Keith Grainger - Wine Faults and Flaws

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Keith Grainger

Consultant in Wines and Wine Technology

Broadway, UK

This edition first published 2021

© 2021 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Grainger, Keith, author.

Title: Wine faults and flaws : a practical guide / Keith Grainger.

Description: Hoboken, NJ, USA :Wiley-Blackwell, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021001638 (print) | LCCN 2021001639 (ebook) | ISBN 9781118979068 (cloth) | ISBN 9781118979099 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781118979075 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH:Wine and wine making-Gaging and testing.

Classification: LCC TP511 .G73 2021 (print) | LCC TP511 (ebook) | DDC 641.2/2-dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021001638

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021001639

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: © RomanKozhin/Shutterstock

To Paula .

So many people have imparted knowledge, opinions and assistance that have helped me write this work, that this list of acknowledgements is more notable for the numerous omissions than the names included. However, I would like to give particular thanks to Carlos de Jesus, Paulo Lopes and Joana Mesquita of Amorim, Matt Thomson of Kiwi‐Oeno Consultancy and Blank Canvas Wines, Sebastian Beaumont, Gordon Newton Johnson, Chris Alheit, the late, great Paul Pontalier of Château Margaux, Alfred Tesseron of Château Pontet‐Canet of Château Belgrave and other Dourthe properties, Jean‐Luc Columbo, Nicolas Joly, Sandro Bottega, Ernie Loosen, Raimund Prüm, José and Sebastien Zuccardi, Philip Tuck MW, Gordon Burns, and Evin Morrison of ETS Laboratories, Matthias Hüttl of LANXESS, Gordon Specht and Ann Dumond of Lallemand, Pascal Chatonnet, Gevork Arakelian, and Ken Walker. Finally, thanks to Nick Catley, Trevor Elliott and Hazel Tattersall for reviewing individual chapters.

Wines are produced today in over 65 countries, and it is often stated that production standards are higher than at any time in the 8000 or more years of vinous history. The consumer rightly expects any wine purchased to be of good quality, bearing in mind the price point, and free from fault, flaw, or taint. Wine critics, writers, producers, and retailers are all in the business of selling enjoyment and entertainment, for nobody has to drink wine – it is a beverage to be savoured. However, the incidences of faulty wines reaching the consumer are greater than would be regarded as acceptable in most other industries. It is claimed that such occurrences are less than was the case in recent recorded history, and it is true that the frequency of some faults, flaws, and taints being encountered in bottle (or other packaging) has declined in the last few decades. Gone are the days when a bottle of dry white Bordeaux would have more ‘struck‐match’ sulfur odours than the aromas of Sémillon or Sauvignon Blanc, and a white Bairrada exude the ‘Oloroso Sherry‐like’ aromas and bitter palate resulting from oxidation. Happily too, in recent years, there has been a considerable reduction in the occurrence of haloanisole contamination (often referred to as ‘cork taint’), which renders heavily affected wines undrinkable, having the musty odour of damp hessian or dry rot. However, incidences of certain faults and taints have increased, and issues that were once unheard of now affect many wines offered for sale. These include ‘reduced’ aromas, premature oxidation (premox), atypical ageing and, very much on the rise, smoke taint.

The reduction in the occurrence of some faults might have been expected with the increased sophistication and regulation of wine production, and the advance in scientific and technical knowledge of grape growers and winemakers. These, taken together with the utilisation of a vast array of high specification production equipment, might lead the consumer to believe that they are extremely unlikely to be faced with a faulty bottle of wine. This is sadly not the case. The increased incidence of some defects is, prima facie, surprising. However, the styles of wines that consumers want, or are perceived by the industry to want, have changed in the last 20 years or so. Grape harvests are often delayed until so‐called phenolic ripeness and, together with the effects of climate change, this has resulted in higher grape sugars, higher pH, and lower acidity. Each of these presents dangers. In the case of red wines, and particularly those at so‐called ‘entry‐level’, tannins are softer, and levels of residual sugar have often increased. Inexpensive wines are usually brought to the market very quickly, sometimes within a few months of harvest. Time is money, and there may be little time or budget for all desirable stabilisation procedures to take place. Finally, the consumer and especially the serious wine lover, wants wine to be a natural, agricultural product that has been turned into something wonderful by an artisan, not a scientist. Accordingly, many producers strive to make wine as ‘natural’ as possible, by reducing interventionist techniques and minimising chemical and biological additions, including those that may increase stability and prevent the onset of certain faults. It is also of concern that there is an increase in the incidence of mycotoxins in wines, due to their production by some of the microbial populations on vines. This is perhaps another consequence of climate change. Related off‐flavours, which were historically noted only occasionally, have been detected at a much higher frequency during the last 15 years.