Collective term for defects or undesirable and unacceptable faults in wine, which manifest themselves primarily through an unpleasant to disgusting odour and/or taste or "only" in appearance (haze, cloudiness, crystals, etc.). They are detected, among other things, during a wine evaluation and a wine assessment, whereby such wines are then dropped from the rating in the event of certain faults or a certain extent.
A distinction is sometimes made between wine faults (wine defects) and wine diseases. The latter are changes in the wine caused by microorganisms(bacteria, fungi, viruses), which can increase in intensity if appropriate countermeasures are not taken. Many of these defects and faults in wine can be prevented or at least reduced or in some cases subsequently eliminated by appropriate preservation and fining methods using suitable agents.
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Technischer Lehrer, staatl. geprüfter Sommelier, Hotelfachschule Heidelberg