Thursday, November 3, 2011

Wine faults are not always your fault

Before you decide to turn to your friends and act like you know what you're talking about, at least you should know what you're talking about...

Lets talk about wine faults! Here are two:

Corked wine: The odor is a result of a bad cork. There is a microorganism called TCA (Trichloroanisole) that like to eat away at cork and can impart a "musty" smell to wine. You can't ever tell if a wine is going to be corked until its opened. There is also no preventing it. This is another reason why winemakers have decided to switch to plastic corks or screw caps but then the intimacy of opening a wine is taken away so its a pretty hard decision to make. Also, when wine travels in cases, there is a good chance the whole batch will be corked. 

Detecting a corked wine depends on your nose. I have come across so many, I can smell it from a mile away. If you're not sure if its corked, leave it open for a few minutes, it comes out stronger over time. The smell is like wet newspapers, cardboard, a basement after a flood, etc. The natural aromas of the wine are gone usually. There is also no health risks so don't worry about getting sick. 

A sommelier at any restaurant usually will test the wine for you and should be pretty good at detecting this wine fault. If you're home and get one, re-cork the wine as soon as you can and return it. I have never heard of a wine store that won't take it back. This is a very common thing. Just don't drink half the bottle and expect your money back....we know that trick, too!

Oxidized wine: This happens when a wine is left open too long. Compounds start breaking down in the wine and give off a "sherry-like" or vinegar on the nose and brownish in color. The flavors are flat and lifeless. Wines start changing the moment you open them and can actually improve the flavor when decanting or after a day or two with the cork back in. After a few days, you might as well use it in your salad. Its a fine line but why are you waiting so long to drink it anyway?

So, before the holidays get here and you're stuck with family you are not crazy about make sure you know what you're talking about when you make fun of them in a group email to your friends because you sound like an idiot and not the snob you think you are :-)


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Throwback to when I was on the cover of Beverage Media Magazine

Everything about this was fun! It was a highlight of my career in this business!