Defects in Wine
A Discussion of the Major Wine Flaws: Tips on How to Taste Wine
How we can tell if a wine is truly sound. Are flaws always bad?
Wine is a complex chemical soup consisting mostly of water, alcohol and organic acids. But other compounds present in minute quantities can totally alter the character of the wine. All wines have some of these compounds, It's a matter of proportion that counts here and different winemakers have different views of just what should be allowed and how much. The problem for consumers is to accurately identify these flaws and not confuse them with such things as terroir or soil characteristics.
Sending Back Wine in a Restaurant
Restaurant etiquette does not allow us to return a wine because we don't like it. We may—and should—return a wine if it is clearly flawed. Returned wines are normally retasted by the wine manager or sommelier. Since a restaurant isn't in a very good position to argue the point, we never hear the results of the retasting. A fresh bottle is offered. Often it will taste the same as the returned bottle. So what are some of the most common flaws that justify returning the wine?
Common Wine Flaws
- Red Wines Exhibit Barnyard Aromas. This is a common characteristic of wines that have various levels of the "spoilage" yeast Brettanomyces, or Brett. Once a winery is infected, it's almost impossible to remove. It thrives in wood products, such as wine barrels; and it can travel to other wineries throughy bulk wine transfers. These aromas of barnyard, wet dog, and band-aid are very common in red Burgundy, but are found in wineries worldwide. A common question among New World winemakers is whether there is an acceptable level of Brett in a wine. Most winemakers will avoid any support of such a notion, but trade tastings show clearly that many wineries strive to add complex notes to their red wines by allowing or even encouraging a tiny amount of Brett. Some wineries even maintain special Brett-infected barrels for this very purpose, but I doubt that any would own up to the fact.
- Red Wines Smell of Vinegar or Nail Polish. This is a dead giveaway that the wine has excessive amounts of volatile acidity, or VA. VA is a natural product of fermentation caused by microbes, usually lactic acid bacteria and wild yeasts; it's exacerbated by oxygen, so allowing too much oxygen in barrels will often lead to high levels. In moderate amounts VA is not problematic; all wines have it to a degree. But when your wine smells strongly of vinegar or nail polish you are justified to send it back.
- White or Red Wines Smell of Wet Paper or Have No Aroma. This is charactistic of "corked" wines, or wines with defective corks. Wines with traditional cork closures will have a 5-10% incidence of spoilage. Unlike Brett and VA, which may be acceptable in small amounts, cork taint destroys a wine entirely. It robs the wine of all its aromatic and most of its flavor components. Send it back. Wines with little or no aroma, but that taste satisfactory are not tainted. They are simply not well made. You need to live with those, since you ordered them.
- White Wines Are Darker in Color Than Typical of the Varietal. The presence of oxygen, often through cork leakage, will turn your white wine from a straw color to a deep gold. These wines will take on "sherried" and sometimes metallic notes and will lack fresh aromas and flavors. Sherry and Madeira are put through an oxygenation process to promote these unusual flavors, but oxygen is the enemy of dry table wines, except in extremely tiny amounts such as might pass through a proper cork closure.
- Wines Are Cloudy. Unfiltered wines may take on a slightly cloudy appearance; filtered wines should be crystal clear. Higher levels of cloudiness, particularly noticeable in white wines, are a sign of protein instability. This is often a sign that the wine has suffered exposure to high temperatures, most likely in transport. Winemakers are fully capable of making their wines "heat stable" through filtration and usually subject their wines to testing for protein stability before committing to the bottling rack. There is no excuse for hazy wines except in the case of wines that are intentionally left unfiltered to preserve every essence of their complexity.
