When wine ain’t right

Those of us who enjoy a glass of wine as a meal accompaniment or on its own remember well some of the finest fruits of the vine that we’ve experienced – just as we recall moments of disappointment on opening a bottle containing something that should’ve been good but tasted awful. And undoubtedly, knowledgeable wine lovers are more aware of things amiss or gone awry than unsuspecting novices who might confuse slightly faulty or spoilt wine with a style they’re simply unfamiliar with and either accept or won’t try again.

Sadly, it’s a fact of life in the world of wine that not all is always as it should be. Better that we detect and reject bad stuff than subject ourselves to anything that compromises our wont for the finer things in life. What we’re addressing here is not whether you like a wine or not, but whether you’re able to identify mishaps and mistakes with confidence.

The most frequent causes of wines that are faulty (even before it leaving the winery) or spoilt (gone “off” in the bottle) are oxidation, high sulphur dioxide, reductive odours, volatile acidity, cork taint and bacterial spoilage. Corks take most of the blame (sometimes unfairly), followed by oxidation, with the other culprits being less common.

On the other hand . . .

Sometimes a fault is perceived rather than real… Example: bits of cork in a glass of wine don’t mean it’s corked (but could indicate that the waiter needs some training).

There are also times when you might question a wine based simply on personal preferences, or because you’re unfamiliar with the style. Example: fuel-like terpenes represent a distinctive type of floral characteristic found in aromatic wines made from Riesling, Gewürztraminer and certain Muscat grape varieties – the smell or taste of very strong terpenes is appreciated by some, disliked by others.

Come mealtime, there are some basic “rules” as to the type of wines that best complement particular food types – and plenty of exceptions to these guidelines, depending on the sauce, jus, cream, marinade or other flavourings added in the kitchen or at the table. Sometimes even the best example of a wine style will jar with certain foods – clashes are the “fault” of the host or the sommelier (or unsuccessful experiments), not the wine.

And there are instances when a wine can be problematic alright, but when the hiccup has nothing to do with the winemaking, the age of the wine or the bottle it comes in. Example: wine glasses tainted with dishwashing detergent or the odour of varnish from the cupboard they’re stored in can do strange things to the smell of a wine, let alone the taste. Mike Froud