"John Q. Lurker" > wrote in message
...
> Here is an intersting article that I came across regarding corked wine.
>
> Enjoy.
>
> http://www.nature.com/nsu/040216/040216-21.html
>
>
>
Enjoyed the article! Very interesting. Thanks for posting.


Excerpt:

The chemical is made when bacteria digest a commonly used flame retardant
and fungicide called tribromophenol. This chemical was known to taint fruit
packed in cases made from treated wood. But its affect on wine hadn't been
quantified.

Chatonnet's team found TBA in the cellars' walls, barrels and corks. The
wooden racks in one cellar contained 2,185 nanograms of TBA per gram of
wood. In wine that had been stored in one-year-old barrels, concentrations
were as high as 38 nanograms per litre.

This isn't a toxic level. But most people can taste TBA's musty flavour at
concentrations as low as 4 nanograms per litre - about the same as one sugar
cube dissolved in 100 Olympic swimming pools of water.

SOURCE: http://www.nature.com/nsu/040216/040216-21.html

"Flame retardants in cellars taint wine.
A new chemical culprit can make wine taste musty. "
23 February 2004