Have you ever had a musty wine? If you have – I am sorry. There’s no good way to look at it, because that is not what you want to find in your wine glass. But what is a musty wine, what causes it, and is there any way you can avoid it? I have to tell you that most weird wine terms come down to personal preference, but with a musty wine, I don’t think you’ll find anyone who would put their hand up to have it in their glass! Let’s unpack this weird wine term so you have everything you need to know.
What is a musty wine?
So let’s start with what musty actually smells like so you know how to distinguish it. Musty is not a nice aroma. It’s reminiscent of wet newspaper or a mouldy basement. This aroma is dank and often described as stale, mouldy or mildewy.
So what does this smell mean? Well, musty in wine often pops up when the wine is corked (more on this term here), which means it has cork taint. Cork taint is the result of the cork of the bottle being infected by Trichloroanisole (TCA), and this creates the cardboard, mouldy, wet dog smell.
The good news? This not so nice aroma makes it very easy to identify if a wine is corked!
What causes cork taint
So what causes this wine note? TCA is formed in tree bark. Fungi, mould or certain bacteria come into contact with a group of fungicides and insecticides, collectively referred to as halophenols. Whilst this is the most common way a wine can become corked, it can also come from barrel, equipment or winery contamination.
This means that whilst this wine fault is most common in wines that use a cork closure, it can still sometimes occur in wines with screwcaps.
Is it safe?
The good news is, this musty aroma and TCA that causes it is not harmful for humans to consume. But, you probably won’t want to, because it does make the wine unpleasant to drink. The worst part? It can become more prominent over time as the wine opens up and bottle ages. You really may not know a wine has it until you’ve aged it, at which point it is quite disappointing to open a wine with cork taint and find it undrinkable.
How to detect a musty wine
So how do you know if you have a wine that has cork taint? Well, the best way to detect it is to start by smelling the wet end of the cork. If you find a strong musty aroma, the wine will likely have the same aroma. Try the wine next, and if it has the same musty smelly, you have a corked wine.
Unfortunately, there is no way to fix a musty wine. So you need to bring the bottle back to where you purchased it, or send it back if you’re at a restaurant. This is a standard practice, so don’t be afraid to speak up if your wine is no good!