Sometimes people ask me how I can tell whether a wine is flawed or not. I don’t know about you, but I do struggle with detecting faulty notes or aromas in wines. I usually can recognize a “corked” bottle, but have had issues with other flaws. This is a touchy subject for winemakers and drinkers alike: We don’t want to label a wine as bad when in fact it was faulty which is not necessary the winemaker’s mistake: storage and other reasons can impact a wine and turn it into a bad wine. And there is hardly anything worse (in the wine world) than blasting a wine for flaws that have nothing to do with the winemaker’s skill or ability. But it can be hard to know what went wrong with a wine if you don’t know what characteristics certain flaws have.
That is where this article by Madeline Puckette comes in. She gives summaries of common wine flaws, how to detect them and what can be done about them (if anything!). I believe this can help understand what’s going on when we get across a bottle that has issues.
Happy Sunday!
the winegetter 
I too have the same issue with detecting flaws. I do know cooked though- if it tastes like stewed plums.
I think I need some help going forward to sharpen my senses!
You know, I actually would be fine never diving into the depths of these faults…much better, if I never run into them. :)
Is it bad that I drink wine…even if I think it has faults?
Well, we all have our dirty little secrets…:)
I used to struggle with detecting wine faults, too but a few months ago I started using Le Nez du Vin since I started practicing with it I got better at detecting aromas and wine faults.
Le Nez du Vin is the name of a variety of wine aroma kits released by Jean Lenoir.
Yes, I remember reading about that on your blog! I am sure it is super helpful!!