A "corked" question

Despite all I have read about corked wines, I thought I wasn't getting it. I wasn't smelling anything musty (except maybe once), and I didn't really believe that I had never bought corked wine. But just now, I read the first description of corked wine that I've ever seen that used the descriptor "wet dog."

Have any of you experienced corked as "wet dog?" Now that I've read this, I can see where I've been missing it all this time. I've complained of many a "wet dog" wine over the years but didn't know what I was on to. What an eye-opener!

I'd say wet dog was something else. See:
http://www.wine-pages.com/guests/tom/taste5.htm

"Musty" is the first word I'd use to describe a corked wine, but I'm wondering now if the term loses something in the trans-atlantic translation. "Wet cardboard" is perhaps even better because to me it implies a somehat atificial and chemical note.

Hmmmm, bummer. I thought I had learned something. Back to sniffing for cardboard. But thanks for the great reference site!

"Musty" is the first word I'd use to describe a corked wine, but I'm wondering now if the term loses something in the trans-atlantic translation. "Wet cardboard" is perhaps even better because to me it implies a somehat atificial and chemical note.

Nope, Steve, musty works as a descriptor over here in the Colonies, too. To me, cork taint is in same category of smells with mildew and patchouli oil, neither of which can I abide (between patchouli and clove cigarettes the late '60s in Berkeley weren't easy on my olfactory apparatus, I can tell you that).

Mark Lipton

well, i don't know about wet dog. you come across tca far more often than you might think. in supermarkets it can be smelled on and in the area of fruit - esp citrus fruits that have been wood or cardboard as most have. i've even smelled rose's that had it. why not create it for yourself. take some wood chips or even cardboard and apply a very dilute solution of chlorine - normal laundry bleach. let it dry and you should have it.

"Wet cardboard" is perhaps even better because to me it implies a somehat atificial and chemical note.

That is the best and most evocative (for me) description. We have a damp cellar, so I have much experience with wet carboard boxes.

Bruce, are you not worried about mould? Friend of mine here has a poor setup and he is in big trouble. He has had some really bad wines as a result, he thinks.

I think having to say this is like that might limit range of experience. TCA might smell like old library books, my closest comparator, but really nothing smells or tastes a lot like TCA. It is unique. If you are going to get more involved with wine, there are so many corked bottles that before long there will be somebody around one to identify one for you.

I personally can’t think of ever thinking a wine smelled or tasted like what I would call a wet dog (but then I limit my involvement with dogs). It might have happened, but not often; so I wonder what you are smelling!

WET DOG
Chien mouillé (F) Nasser Hund (G) Cane umido (I) Perro húmedo (S)
So-called "wet dog" or "wet wool" is a heat-generated volatile sulphur fault involving the Retro-Michael reaction of methional, which is thermally unstable and evolves rapidly into acrolein and methanethiol, which are responsible for the so-called "wet dog" odour and a stronger cooked cauliflower smell.
Acrolein, methanethiol.

***found this on the UK forum.

Just to add a footnote to Bob P’s post.
The chemical compounds Acrolein and Methanethiol which may be responsible for the “wet dog” smell are believed to be formed during MLF (Malolactic fermentation) or by Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB). Acrolein formation is believed to be caused by LAB degradation of glycerol, and it is believed that certain strains of LAB have the capacity to metabolize methionine and produce methanethiol.

Salute

Here is another interesting viewpoint from Nick Alabaster......... pretty long.

http://www.wineanorak.com/nickwinefaults.htm

WET DOG
Chien mouillé (F) Nasser Hund (G) Cane umido (I) Perro húmedo (S)
So-called "wet dog" or "wet wool" is a heat-generated volatile sulphur fault involving the Retro-Michael reaction of methional, which is thermally unstable and evolves rapidly into acrolein and methanethiol, which are responsible for the so-called "wet dog" odour and a stronger cooked cauliflower smell.
Acrolein, methanethiol.

***found this on the UK forum.

The source is actually Tom Stevenson's excellent aroma guide, which I linked to in the second post of this thread. The point not being that I think Tom should get the credit; not that I found it first

Just to add a footnote to Bob P’s post.
The chemical compounds Acrolein and Methanethiol which may be responsible for the “wet dog” smell are believed to be formed during MLF (Malolactic fermentation) or by Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB). Acrolein formation is believed to be caused by LAB degradation of glycerol, and it is believed that certain strains of LAB have the capacity to metabolize methionine and produce methanethiol.

I really like the idea that LAB can be responsible for "wet dog".

I really like the idea that LAB can be responsible for "wet dog".

Yes, a Labrador retriever, not wine.