Flawless: Understanding Faults in Wine

 A New York Times Best Wine Book of 2018

Flawless is the first book of its kind dedicated to exploring the main causes of faults in wine. From cork taint, to volatile acidity, to off-putting aromas and flavors, all wine connoisseurs have encountered unappealing qualities in a disappointing bottle. But are all faults truly bad? Are some even desirable? Jamie Goode brings his authoritative voice to the table once again to demystify the science behind what causes a good bottle to go bad. By exposing the root causes of faults in wine, Flawless challenges us to rethink our assumptions about how wine should taste and how we can understand beauty in a glass.

Review: The Best Wine Books of 2018

"Mr. Goode is succinct and clear about how . . . various flaws are expressed in wines. This can be helpful to any wine lover who knows when a wine is not right, but doesn't know exactly what is wrong." -- Eric Asimov * New York Times *

"At the exit of Flawless you will smell wine differently than before. And if the purpose of science and scientific popularization is to increase the well-being and the competence of all of us, the only thing I can say to you - in the hope of a sudden translation in Italian - is to read carefully this wonderful, unmissable, essential book." * Vinix *

"This accessible work should fill numerous knowledge gaps for many readers . . . .This is far from being a dry technical tome. . . . The chapter titles are unambiguous and make quick dips into the book easy enough. Each chapter starts with a list of questions and answers: What is It? What is its flavor impact? What causes it? Is it always bad? How can it be prevented? These are then fleshed out in the subsequent prose. The coherency of organization along with a lighter writing style means a cover-to-cover read is not out of the question...Flawless is compact enough to easily transport as a mobile resource or a (admittedly geeky) travel read." * Wine Searcher *

"Very close to being required reading on a touchy set of subjects, and while not exactly an easy read, it's digestible for both the consumer and those on the inside of the wine biz." * 1 Wine Dude * 

 Acknowledgments

1. Introduction

2. The Chronology of Wine Faults

3. Brettanomyces

4. Oxidation

5. Volatile Acidity

6. Reduction and Volatile Sulfur Compounds

7. Musty Taints: Cork Taint and Its Relatives

8. Smoke Taint

9. Geosmin

10. Eucalyptus Taint

11. Light Damage

12. Heat Damage

13. Greenness in Wine and Ladybug Taint

14. Mousiness

15. Faults of Malolactic Fermentation

16. Laboratory Testing for Wine Faults

17. Conclusions

Notes

Index