Evaluation of a Quality Control Tool for Predicting the Distribution of 2,4,6 -Trichloroanisole (TCA) in Cork Populations and Bottled Wines

2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) transferred from natural cork closures to bottled wine was studied. The corks used in the study were all imported into California from Portugal. Ten different bales, provided by seven different cork suppliers, previously studied for their Releasable TCA (RTCA) in part one of same study, were used on a commercial bottling line with a California Chardonnay. After nine months of storage under normal commercial conditions, 100 bottles from each of the ten cork bales were opened and wine from each bottle analyzed for TCA. Results were presented in part two of same study. After twenty months, 60 bottles from each of the ten cork bales were opened and wine from each bottle analyzed for TCA. For each cork bale, the occurrence of bottles