Cork Taint
A fault making wine smell of wet cardboard.
Unofficial study resource · not affiliated with or endorsed by WSET®Definition
Cork taint is a fault where a chemical called TCA, usually from the cork, makes a wine smell of wet cardboard, damp basement, or musty must. It is a closure problem, not a flaw in the wine itself.
Why it matters for WSET
Cork taint is the classic example of a faulty wine in the WSET tasting method’s condition check, and a frequent exam point.
Example
A smell of wet newspaper is a sign of cork taint.
Test yourself on this
Reading a definition is one thing; recalling it in the exam is another. Practise free WSET questions, then get the full bank and a wrong-answer notebook in the Eclavin app.
Download Eclavin on the App Store