I just opened a bottle of Eugene Wine Cellars 2000 Pinot Gris....They used a cheap cork. It smelled like Vinegar on top of the cork. It crumbled into the bottle when the screw plowed through the bottom of the short cork, and the whole cork was like wet cardboard when I got it out. The wine is fine. Not Great...but It's worth the 8 or 9 bucks I may have paid, but I won't buy it again because of the cork issue.
All of this to say that I will never get the cheap corks again. I started out thinking that Natural 1" corks were fine for the 1/2 batch of apfelwein I would drink in the next few months...then use the synthetic for anything to store longer than a year. FORGET THAT! I'm using Synthetics EXCLUSIVELY from now on. Someone Should share this theory with the Big Boys...It'd save them some lost customers.
All of this to say that I will never get the cheap corks again. I started out thinking that Natural 1" corks were fine for the 1/2 batch of apfelwein I would drink in the next few months...then use the synthetic for anything to store longer than a year. FORGET THAT! I'm using Synthetics EXCLUSIVELY from now on. Someone Should share this theory with the Big Boys...It'd save them some lost customers.
