Spotting a Faulty Wine
There have been times when I have opened a great wine, yet to discover the cork had a moldy, musty odor. This can happen with wines bought from the grocery or any other merchant. Be advised however, there are ways to detect these wine defects.
I do want to mention that there are a much lower percentage of faulty wines today than at any other time in history. The reason behind this is winemaking is better understood and managed using modern computer technologies. Let´s go over some the ways faulty wines can be detected.
Use Your Eyes
Whatever its color, wine should be clear and bright. Cloudy wines usually indicate bacterial spoilage, which is uncommon these days. However, do not confuse cloudiness with shaken up sediments from a red wine. It may just need to stand upright until the deposits settle again.
Color
Wines color varies according to their particular grape variety. But if a white wine that you expect to be pale has a brownish yellow tinge, or a young red has a brownish tinge, then be alert; it could be oxidized. Oxidation occurs when wine has been exposed to too much oxygen in the air. The wine tastes and smells foul. Oxidized wines tend to contain higher levels of acetaldehyde.
Cork
Never buy a bottle where the top of the cork doesn't sit flush with, or below the level of, the mouth of the bottle. A cork protruding from the bottle is a potential sign of a bad wine.
One experiment is to try to turn the capsule. It should spin freely around the neck of the bottle. If it does not, it may be because of the sticky residue that has resulted from leakage of wine around the cork. Also inspect the level of wine in the neck of the bottle; it should not be too low. There's always some slight variation between bottles, but for everyday wines the level should be well into the neck.
Once the bottle has been opened look at the cork. Corked is the term used to describe the unpleasant odor of wine that has been tainted by a defective cork. A cork can be diseased through bacterial action or excessive bottle age. A limited amount of cork taint may just dull the wine but not make it undrinkable. Corked is not to be confused with cork residue, which is, literally, bits small fragments of cork floating in the wine. In addition, a wine that sometimes appears corked may merely need to breathe.
Use Your Nose
These smells are definitely potential signs of trouble.
| Smell | Description |
|---|---|
| Sherry-like smells | Only Sherry wine could smell of Sherry. Such smells on unfortified wines can indicate oxidation. |
| Vinegary smells | If it smells like vinegar, it likely turning into just that. |
| Rotten eggs, garlic, onion or even skunk | This is the smell of hydrogen sulphide which can form during fermentation and is a sign of poor winemaking. |
| Moldy, musty or like a damp basement | This is "Corked Wine", caused by a contaminated cork. |
| Burnt matches | Too much sulfur dioxide. Can sometimes be cured by airing. |
Trust Your Taste Buds
Your taste buds will confirm what your nose has already told you. Use your senses of taste and smell, in conjunction, when attempting to identify faulty wine. Improper harvesting and production techniques, handling and storage can all cause wine faults. Here are a few you might discover when tasting.
| Problem | Cause |
|---|---|
| Bitter | The grapes were pressed too violently, which bruises the skins. |
| Dry, sour tasting | The vatting was too long. |
| Taste of cooked caramel | The temperature was too high. |
| Lacks color and structure | The temperature was too low. |
| Tastes oxidized, musty, or stale | The container was opened and re-closed. |
| Taste of sulfur | Too much sulfur was used during bottling. |
| Heavy deposits | Poor filtering during bottling. |
| Tastes of rotten cork | Bad cork deposits. |
| No fruit flavor left, off color | Wine was subjected to oxygen or heat through poor storage. It ends up tasting like Madeira or Sherry. |
A Final Thought
So if you are in a restaurant or at the grocery, check the wine to see if it is faulty. Take your time and if you do spot a problem do not hesitate to speak up and return it.
Contributor: Jim Stein (Syracuse, NY)