Check German wine labels for the words "Erstes Gewächs," a designation that was created to be the equivalent of France's "Grand Cru" designation. Effective with the 1999 vintage, these wines are considered top quality.
Q: What does it mean if a wine is “corked”?
A: A corked wine is a wine with a moldy, chemical-like smell (sometimes associated with wet cardboard) that is due to cork taint. Cork taint stems from the widely used process of bleaching corks with a chlorine solution. A small proportion of wines are found to be corked (2% - 5%). Cork producers are replacing chlorine with other substances used for bleaching to avoid cork taint. In some cases, wine makers are using alternative closures made of synthetic materials. A wine with crumbled cork in it is not corked.