As faults go, Brettanomyces (commonly known as Brett) is a pretty regular occurrence in our favourite tipple.  Some schools of thought say that Brett is acceptable at very low levels as it adds complexity to wine.  Here’s some info and my thoughts on Brett.

Please note:  I am not a microbiologist nor is this a microbiology article.  For more detail on the water content of the Christmas beetle and other wonderful microbiological facts please use Google.

What is it?

Brettanomyces (that really is the last time I am going to type out that word) is a type of natural occurring yeast.  It occurs naturally on the skin of the grape and under normal circumstances is killed off when free sulphur is added during the crushing of the grapes.  Brett is a more common problem in red wines than in white, although it does occur in white wines and even in sparkling wine.

How does it become a problem?

The short, but incomplete answer is bad cellar hygiene.  It is however not the whole story.  The prevalence of Brett in recent times can be attributed to the return of minimal interference in the wine making process.  ”Natural” wine makers are loath to add free sulphur during the crush, which paves the way for the survival of Brett. Sulphur levels are also kept to a minimum in the finished product.  Couple that to the fact that Brett enjoys a higher pH and more polyphenols.  These are by products of the modern style of wine making where grapes are picked when they are optimally or even over ripe.  Brett enjoys living in dirty barrels, crush equipment or tanks, so even if you eradicate the Brett from your must or fermenting juice, it will still occur if your cellar is not clean enough.

Why more Brett in red than in white?

Brett likes high levels of polyphenols and a higher pH.  Red wine has both in more abundance than white.  Simple isn’t it?

How do you pick up Brett?

Sounds a bit like a dating question.  Brett has a very distinctive odour, ranging from sweaty leather through to plaster (the band aid type).  Stables, sheds and other agricultural housing for animals have been mentioned as well.  To my mind the Elastoplast band aid odour is the most telling.  If you have ever played rugby at any level, you will immediately recognise the smell on an infected wine.  It smells like a hypochondriac rugby player’s sports bag.  In fact… Earl Rose might just be the poster boy for Brett.

Brett in South African wine

I’ve written this article mainly due to personally having come into contact with a myriad of Brett infected wines over the last couple of weeks.  We opened a world renowned Pinotage 1998 a week ago, and the Brett was so bad that the whole (very expensive) bottle went straight down the drain.  The irony is that just over a year ago, I opened the same producer’s Pinotage whilst working as a sommelier (this time the 1997 vintage) and the exact same thing happened.

There’s also a story doing the rounds about another very well known producer reacting quite strongly to accusations that his wines are Bretty.  He vehemently denied it on every forum he could find, but not a month later invested in a very expensive barrel steam washer.

Personally I put Brett in the same category as cork taint.  It has no place in wine and is a fault at a level where you can distinguish its odour.  Like TCA (cork taint), the wine is still drinkable when infected with Brett, but the taste is as unpleasant as the odour.  Therefore it should go back to the producer for a replacement bottle or a refund.