Finding Faults
The most common wine faults, how to detect them and what to do about them.
Corked Wine
For any serious wine lover, there’s nothing more painful than opening a cherished bottle of fine wine only to discover the horribly familiar rancid aroma of mouldy cardboard. It’s the tell-tale sign of a corked wine, which has been contaminated by trichloroanisole molecules aka ‘TCA’ in wine trade circles. Once that happens, there’s usually only place for the wine to go – down the plughole.
Oxidation
Another common fault in wine is oxidation, which is caused by the wine having absorbed too much oxygen. In the early stages oxidation simply makes the wine taste flat, dull and lacking in fruit flavours. A more severely oxidised wine will begin to take on Sherry-like flavours. And the more the wine becomes oxidised, the more it will lose aroma and freshness – rather like a half-eaten apple which has been exposed to the air. Also the colour of the wine will not be as bright as it should be. Finally, a heavily oxidised wine will become acetic on its way to turning into vinegar. At this point the wine will smell of nail varnish, which I can assure is extremely noticeable and not at all pleasant!
Badly stored wine
Unless wine is stored correctly (see how to store wine), it simply won’t taste as good or as fresh as it should. Often the problem is that the wine has been kept at too high a temperature, which results in a ‘cooked’ or ‘stewed’ flavour – especially if its red. If it’s a white wine, it will simply taste dull or flabby.
Too much Sulphur
Some wines also suffer from having too much sulphur dioxide. Winemakers use Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) as a preservative, which, amongst other things, stops wines from oxidising. Unfortunately though, some winemakers err too much on the side of caution and over sulphur their wines, resulting in a sharp, prickly and pungent sensation on the nose and palate. If you detect this, the wine is also faulty.
Volatile Acidity
Volatile Acidity is a more tricky complaint, as all wines contain some volatile acidity. Moreover, some people actually like a bit of volatile acidity which can add complexity to a wine. However, too much is a bad thing and the tell-tale sign is a pungent smell of vinegar and nail varnish. Similarly, the wine tastes hard, sour and distinctly unpleasant.
Unfortunately, with all these faults there is often a spectrum of severity. So while some wines are clearly ‘off’ others could be only be slightly corked or slightly oxidised such that some people might not even notice they were faulty. What also makes this grey area even greyer is the fact that some people are more sensitive to detecting particular faults. For instance, my wife can spot a corked wine at more than fifty paces. In fact, she’s much better at it than I am. In contrast, I am much better at picking up oxidation and volatile acidity.
What should you do if you find these faults in a bottle of wine?
Firstly, don’t drink the wine! If you bought it from a shop (or from the Gazette & Herald Wine Club), simply put the cork back in the bottle and return the wine to whoever you bought it from, explaining what the problem with the wine was. They should replace the bottle for you. (Certainly, the Gazette & Herald Wine Club will!)
What to do in a restaurant?
If you come across these faults in a restaurant, you should immediately draw it to the attention of the Sommelier, wine waiter or restaurant manager. All of the above problems can be detected by simply smelling the wine, when you are first presented with it in your glass. However, if you aren’t sure that the wine is faulty just by smelling it, then do taste it as well.
If you think that the wine is faulty, then you shouldn’t be at all embarrassed to say so. It is also best to do this as soon as possible and, if you can, explain to the waiter why you think the wine is unacceptable. (Do remember though that simply not liking the wine is not normally a good enough reason to send it back). If you are not sure whether the wine is faulty, then ask the Sommelier for his opinion, saying that you think there may be a problem with the wine.
If the wine is faulty, the restaurant should take the wine back and replace it without quibbling – whether or not they agree with you that the wine is off in some way. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen – even in good restaurants.
However, if the Sommelier refuses to change the wine because he or she says there is nothing wrong with it, you then have two choices. The first is to stand your ground and insist that the bottle be changed. Or accept the opinion of the restaurant that the wine is in good condition.
Sadly, many meals have been ruined by this sort of unnecessary dispute. However, if you genuinely feel that the wine should be changed and that your meal would be spoiled if it isn’t, I would urge you to fight your corner as assertively and confidently as possible.
Sometimes though, it is simply not worth the hassle or the upset of arguing the toss on these occasions with an ill-mannered or unprofessional Sommelier. In this scenario, there is little you can do other than expressing your displeasure, not leaving a tip and vowing never to return. | |
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