What is Mousiness in Wine?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ส.ค. 2024
- Welcome to the Wine with Jimmy channel, your go-to source for all things wine education. Today, we're diving into a lesser-known but increasingly common issue in the world of natural wines: Mouse Taint. This unpleasant aftertaste, sometimes found in low-intervention wines, can be a real surprise for both consumers and wine professionals alike.
In this video, I explain:
What is Mouse Taint? 🐭🍷
History and Chemistry Behind It
Why it's More Common in Natural Wines
How to Detect and Understand It
Personal Experiences and Anecdotes
Whether you're a wine enthusiast, a sommelier, or someone in the trade, understanding Mouse Taint is crucial in today's evolving wine landscape. Don't forget to share your experiences and thoughts in the comments!
Key Points Covered:
Definition and history of Mouse Taint.
The chemistry and bacteria involved.
Conditions that promote Mouse Taint.
Personal experiences and tips for detection.
Discussion on whether Mouse Taint can disappear over time.
If you have any questions or comments, please drop them below. Let's get a conversation started!
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Thanks for sharing your insights Jimmy!
Regarding the claim about mousiness disappearing (at 22:30), something similar happens with pure chemicals related to mousiness. In other words, when ATHP is synthesised in a laboratory, it polymerises: multiple ATHP molecules reacts with each other to form flavourless compounds. Even when ATHP is dissolved in alcohol and kept in the freezer, it will disappear within about three months.
I don't know if ATHP behaves in the same way in wine, but the compounds reacting with each other could potentially explain why mousiness in wine disappears
It's an interesting one. I would like to see more studies on this phenomenon.
In the beer world it's known that the THP flavor disappears with time in wild fermented beer, and I've observed this repeatedly in beer I've made. The explanation that's usually given is that the brett eventually metabolizes it, but that may just be a guess. I usually see it take up to 6 months to disappear from my beer. It may be that it takes longer in wine because of the higher abv, or might not ever fade if the yeast is no longer alive in the bottle.
Thanks for your insights from the beer world, that's really interesting about brett!
A ghost in the wine😅
Love the geeky posts. Thank you!!
Glad you like them! Cheers!
I am selling low interv wine and you can t imagine how many ppl can t taste it or find it as a nice addition to the wine. As for me, I can taste it, but it doesn t bother me at all.
Interesting that it doesn't bother you and those who can't taste it at all are blessed. For me it results in a sink pour.
You tellin’ me a mouse put his whole taint in this? 🥴
hahaha!
Aayyyyy yooooo
I've not done chemistry in a while, but my first guess about why it can disappear with time in bottle could be that those different compounds can get to a higher oxidation state than the one that causes the unpleasant aroma, so the mousiness is a temporary stay over a longer journey towards chemical stability.
I hope this is the case. But I have tasted some older wines which show it so I'm guessing this is multi faceted chemical problem!
Mouse never actually goes away, its just people confuse post malolactic fermentation protein instability with Mouse. it essentially has, same yeasty, wet doughy notes on the aftertaste but it gets stabilized in couple of months and thats when people think Mouse has gone away.
Great topic !!
Thanks!
This is interesting as I can usually detected a corked or somewhat corked wine, but I have also done tastings where it actually appeared to blow off and in some cases became more pronounced with aeration. Trying to distinguish between the two, I love fino sherry which is quite unusual for this side of the pond. I love amontillado styles as well depending what I have with it, but it can have a somewhat unpleasant long finish which would otherwise be good in a table wine. Where I can have more issues is with Madeira which I like for other than cooking which is terribly Un-American. Here I can have an aftertaste which I have never quite understood. I was wondering if this could be mousiness in the oxidative development of some of these fortified wines? Is this just my palate? I am sure you know peoples' tastes usually go in way or another when it comes to things like asparagus and cilantro so maybe it is just my personal taste here as well. Your thoughts kind Sir.
This resonates. There are a handful of compounds I have found in a variety of fermented beverages that register on my palate as “mouse adjacent.” One of them is that musty yeasty quality in sherry, one is a almost cheesy over stirred lees (think muscadet) and the other is the “water cracker/biscuit” note in some pilsners.
The real lightbulb for me was paying extra attention to when the mouse hits and how intense it is. And does it impact my next sip in a negative way and detract from the harmony in the wine.
To test, first I would try some “local pickled thing” and see if there is any THP, so you can really isolate when and where on your palate. Then I would seek out mousy wines at your local natural shop. Then maybe a Brett IPA to differentiate barnyard funk and phenolics from the wheaty grossness.