It can still be off with a plastic cork or screwcap..
..but plastic corks are just wrong and the mark of an ugly-tasting wine. Smelling the plastic cork.. WTF? However screwcaps seem fine so far; granted they've not been tested much with wine that can be aged beyond a couple of years.

I have to say, only ever being able to get tipsy when in a restaurant and buying pretenciously-served £15 plonk sucks balls.
(lost, Tue 18 Nov 2008, 19:04, 1 reply)

it can be oxidised or tainted in other ways but it is VERY unlikely
corked wine smells like damp cardboard

normally fungi in the cork reacts with the yeast and sugars in the wine

if it doesnt arise from the cork it has to be from a wooden barrel - which is VERY unlikely, most run of the mill wines are made in steel vats these days

i'm not a fan of oaked chardonnays but the acid in oak actually prohibits the enzymes that cork wine

a nice Pouilly-Fumé that has been corked is more disappointing than a fit bird who has a muff like a ragmans coat :(

honest guv, trust me - i'm a wino
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Tue 18 Nov 2008, 19:12, closed)

hmmm..
..my last job was as a "wine advisor".. although I didn't know much to start with and I was largely taught by colleagues. They always said that the likelihood of wine being bad (apart from just cheap and nasty) was about the same whatever the method of stoppage. I'll look into this now - I'm forever blathering on about wine to people and like to think I know my stuff, but often, I'm just drunk.. wino here too.
(lost, Tue 18 Nov 2008, 19:18, closed)

2,4,6-trichloroanisole
thats the bad boy

the closure (sorry its not called stoppage) is nearly always at fault. white wines suffer from fluctuations in heat and strong light but i have to say i have had a fair few corked whites in my time but NEVER a corked red - the tannins make it more robust

i have a very good nose apparently - i've been tested by various whisky blenders during my years spent marketing booze (blenders only nose - never taste when blending)

if fact i wish my nose wasn't so good - i can often smell when female colleagues are on the blob :(
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Tue 18 Nov 2008, 19:27, closed)

ewwwwwwwww
just

eeeewwwwwwww
(man_d is being watched by experts on, Tue 18 Nov 2008, 19:31, closed)

its not a talent i relish i can assure you
hot day + slightly chubby bird on the blob wearing a floaty sundress = sweat,fish,yeast,rotten meat

i dont enjoy it
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Tue 18 Nov 2008, 19:39, closed)

Me too
It can be useful to know when to be a bit more understanding but it's not pleasant being able to detect it.
(SnowyTheWereRabbit the Leporid from Hell, Tue 18 Nov 2008, 21:32, closed)

It's not corked!
That's how the wine got out of the bottle, and into your glass!

;)
(EuroSong I love horse meat: best of all the animals, Tue 18 Nov 2008, 23:34, closed)