Top Wine Faults & How To Deal

You are at the restaurant, ready for a good dinner. You ordered the wine, but then something goes terribly wrong. The wine is already in your glass, but doesn't smell or taste right. What do you do? What is the etiquette? Could you send it back? Very insightful article about what do in those situations:

"...take heart, worrisome wino: there is a method to the madness of decoding wine faults (as usual, we've got you covered). Because no one should have to suffer through the unpleasantness of a mold-imbued wine.

Trichloranisole (AKA "TCA") This icky wine fault - one of the most common - is caused by chlorine-contaminated cork bark or wood, which in turn leads to what we know as "cork taint" or "corked" wines. Affected wines smell of moldy or wet cardboard (or a musty attic, if that's your interpretation), lack fruit intensity on the palate and are destined to grow more intensely foul-smelling as the problem persists. Remedy: send these bottles back, as this is a fault that most definitely won't "blow over."

Brettanomyces (AKA "Brett") Caused by the spoilage yeast Brettanomyces, "Brett" - as this fault is most often called - leads affected wines to smell like a host of unpleasant descriptors (barnyard, sweaty saddle, chicken coop and wet dog are some of the more colorful ways it's been characterized). In low concentrations a "hint of Brett" can be interpreted by some tasters as pleasant, but if it overwhelms, ask to try a different wine (additional bottles of the same wine are likely to be affected, too).

Volatile Acidity (AKA "VA")
The result of the overproduction of acetic acid and ethyl acetate in wine, this fairly common wine fault causes its vinous victims to smell of "high-toned" aromas including nail polish remover, vinegar and paint thinner. In its most intense incarnations, wines with excessive VA come across simply as vinegar both in aroma and taste - and should be sent back right away as a result.

Much more here. Don't miss it.

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