To help you decide whether to sip or send it back, we asked sommelier Michael Madrigale to walk us through how he determines if a wine isn’t up to snuff. The good news: Bad bottles are rare. Of the roughly 150 wines Madrigale opens each night, usually only one is destined for the drain. Here’s how to tell if yours is, too.
Warning Signs
Scents of wet cardboard, wet newspaper and wet dog.
The Cause
Cork taint is a chemical compound called TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole), which lurks in some corks and damp surfaces such as wine barrels.
Drink or Dump?
Dump
Warning Signs
Extremely muted, or nonexistent aromas and flavors.
The Cause
Could simply be too young. Or, if the wine recently traveled and was seriously shaken, it may have bottle shock.
Drink or Dump?
Drink
“It could change for the better the next day after opening,” says Madrigale. “Wine is a living, breathing thing. Give it a chance.”
Warning Signs
You already know forest-floor on the nose can be desirable in a mature wine. But if it only reeks of wet mushrooms, it’s passed its prime. A dead wine will taste and feel hollow and one-dimensional.
The Cause
You held out too long.
Drink or Dump?
Dump
Warning Signs
“Aromas of spoiled butterscotch with white wines, and bouillon cube and—yes—vomit in reds,” says Madrigale. Other tells: An orange hue on a wine that should be straw or pale yellow, or a deep brown color on a recent-vintage red.
The Cause
Exposure to too much air during winemaking, or through a faulty cork.
Drink or Dump?
Dump
Dump if it’s heavily oxidized—it will upstage the wine’s complexities. If it has just a tinge, take a sip (it’s safe) and see if you like it. Some people actually enjoy a little oxidation, says Madrigale.
Warning Signs
Sulfur, lit match and burnt rubber.
The Cause
The opposite of oxidation, reduction occurs when the wine isn’t exposed to enough air during winemaking.
Drink or Dump?
It Depends
Madrigale says your wine may recover if you decant with a copper-based penny or two (minted pre-1982). Copper can kill off mercaptan, the stinky sulfur dioxide compound created during fermentation.
Warning Signs
Rotten egg smell, typically coupled with a prickle in your nose and throat as you sniff it.
The Cause
Sulfur dioxide gas helps prevent spoiling, but too much can affect the wine.
Drink or Dump?
It Depends
Madrigale says your wine may recover if you decant with a copper-based penny or two (minted pre-1982). Copper can kill off mercaptan, the stinky sulfur dioxide compound created during fermentation.
Warning Signs
Scents of horse stable, Band-Aid and a high school locker room.
The Cause
Brettanomyces, a naturally occurring yeast, landed in the barrel and reproduced in the wood, tainting the wine.
Drink or Dump?
It Depends
“Brett is good in small doses. It can give the wine a little complex funk,” Madrigale says. “But if it’s all you taste, dump it.”
1Corked
2Too Tight
3Too Old
4Oxidized
5Reduced
6Sulfur Spoil
7Brett
