky White consists of a blend of Viognier, Chenin Blanc, Muscat, Canelli and Sauvignon Blanc. With a floral nose and citrusy undertones, it is quickly becoming one of my Thanksgiving wines of choice since it is fun and will be a great accompaniment to turkey. With a 90 Point Editor’s Choice rating from the Wine Enthusiast, despite the playful nature of the wine, it is nothing to scoff at.

My favorites from TOG Wines are two California Zinfandels from different regions by the name of Plungerhead. The first thing that catches your eye about the Lodi Zinfandel is a kooky little man on the label with a red plunger on his head and a couple of barrels for legs. With further research (okay, the back label), it turns out that the name and the artsy label are a direct reference to the use of the Zork cork. The plunger on the gentleman’s head matches the red Zork cork plugging the bottle. Despite the irreverence of the label, the wine inside is classy yet approachable. Definitely high in alcohol at 14.9% this robust wine is a big boy. The first week we brought these in, a store wine tasting helped sell them out by that Friday evening. This wine retails for around $15.00.

There is also the Plungerhead 2007 Dry Creek Zinfandel coming out of Sonoma’s best Zinfandel growing region. This Zin is even bolder than its brother but still manages to keep its classiness. Super spicy, we recently had this with some grilled buffalo burgers, which proved to be a delectable combination. A little more expensive at $19.00, you can drink this with food or without.

My recent experiences with the Zork cork introduced me to some unique and delicious wines with the added reassurance that the distinctive closure can withstand everything from cork issues to aging. I think that the Zork cork will be popping up and out quite a bit more in the future and it will be interesting to see how this innovative wine trend will withstand the tests of nature and time.

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