TCA Issue

[Bill Hunt]

I was hosting a dining event at a Michelin starred restaurant the other night. We had the private dining room, and 4 8-tops. I had been given the menu and the wine list, and had made the selections.

When I arrived, I tasted each wine, but obviously not each bottle of each wine - just the first bottle of the four.

The event started very well, and the Champagne for the passed appetizers went beautifully. The first seated-course and the Macon Chard seemed to be going well too, until my wife (next to me) passed her Chard for me to smell and taste - CORKED! However, my pour was great. I quickly sniffed the glasses of two diners to my left (good friends), plus the gentleman to wife's right. All were good. Wife's had minor TCA taint, but it was easy to pick up. I called the service captain over (no sommelier on duty), and told him of the issue. Apparently, my wife's glass was either from a slightly tainted bottle, or maybe had been topped-up from one. We tried to figure out which bottle was responsible, but with 4 servers, that was tough. I went around smelling (even for those guests, who did not know me), and seemed to isolate 4 other glasses around the room. Those were instantly replaced, and we had zero additional problems.

Obviously, the "cure" would have been for someone to sample each, and every bottle, before it was served, but that had not happened.

We had possibly caught all, or at least most of the tainted wine, but not without a bunch of sniffing. The levels of taint in those other glasses seemed to be more than what my wife had been poured (supports the "topping up" theory), but was still not enough for me to pick up, just by walking around the tables.

Not sure what a better scheme would have been, other than a dedicated taster for each bottle opened, but I would be interested in hearing others' thoughts, as there might have something that I missed, in the heat of hosting and a tainted bottle.

Not sure how many of the other recipients even noticed, but as I had chosen the wines to pair with the dishes, I wanted each guest to have the best possible wines.

Just curious - and the guests did not seem any worse for the wear - most retired to the Dorchester bar, when the meal was over, and we did Ports and Sherries, until nearly dawn.

Hunt

[4wino]

Bill, I used to organise wine tasteings and also attend othe people's wine tastings. We would always double decant young wines, and just decant older wines, due to sediment.

This would be the best way to take care of the problem. I understand that you are talking about Champagne, but there is nothing wrong with decanting Champagne. I have never noticed any loss of the bubblies. No better way to get rid of the damaged wine.

[Bill Hunt]

In this case, I was just glad to have the glasses, that I had requested.

With most of my younger white Burgs (especially 1er Cru), I will usually request that the wine be caraffed (essentially decanted, but for aeration, and not sediment separation), but these were not nearly at that level - rather pedestrian white Burgs, but we had several tables, and a budget.

At three of our smaller dinners, we did have the Burgs caraffed, and that can make such a difference, especially with younger ones.

Thanks,

Hunt

[maria lorraine]

I so admire your attention to detail, Bill. I don't see an obvious solution other than to have the bottles opened when you arrive, and for you to give each the smell test. This might not require a pour from each bottle, merely a good sniff. I know your wife might be quite busy at these events, greeting guests and all, but since she has this wonderful TCA hypersensitivity, maybe should could take five minutes with the assembled opened wine, and smell each one. Or, perhaps you could pinpoint the staff member with the greatest TCA perception, and assign them the job. But you may not be able to relax if this is the case.

[Bill Hunt]

Yes, having all but the Champagnes opened should have revealed the culprit(s). My nose is sensitive to TCA (and variants), so just a sniff should have been enough.

My wife and I share the sensitivity, and I can often pick up a problem, when a glass is still a few feet away from me. This time, however, the degree of contamination was not that heavy, and I do think that her glass was diluted with some good wine, and then a small pour from the bad bottle.

I do not know that every glass, from the bad bottle was recovered, but the servers did try. If we'd have been able to isolate the bottle, maybe a server would have been able to tell who got it. When the issue was discovered, the opened bottles were good, by my nose, so the bad one had been emptied just a bit earlier. Also, as the glasses were large, at my urging, the pours were probably a bit more generous, than what we'd do in a tasting, so there might only have been 4 - 6 glasses affected. At least I am hoping.

I think that I will work that into the drill next time. With but a few exceptions, these dinners are a bit smaller, and I do approve all bottles, but this one was a bit large, with a battery of servers, and obviously, one missed a bottle.

Thank you for the thoughts,

Hunt

[Niki in Dayton]

When I'm hosting a wine event (tasting or dinner), I usually sniff each of the corks as the wine is opened. If a cork smells "off" to me, then I pour a bit of the wine in a glass and sniff. I don't think I've ever had a corked wine where the cork didn't show that musty odor, so I always sniff the cork even though some folks might consider that practice pretentious.

[eethan]

Hmm, I have heard there's nothing to be gleaned from the cork. ("If it smells like cork, well, that's because it's a cork.")

edit: OK maybe not *nothing*, but at least that smelling it doesn't communicate much.

[Bill Hunt]

I have had some feedback from corks, but most often with the look - most corks in bottles with TCA (in my experiences) have had a dry, gray look to them. Some DO that the tell-tale smell, but some do not. Still, almost all have that odd look to them.

I would have liked for the sommelier, or a designated server, to have done a quick taste of each bottle, and as Eugene pointed out, I probably should have taken that role.

Thanks,

Hunt

[Eugene Park]

Other than having you be the "dedicated" taster (which sounds fun at first, but can get old fast if you're rushing from table to table), one possible solution is to solicit a volunteer at each table to be that table's taster. Of course, you'd have to trust that the people taking on this task are capable of sussing out tainted/bad bottles and not afraid to bring it to the restaurant staff's attention.

[Bill Hunt]

Eugene,

I did think about setting me up as the "designated taster," and sort of started that, when the guests were arriving. I tasted one bottle each, of the four, and all was good. I also tasted the first two with the various passed apps., and the first course, as it was ready and waiting. All was good at that point. Guess that I dropped the ball, as I could have been the taster, since my wife was the true "host" of the event.

Thanks,

Hunt