Common Wine Faults: When to Send the Bottle Back

Imagine taking the time to carefully cellar an exceptional bottle of wine in anticipation of a milestone anniversary.  The special day finally arrives: the candles have been lit, the table has been set, and the scrumptious dinner you have been slaving over is waiting on the table.  As you raise your glasses for a toast, you see a grimacing face across the table.  Bringing the glass to your lips you discover that not only does the wine have a mouldy and unpleasant smell, it tastes downright awful.  What went wrong? Unfortunately bad bottles happen more often than naught, no matter what the price or quality of the wine.  The cause?  The seemingly innocuous bit of tree bark that winemakers have been using for centuries to seal the bottle: cork.

Cork taint or trichloroanisole (TCA) is a common fault found in wines, resulting in aromas of wet cardboard or musty basement.  It also dilutes the fruit flavours and gives the wine an astringent quality.

Although it is typically caused by contact with a contaminated cork, it can also be picked up from winery equipment and barrels.  Estimates vary, but each year cork taint spoils approximately 1-7% of all wine in the world.  In fact, many winemakers are turning to or are experimenting with alternative bottle stoppers such as synthetic corks and screw caps to avoid TCA.

Cork taint, however, is not the only fault that ruins wines.  Here are a few more to keep a look out for.  If you experience any of these aromas send the bottle back!

• Acetic acid, caused by yeasts and bacteria, will cause the wine to smell like vinegar.

• Ethyl acetate, which is a reaction between acetic acid and ethanol, in wine smells like nail polish remover.

• Oxidation is a result of excessive exposure of wine to oxygen.  The wine will have the aroma of sherry, but will taste flat and lifeless.

• Brettanomyces is caused by a yeast, specifically two compounds: 4-Ethylphenol, which results in barnyard aromas, and 4-Ethylguaiacol, which smells of cloves and smokiness.  Although some levels are desirable depending on the wine, high levels are considered a fault.