Lesson 31   

Finishing Touches

Winemakers may fine and filter the wine before bottling, then will select the bottle type and, finally, will finish the wine in a traditional bark cork, a synthetic closure, or even a twist-off-screw-cap.

Tip

Corkiness, or a “corked” bottle, refers to TCA spoilage, a naturally occurring chemical compound found in the microbially active cellular walls of cork and in many environments including wineries and food-production facilities, which may leach into wine (or water, or orange juice, or cider…) giving a musty character.