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Tainted Wine

Many people enjoy drinking a glass of wine with dinner, at parties or just to wind down at the end of the day. In addition to enhancing a meal, studies now show that drinking red wine in moderation can even be good for your health, improving heart health, lowering cholesterol levels and lowering blood pressure.

One of the reasons so many of us love wine is that good wines in ideal conditions introduce new, exciting flavors to our palates or remind us of those flavors that we love. In some cases, however, wine is not only less than perfect but is down right foul because it has spoiled. The industry term for wine that has gone bad is "corked wine."

Tainted wine may look discolored, smell funky (like a moldy basement) and taste even worse. When it comes to drinking wine, it's important to know how wine becomes tainted, the signs of spoilage and what you can do to fix tainted wine. In this article, we'll give you a rundown of all you need to know about tainted wine so that you aren't ambushed by it!

Corked Wine Causes

The main causes of wine taint are:

Cork taint, one of the main causes of tainted wine, occurs when the cork comes into contact with some sort of contaminant that causes it to produce trichloroanisole (TCA). Once a bottle of wine has been infected with TCA, it is unsalvageable.
Improper storage of wine is another cause of corked wine. Ideally, wine should be stored in a dark, cool place between 55°F and 60°F. Storing wine at temperatures higher or lower than this will cause the wine to age improperly, tainting the wine if these improper conditions continue over time.
Oxidation results when wine comes into contact with the air for an extended period of time. While this may be the result of a faulty cork, oxidation can also occur if a bottle has been opened and re-corked for a few days.
Past prime wine means that the wine has spoiled because it is simply too old. While vintages of wine should be aged for a certain amount of time, letting them age for too long with result in spoiled wine.

While cork taint is unavoidable, the other three causes of tainted wine are preventable (as long as oxidation doesn't occur because of a faulty cork). To avoid causing spoilage:

After opening a bottle of wine, be sure to securely cork it if you haven't finished the bottle. Drink all re-corked bottles within a few days of opening them because oxidation will ensue after this amount of time regardless of how well the bottle has been re-corked.
Know the shelf life of your wines and consume them within the recommended window of time.
Store wines in the proper conditions, rotating the bottles every couple of months to prevent the build up of sediment.

Tainted Wine: Signs of Oxidation

Although you may take all of the necessary precautions to keep wine tasting its best, you may come across a tainted bottle every now and then. Some signs that wine has been tainted include:

Discoloration: In general, wine tainted from oxidation appears discolored. While oxidized reds assume a brownish tint, whites that have undergone oxidation appear more golden yellowish.
Funky Smells: Tainted wine will have a distinctly "off" smell, depending on what caused it to spoil. While oxidation may cause wines to smell excessively sweet (mainly whites), cork taint for any wine will produce a moldy, dank and musty aroma that resembles the fragrance of dirty socks or a mildew-infested basement.
Strange, Distasteful Flavors: Because cork taint produces unpleasing aromas, the wine's flavor is similarly affected. While some tainted wine is bitter and vinegary, others may taste moldy.

To avoid tasting tainted wine, be sure to smell wine before you taste it. Often, your nose is the best tool for detecting cork taint. Whether the smell is faint or strong, if you notice something that is not quite right about your bottle of wine, don't drink it. However, if you have taken a whiff and are still unsure, pour a bit into a glass to note the color. Any discoloration points to wine taint.

Dealing with Tainted Wine

Unfortunately, once wine has been tainted, the bottle is ruined and undrinkable. However, you aren't at a total loss for the cost of it. If you think that your wine is tainted, talk with the sommelier or return the bottle to where you purchased it. Any good sommelier will be happy to replace your bottle of wine, as he knows that wine taint happens from time to time.

Buying more than one bottle when purchasing wine usually guarantees that you'll have an unspoiled bottle to drink even if you open one that is tainted. Similarly, at the time of purchase, ask the salesperson (especially if you are at a finer winery) about the vineyard's exchange policy for tainted bottles.

Statistics on Wine Taint

Here are some statistics on tainted wine:

1 percent to 15 percent of wines produced worldwide are tainted.
1 in 20 bottles suffer from wine taint.
$650 million is the estimated cost of wine lost due to cork taint.

While a tainted bottle will cost you money and may upset your evening, the good news is that tainted wine is generally harmless. It smells and tastes bad but will probably not do you any harm. Because wine enthusiasts will likely come across tainted wine on occasion, knowing what causes wine taint and how to deal with it is important to avoiding it and being able to deal with it properly.

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