Cork Dork: A Wine-Fuelled Journey into the Art of Sommeliers and the Science of Taste

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Cass says he is all for an alternative solution when it comes to aging wines. Since cork is a living organism, there are factors that can impact the flavor of the wine, making it inconsistent from year to year or, in some cases, not even drinkable. “Studies have shown wines age better [in alternative closures]. Cork is a natural product, so it is inconsistent in how much oxygen gets into an aging bottle. This can cause some bottles to age poorly,” he says. Throughout the book, Bosker is not only drinking wine and having a good time, but veers off into exploring many wine-related areas. The science of smell, and of taste. The type of people who are avid wine collectors. The new controversial practice of creating whatever type of wine you want in a factory, including being able to replicate some very expensive wines. The terminology of sommeliers and wine merchants (necrophiliacs, hand sells, trigger wines, and cougar juice, for a few). And what to watch for when dealing with a sommelier. Like many of us, tech reporter Bianca Bosker saw wine as a way to unwind at the end of a long day, or a nice thing to have with dinner and that was about it. Until she stumbled on an alternate universe where taste reigned supreme, a world in which people could, after a single sip of wine, identify the grape it was made from, in what year, and where it was produced down to the exact location, within acres. Where she tasted wine, these people detected not only complex flavor profiles, but entire histories and geographies. Astounded by their fanatical dedication and seemingly superhuman sensory powers, Bosker abandoned her screen-centric life and set out to discover what drove their obsession, and whether she, too, could become a cork dork. But so much of this book irked me. While she milked the sommeliers for knowledge, she in turn paints sommeliers as merely out to milk their fat obnoxious customers. So much is just for hype and story that at times it comes across as glitz and glamour article in “Hello” magazine. She - somehow - gets into numerous exclusive events where instead of theatre we are presented with clownish pantomine. Harris himself worried about how he was portrayed in the book for a similar reason. “The person I am as a sommelier is not the person I am as Morgan Harris the wine lover,” he told me recently. As a wine lover, Harris knows he can be intimidating, which is why as sommelier, he takes great pains to tone a lot of that down, precisely to avoid alienating wine novices or intimidating them. Cork Dork focused too much on “Morgan the wine lover,” Harris told me. It’s a problematic portrayal of a sommelier, “because there’s too much me in it,” he explained.

One alternative closure that Martinez thinks doesn’t get enough play at the moment is glass. “Not many people have seen these and are pleasantly surprised at the elegant presentation of these reusable closures,” she says. “It’s an expensive alternative, but fun and whimsical.” I'm sure that there are nearly as many of these as there are obscure subcultures to write about, but a best-selling example of this format is Moonwalking with Einstein, about the subculture of memory arts. In fact, says Steve Cass of Paso Robles, Calif.-based Cass Winery, today’s screw caps are advanced engineered enclosures that are meant to be treated as such. “Since you are not getting 5 percent of the bottles corked, the wine overall will be better,” he says. Then Bosker takes all this access and opportunity and distills it into knowledge that she passes on to the reader with wit, sarcasm, and glorious humility. But, since many of these alternative closures let in far less oxygen than those enclosed with cork, they may benefit from time in a decanter. “Since we use the ArdeaSeal, I think it is even more important, as due to the almost perfect closure, the wines need to be aerated to ‘open’ them,” says Bistagne. “Of course, in a restaurant, it is not possible to open a bottle so early, but sommeliers have the techniques to prepare a wine to be tasted in a short time,” he says. Credit: Vinventions Pop the Cork

An informative and riveting read that doesn’t take itself too seriously—a much needed dose of reality the wine world could benefit from.”

A savory romp…[that reveals] not just the intricacies and nuances of flavor that vary from grape to grape, but why wine has become such a social staple for the entire world—and how the way we drink it can potentially change our lives.” Shifting to this style of closure was a major investment, requiring him to switch out his bottling equipment, as the closure is not symmetric and, instead of being pressed, is pushed in the bottle and expands to ensure proper sealing. However, he says the cost was well worth it. His final product has been more consistent, and he has made up for his investment with the drop in wine loss. “I have improved the cost structure of my wines, as I do not have cork taste and have to send replacement bottles,” he says. Consumer Confidence Cork Dork was fabulous! Reporter Bianca Bosker takes the reader along on her quixotic quest to become a certified sommelier, a journey you will enjoy even if you aren't particularly interested in wine. Along the way you'll meet the sort of obsessive types who are always interesting/amusing regardless of what they're obsessing over, go to suspense-filled sommelier competitions and bacchanalian, wine-soaked feasts, tag along with restaurant employees (something I always find fascinating), and learn all about the science of taste. But what really makes this book come alive is Bosker's writing, lively and funny and blessedly masterful—something by no means guaranteed in a young tech reporter, and such a welcome relief. If you liked Sweetbitter, consider reading Cork Dork, its nerdier nonfiction counterpart.

Cork Dork is an epic work of gonzo journalism, like if Joan Didion and Hunter S. Thompson had a baby who wanted to work in a restaurant. It’s a riveting read, full of science and service and gossip. From endless blind tastings to sommelier competitions to scientists’ labs to the front end of New York’s fine-dining restaurants, Bosker takes us from the armpit of the wine industry to the science behind it. It’s a dizzying tale, full of set pieces so vividly rendered you’ll feel like you’re being jostled by a wait staff trying to get around you, like you’re being dressed down by Paul Grieco, owner of Terroir Tribeca, livid that Bosker dared to contradict him in front of a guest. The whole notion of connoisseurship is a by-product of geographic locations that don’t make wine in the first place, Asimov argued. And when you focus on the way connoisseurs like sommeliers taste wine, what you end up doing is alienating regular consumers, because you convey that that’s the way you’re supposed to do it, and the way they are currently doing it is wrong. “That creates this sense of tension and anxiety that a lot of people I think experience,” explained Asimov. Rhonéa, a winery in the Côtes du Rhône appellation of France, bolsters its cork usage with various types of synthetic closures, in part for environmental reasons. Although there are scientific studies that indicate that so-called wine experts cannot tell the difference between wines in blind taste tests, there are also studies that indicate that wine expertise is not a sham (p. 108). In this delightfully written and keenly observed book, Bianca Bosker helps us becomeconnoisseursnot only of wine but also ofpeoplewhose passions would more aptly be described as obsessions.”