I was at a celebration dinner the other day at one of those private kitchens with a large group of people and we were offered a newly uncorked bottle of the house red, which was some Vin de Pays or equivalent from Pay d'Oc. No one was offered any wine to try (to see if there were any faults) and I presume their nose was not particularly keen. When I started tasting my wine, I thought there was a whiff of vinegary acidity there and I wonder if my proximity to the kitchen and the salad bowl was somewhat interfering with my nasal evaluation of the wine. Or perhaps there was something wrong with the glass (which occasionally happens). The vinegary whiff persisted despite changing glass. I asked for the neighbour's glass and took a sniff. Still something suspicious!
To find out the truth, I hesitantly* took a sip, which confirmed that the wine had indeed oxidised somewhat and became vinegar. They opened another bottle and poured some (far too much for purpose) into a third new glass. That was alright and the spoilt glasses were changed.
NB. Vinegar comes form the French Vin Aigre (as in the title), ie sour wine
*I hesitated in allowing the presumed faulty wine to touch my palate because although that would confirm the fault, it could also ruin the palate for the day.
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