269: Defining Musty Attics, Band-Aids and Rotten Eggs with Keith Grainger, Author of Wine Faults & Flaws

When it comes to wine, what do descriptors like the musty attic, rotten eggs and Band-Aids mean? How does a wine's packaging make it more susceptible to faults? Are there ways you can fix a faulted wine at home rather than throwing out the bottle or returning it? In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Keith Grainger, author of Wine Faults & Flaws: A Practical Guide. You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks   Giveaway One of you is going to win a personally signed copy of Keith Grainger's terrific book, Wine Faults and Flaws: A Practical Guide. To qualify, all you have to do is email me at [email protected] and let me know that you've posted a review of the podcast. I'll choose one person randomly from those who contact me.  Good luck!   Highlights Why is it helpful to smell your wine glass before pouring? How can you gracefully handle receiving corked wine in a restaurant? Why is cork taint more detectable in sparkling wine? Which simple test can you do at home to confirm if your wine is really corked? How can you identify oxidized wine, and why does this occur? What is the difference between the beneficial oxidation in Sherry and oxidation in other types of wine? What are the causes and ways to prevent reduced wine? Should you be concerned about heat damage on wine? How does Brettanomyces impact wine aroma, and what’s behind the differing opinions on its desirability? Why are sulphites used in wine production, and should you be concerned about consuming them? How can the histamines present in wine impact wine consumers? What’s behind the increasing prevalence of lightstrike, and how does it impact wine? How can you identify different types of pyrazines in wine? Should you invest in a wine fault kit to learn more about wine faults? Which simple tricks can you use to improve the taste of a reduced or corked wine? Why would Keith love to share a bottle of wine with composer and conductor Ennio Morricone?   Key Takeaways Different wine faults have different characteristic odours and flavours, which can tip you off to their presence. A wine's packaging can make it more susceptible to faults. His suggestions on ways you can fix a faulted wine at home rather than throwing out the bottle or returning it were clever. Any oxygen that comes into the wine was in the cork in the first place and it's slowly released into the wine.   Join me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live Join the live-stream video of this conversation on Wed at 7 pm ET on Instagram Live Video, Facebook Live Video or YouTube Live Video. I want to hear from you! What’s your opinion of what we’re discussing? What takeaways or tips do you love most from this chat? What questions do you have that we didn’t answer? Want to know when we go live? Add this to your calendar: https://www.addevent.com/calendar/CB262621   About Keith Grainger Keith Grainger is an award-winning wine writer, educator and consultant to the wine industry. He is the author of ‘Wine Faults and Flaws: A Practical Guide’, which won the coveted 2022 Prix de l’OIV.       To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/269.