Tasting wine is about detecting a range of flavors, and not all flavors are good. Some can even signal a defect in the wine. Do you know what they are and what they mean? Here’s a list to test your know-how.
True or False? A wine is flawed if it smells like:
A) Band-Aid
B) Barnyard
C) Wet, musty cardboard
D) Cat urine
E) Rotten eggs
F) Petroleum
G) Nail polish
Here’s the ANSWER KEY with some brief explanations to boost your Wine IQ.
A) True. The smell of Band-Aids is considered a flaw when it’s excessive. It’s caused by temperamental wild yeasts known as Brettanomyces often referred to as Brett. One caveat: Some Brett enhances a Burgundy.
B) False. The smell of barnyard isn’t a flaw and it’s a beloved aroma in many pinot noirs.
C) True. The smell of wet, musty cardboard is a flaw. TCA is primarily responsible for cork taint. For the curious, TCA is the chemical structure 2 4 6-trichloroanisole.
D) False. The smell of cat urine isn’t a flaw and some consider it a lovely aroma in sauvignon blanc, particularly one produced in New Zealand.
E) True. The smell of rotten eggs is a flaw. It’s caused by volatile sulfur compounds.
F) False. Many consider the smell of petroleum a lovely aroma in older rieslings.
G) True. The smell of nail polish is a flaw. It’s caused by volatile acidity.
Whatever your score, this is a start on how to detect a range of flaws in wine. What’s more, when you come across a flaw in a restaurant you’ll feel confident enough to ask the sommelier to uncork a second bottle.
Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5310.
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