"Pino" > wrote in message
...
> From the descriptions I can find I think the problem is TCA . The article
> also says there is no danger to people and that up to15% of the commercial
> wine is infected (the industry will only admit to 1.5%).
>
> Anyway I can definetely smell and taste it so I can't drink it. But I
> accidently served a bottle and the others didn't notice. They
> complimented the wine. I should be able to use the remaining bottles for
> cooking?

It's a common misconception that it's OK to cook using inferior wine. If
you do, your dinner will become inferior to what it would have been if you
had used good wine.

That said, you don't need to use Chteau Lafite for marinading a roast. Any
good red wine will do - but it should be something that you'd enjoy
drinking.

FWIW, the best gravy I ever made started with a bottle of 1975 Carneros
Creek Petite Syrah. That wine was a huge, dark, tannic, high alcohol
_monster_ - and wasn't particularly cheap.

As for the TCA issue, you might try pouring the wine into a wide mouth
decanter and dunking a wadded up sheet of Saran Wrap* into it for several
hours (or more). Supposedly, the plastic has a greater affinity for the TCA
than does the wine, and the TCA will "dissolve" into the plastic. Depending
on the degree of taint, this may or may not be effective - that is if it
actually _is_ TCA.
*Be sure that the plastic wrap is polyethylene - not PVC - or you may render
the wine even _less_ drinkable.

If this doesn't work I'd probably dump the bad bottles and chalk it up to
experience. But hey, it's _your_ wine.

Tom S
www.chateauburbank.com