Does Your Wine Smell Foul Funky Musty Or Weird?

Did you ever open a bottle of wine and get a weird barnyard smell?

Smelly Wine

Brettanomyces In My Wine

Does Your Wine Smell Foul, Funky, Musty Or Weird? DO NOT THROW OUT THE WINE! It is most likely fine. There is a yeast called Brettanomyces that sometimes works its way into wines, and it’s safe. It is called Brett for short. Sometimes if you let the wine air out, it fades. But taste the wine, and you won’t believe that something so smelly can taste so good. The wine is fine. It usually happens with European wines in my experience, especially French wines. It is rare, but let me know if you ever come across it.

Brettanomyces

Cork Smell In My Wine

Should you smell the cork when you open or purchase a bottle? Absolutely! The reason is to see if the wine is bad, otherwise known as “corked”. If it is bad, the cork smells from a chemical called TCA and smells musty. And that means the wine is no good, so ask for a new bottle or return it to the store. Most good restaurants and stores know this issue very well and will gladly accommodate you. The same thing goes if you order a glass and it tastes like a chemical. About 2%-3% of all wine with natural cork is this way.

Standard Corks

Eggs In My Wine?

The smell of rotten egg in a wine comes from overuse of sulfur dioxide. Thankfully, I haven’t met this yet. Just like everything else in life, there are good winemakers and there are bad winemakers. Lots of people claim that it’s the sulfur in wine that gives them headaches, but science says it is not true. There are many compounds in wines that can cause headaches. Drink a glass of water between glasses of wine and as your last beverage of the night.

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2 thoughts on “Does Your Wine Smell Foul Funky Musty Or Weird?

  1. Hi Frank,

    Thanks for another interesting blob post and covering subjects that always provoke ‘robust’ discussion among wine nerds!

    While a high level of Brett in a wine is definitely a flaw, some wine drinkers (myself included) actually like a little Brett in our wine and seek out old world wines that are known for this characteristic.

    Sulphur Dioxide is another interesting area. While overuse of Sulphur Dioxide can result in a rotten egg smell in wine, this fault (the rotten egg smell) is much more likely to be due to overly reductive wine making practices or the under-use or no use of SO2 in the wine making process, such as in natural wines.

    Reductive processes, reducing or removing O2 interaction with the wine can promote the growth of bacteria that cause spoilage and produce SO2. This is one of the reasons why the cap is frequently punched down during red wine making in order to break up the cap, promote O2 interaction with the wine and prevent growth of these organisms.

    I have come across rotten egg smell in wines and each time is has been a ‘natural wine’ where the wine maker has deliberately taken a minimal intervention approach to wine making and has either used little or no SO2 in the wine making process. However this is risky as spoilage bacteria (that would normally be killed by the antibacterial properties of SO2) can develop in the wine and cause spoilage effects – including rotten egg smell. This effect can be mild, where the wine is still enjoyable and tastes good (despite the bad nose) to completely undrinkable (I’ve had a couple of those!).

    Thanks and keep up the great blogs!

    1. Hi Jamie. Thanks for the nice comments! I may try to touch on some of what you wrote in my post. I try not to get too technical as the average wine drinker is my audience. Too many wine drinkers and not enough educators. Hopefully, wine tastings will resume soon. I think they are the best format to learn. Had some natural wine from the Finger Lakes about year ago at a tasting. Luckily no egg. LOL. Some excellent wines though. Also, thinking of making short videos to teach things on Instagram. Frank

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