Showerthought: Detecting volatile acidity flaws has sharpened my critical tasting

I picked up on a persistent nail polish remover scent in several mid-priced Pinot Noirs. This shifted my focus from fruit profiles to production quality markers. What common faults do you prioritize when evaluating value wines?

3 comments

3 Comments

bailey.mia1mo ago

During a tasting in Sonoma last year, I encountered several Pinots with that same nail polish note. But I've come to wonder if hyper-focusing on volatile acidity in wines under twenty dollars misses the point. For budget-friendly options, a slight fault might be a trade-off for accessibility, and consumers often prioritize fruit expression over technical perfection. Sure, cooked flavors or excessive Brettanomyces can ruin a bottle, but minor VA might just add complexity in some contexts. The risk is that we become so fault-focused that we forget to appreciate what a wine does well, especially at lower price points. I'd rather drink a slightly flawed but enjoyable wine than a technically correct but boring one.

jason_fisher1mo ago

Spot on about the technically correct but boring thing.

reeses121mo ago

Totally. Read a wine blog once that said some flaws give cheap wine its character. Makes sense if it means avoiding boring bottles.