How to spot a corked wine, and other faults...

When is a wine corked or faulty? In fact, what does a ‘faulty’ wine mean? And what should you do about it?

Most people are reluctant to complain about a wine they don’t like. Many others wonder why the very same wine that they have enjoyed before, tastes very odd the next time around. There’s a hell of a lot of insecurity in complaining about a wine at a restaurant, especially when there’s a particularly haughty sommelier in charge – so the majority will just grin and drink a bottle that they aren't really enjoying, because of the potential embarrassment and uncertainty.

It’s no different if you’re buying a new, or a favourite bottle, and don’t enjoy it. Even though just about every single shop will have a policy of replacing the bottle, I’d hazard a guess that most customers don’t request it because they’re too unsure. Don’t be worried – any good restaurant should simply replace the bottle, and then deal with the problem with the wine supplier.

There’s a lot of difference between a bottle that you simply don’t like, in terms of style, and a bottle, where you think something is definitely wrong, but you’re just not sure what. Here’s a simple guide to two of the most common problems that can spoil a wine:

CORKED WINE - Cork taint is a perennial problem, and one of the reasons why the arrival, and massive success of screw-capped wines is so great for all wine drinkers; only 15 years ago, almost one bottle in every 10 was affected by cork taint – now, that’s far less.  A corked wine is nothing to do with bits of cork that crumble into the bottle – it’s not great, but the wine isn’t corked, it’s just a poor quality cork.

If you smell mould, old mushrooms, damp dog hair, or mouldy old cloths on a wine, that’s when you know a wine is corked. It happens when bacteria from a cork (particularly with lower grade corks), gets into the wine and contaminates it. The degree of ‘corkiness’ can vary, but any amount will detract from the freshness of the wine, leaving it dull, whilst the worst will reek of mould, must, and mushrooms.  Be confident; complain!

OXIDISED WINE - This is where oxygen has managed to get into the wine and spoiled it; it’s a bit like a pear or an avocado going brown once its cut – the oxygen takes away the freshness and spoils the flavour. The first sign is the colour – if a fresh, young white wine looks rancid and yellow, or a juicy red looks brown, chances are its oxidised (just like an apple going brown). If it smells and tastes of old, rank, cheap Sherry, or vinegar, you definitely know it off, so don’t hesitate in complaining.

Anything else is likely to be pure taste, although there are wines that have too much sulphur (used as a preservative to keep a wine fresh), but that isn’t technically a fault.  Similarly, if you find deposits in the wine, for rich, aged reds, sediment is often a naturally occurring by product, which is removed by decanting, whilst white wines occasionally have little white crystals, that can be mistaken for glass, but are in fact innocent tartrate crystals, that occasionally occur when the wine has been stored in exceptionally cold places.

If it’s just the style you don’t like, don’t buy it again. But if you find that one of your favourite wines is not up to scratch, or a wine has any of the symptoms I’ve described above, don’t hesitate in returning it!

Angela Mount