What is the most common sign that a wine may be flawed?
You have undoubtedly noticed that more wine bottles are now available with screw caps or other alternative seals as opposed to corks. Why? Its not the cost of the closure that the winery is attempting to save on but rather because faulty corks leave a perceptible smell and flavor in wine that invariably result in the bottle being returned. Some producers have experienced as many as 1 to 2 tainted bottles per case of 12. Depending on how sensitive your sense of smell is, at high levels a corked wine has an unmistakably putrefying odor and flavor that may compare to that of moldy wet cardboard or newspapers. At moderate levels, a corked wine takes on a musty quality; at low levels, it seems austere and lacking of fruit*. A broken cork stems from an altogether different problem and seldom will result in a corked bottle as defined above. As to alternative closures, the jury is still deliberating. From Appellation Wines perspective, weve only had one questionable bottle since our suppliers
