Why Your Glass Of Wine Smells Like Nail Polish Remover

You've spent far too long in the wine store, and you've shelled out your hard earned cash. But you're optimistic. The wine label is fun and funky, and the clerk recommended a great, dry red wine. You might have even endured hearing about the terroir of the wine. You get home, maybe put on your jammies, load up your favorite streaming platform, pop the cork and ... your glass of wine smells horrific. Instead of a fruity, floral, complex bouquet, your wine smells like nail polish remover, or maybe it's vinegar. Either way, it tastes and smells disgusting.

There are a few things you can do. You could smash your glass in anger. Or you could read this article! Unfortunately, your wine has a fault in it, which industry folks call "volatile acidity," or VA. The cause of this fault, as there are many in wine, is simple: Bacteria called acetobacter have infected that batch or bottle of wine. The bacteria can enter the wine via the grapes' skin or the air in the fermentation vat. Acetobacter thrives on oxygen and loves to eat sugar and alcohol. Basically, winemaking is an acetobacter colony's dream. The bacteria convert alcohol into acetic acid, which smells like vinegar — because vinegar contains the substance. Both the acetobacter bacteria and certain yeasts in wine that isn't fermented properly can also produce sweet-smelling ethyl acetate — a common nail polish remover ingredient.

If your bottle has a fault, don't dump it, but call the wine store you bought it from and describe the fault. More likely than not, if your local shop is like the shops I worked at, they will let you exchange or return the bottle for credit. This typically helps stores, suppliers, and winemakers keep track of their wine's quality.

Some wines will have faults no matter what; wines, after all, are in a sense living products that change and respond to their environment (it's why you can age them). One thing you can do to avoid VA specifically is always make sure your wines are finished with sulfur dioxide, or SO2. SO2 is usually added at bottling because it's a powerful antimicrobial and has been used as a wine preservative since ancient Rome. SO2 added at bottling gives wines an added stability and shelf life and will kill some yeasts and the acetobacter responsible for VA faults, as any contact the wine makes with the air vastly increases the chances of being infected with acetobacter.

There is a trend in wine called natural wine, and while it has no legal definition, it's basically wines made without the addition of anything, including sulfites for preservatives. I have worked in natural wine, and from my observation, natural wines have a greatly increased chance of VA faults because there's nothing in the winemaking process to stop or mitigate acetobacter growth. I must say that not all VA is a fault. I've had some incredible wines (like the incredible Lebanese-made Chateau Musar) that incorporate VA for added layers of complexity. If you notice your bottle has VA, but it doesn't bother you, more power to you! Drink and enjoy. As with all things in wine, if you like it, drink it; if not, don't!