Another wine down the drain

A bad bottle of wine can still be a good experience. There’s a lot to learn from a wine that’s either gone bad or just doesn’t suit your taste buds. We had just such an experience a few nights ago.

Some friends opened a bottle of an Italian wine that had been imported by a favorite California winery. This is to say, we didn’t know the wine but we trusted its source. It was a red varietal we hadn’t heard of. Nevertheless, it had a smell and a taste that your Two Wine Nuts were familiar with.

The wine’s most distinctive scent was of Band-Aids. Yep, that plasticy, chemically, antiseptic smell. One Wine Nut also picked up some Magic Marker in the aroma. And there was Band-Aid in the taste, too. After a few sips and commiseration, the group deemed the wine undrinkable and we moved onto another bottle.

So what does that Band-Aid taste and smell mean? Band-Aids is a tell-tale sign of a very specific yeast hanging out in a wine. It indicates the presence of a yeast called brettanomyces [breht-tan-uh-MI-sees] – or “brett” for short. Brettanomyces is a yeast that grows naturally on grapes and in wineries. For the most part, wine makers try to avoid allowing brett into their wine. However, there is some debate among winos as to whether or not a brett-flavored wine is a good thing or a bad thing. A little brettanomyces in a wine can add some complexity and earthiness, especially in a red wine. However, too much brett and you start wondering who has the boo-boo and just opened the Band-Aids box.

For lots of microbiological info, click here. For a high-brow debate of the usefulness of brettanomyces, click here.