Crisps are getting larger and much more charged with flavours. The other evening I opened a huge bag of sour cream and chive Kettle 'Chips' to satisfy a pre-supper hunger pang. My palate was rapidly overtaken with a clever concoction of super salty, mildly temporarily addictive engineered flavours, which brought with it the need to quench a thirst.

I had a 'mature' Rioja knocking around which I opened and sloshed into a glass. Sniff and sip. Hmmmmmm. I was not sure about that one. Maybe it was corked? Or maybe my taste buds were too busy fighting the battle of Kettle to register the aromas properly.

I let my palate settle a bit, and sipped again. Hmmmmm. Still not sure. I could not shake off the sour cream and chives. A swig of water, and a plain biscuit? Not a chance, way too prescriptive and sensible, with those moreish crisps and wine on display I was not interested in anything else.

This is the trouble with wine which is maybe not quite right. Your palate has to be relatively neutral to be sure. After waiting a while I sampled the wine again.

It smelt like an over friendly damp dog jumping up to say hello.

Was it just me? Maybe the wine needed to breathe. I certainly did. What a waste if not. There was no chance of sending the bottle back as it was a present.

Best crack on then.

A short time later another gulp. Hmmmmm, definitely not good. The flavours were muted, the dog was still there, as was most of the bottle to get through. I had no choice but to throw it away. I had finally decided it was corked. Luckily corked wine is physically harmless, but for me mentally a real trial. I had two of these bloody bottles and the question arose

'Should I open the other?'

Perhaps I should leave it, take it to a dinner party, and let others see if the chamber is full when they pull the trigger. No, way too selfish, cheapskate....but it would initially look generous as the bottle was probably over £10...No, don't go there.

I still did not fancy opening it.

TCA, the chemical that is effectively cork taint, is surprisingly easy to detect, you just have to be familiar with it, and then you can pick it up to as low as about 10 parts per trillion. Go with your instincts. If you are getting muted aromas and damp basement type smells then tainted it is. It's all about confidence. I let disbelief get in the way, I certainly find it hard to practice what I preach. Getting a bottle which is tainted is surprisingly common, (especially if sealed with a cork, as this is the main source of TCA). I felt like the 'It Could Be You' National Lottery slogan was in play, except with a forfeit not a prize. In other words no, not me. No chance. But there it was.

The problem is that you are always left with some doubt. Had I just thrown a perfectly good wine down the sink? Was my palate so immature and inept that I could not appreciate whatever was meant to be going on in that bottle of Rioja?

What every kitchen needs is an electronic TCA detector. Useful in a restaurant to give the sommelier no grounds for denial. Anyone?

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