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Is a wine bad, or is it just different?
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After spending six days in California visiting wineries in Suisun Valley, Lake County and Napa, other wine travelers were heard making a statement indicating that wines from some other state or region “aren’t very good” or “are bad.” Since this is a blanketed statement, “aren’t very good” or “bad” can be interpreted as “I don’t like the wines from …” and people should actually say they don’t like wines from an area rather than using the word “bad” or the phrase “not very good.” In the wine industry a “bad” wine has a certain meaning. The wine has a fault. Even then there is the degree of the fault and some consumers may like the wine while others will not. How frequently does a faulty wine appear in a tasting room?
After visiting 440 wineries and tasting thousands of wines, faulty wines were seldom encountered. One winery had their entire portfolio of wines with the same fault. That only represents 0.22% of the wineries visited. There was an off aroma and taste to all their wines both whites and reds and those aged in oak and those aged in stainless steel. It’s believed that some bacteria is in the winery and equipment. One out of 440 is rather small for serving faulted wine.
TCA, cork taint, was encountered twice. Once was at a winery in only one bottle and one time at a class at the New York Wine and Culinary Center. At the winery, the corked wine was not readily detectable to some of the customers who sampled it. The owner of the winery spotted it immediately. The incident of a corked bottle opened at the culinary center was immediately detectable. “The musty cardboard box in a humid crawl space for twenty years smell” could be discerned from several feet away. At another winery a wine that had a strong household chemical smell was served to wine travelers. The winemaker smelled it and opened another bottle that was fine. These wines could be considered bad.
It is suggested that wine travelers who like to say that wines from certain areas are “bad” or “aren’t very good” back it up by stating why the wines are bad. On the other hand if it is a case where one doesn’t like the wine, then simply admit it. Not all winemakers like all the wines they make. Consumers may wish to learn more about terroir to better understand why wines from regions differ. Often wines that people don’t like are different, not bad.
To read about the 440 wineries visited see the Wine Trail Traveler site.
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