Champagne and sparkling wines don’t ever get “corked.” The following content is accessible for members only, please sign in.

Both sparkling wines and Champagnes can be “corked”—that is, tainted with TCA, a compound that causes musty aromas and flavors in wine. And when they are, it can be more noticeable. This is because sparklers are more aromatically delicate and because the bubbles have the effect of volatilizing the compound, that is, making it smell more pronounced.