Did any wine writer actually read the PNAS TCA article?

So, the buzz in the wine writing world the past few days has been the "surprising new research" that suggested 2, 4, 6-trichloroanisole (TCA) doesn't actually smell like anything, let alone musty. The authors of the acclaimed study suggested that their data show TCA actually suppresses odors. Is that really new news? If you actually read the article (I conducted the arduous Google search for you...), you might come to a different conclusion than some of the people writing about the article.

I can't be the only person that knows low levels of TCA will kill a wine’s aroma and flavor. In fact, I know I'm not as Ray Isle wrote the last eleven words of the previous sentence over four years ago in Food & Wine. Yet, over the last couple days, Steve Heimoff, Wine Spectator and Decanter all wrote about the research seemingly without actually reading the paper.

If you read the article with a critical eye (I know, that's a pain to do sometimes...) you will see two things that should make you question all the lazy pundits. First, the study was conducted on newts (Cynops pyrrhogaster), not humans (Homo sapiens). They clearly stated, "functional olfactory receptor genes is different between amphibians and mammals, so we cannot rule out the expression of receptors with very high TCA sensitivity in humans." Hmmm. That changes the conclusion a bit. Human olfactory receptors could interact with TCA differently than those of newts! Additionally, the authors stated that, "we cannot assume that we surveyed all possible olfactory receptors in the newt." Might there be other olfactory receptors that transduct musty odors? Humans have around 400 functional genes coding for olfactory receptors. The picture just got a bit more complicated...

[note: the following paragraph was re-added after my original post was published to better reflect the full content of the PNAS study]

The authors did in fact conduct an experiment on on human perception of TCA (and TBA) in wine. They investigated the concentration levels at which "the reduction of original odor and the extrinsic musty smell from TCA were discriminated." So, in fact, the authors were able to show that humans do sense musty odors in wine caused by TCA and TBA. The levels varied person to person and the musty odor was recognizable in red wine at a lower concentration than white wine. So why the media blitz about an article that basically supports what we all knew about TCA? I know PNAS isn't hoping to increase its advertising levels! [end revision]

I don't have any answers to the question of why olfactory receptor cells removed from a decapitated newt did not trigger a musty odor, but I think the idea that this research is somehow earth-shattering is a bit hyperbolic. It is interesting to know how TCA (and don't forget the often neglected 2,4,6-tribromoanisole, or TBA) interacts with neurons, but to borrow something I saw in a tweet from my chemical engineering buddy Tom Mansell: 

A new wine rating system...

With all the hubbub surrounding the different wine rating systems and discussion about the extent different factors play a part of them, I’ve decided to create a new system. This system incorporates every aspect of experiencing a wine. This system is a first draft and I urge everyone to please help me renovate and improve the 100-point system. Together, we can make a truly excellent system that will actually mean something! So without any other introduction, here it is:

                                                                                                                             Yes    No
Price:
Did you have any reservations about how much the wine cost?                                -1    +1
Did your significant other need convincing for you to buy the bottle?                        -2    +2
Did your purchase cause you to not be able to buy any other necessity?                  -3    +3
Was the wine free?                                                                                                +4    n/a

Bottle:
Is the bottle made of glass?                                                                                    +1    +1
Does the bottle have a punt?                                                                                  +2    n/a
Is the empty bottle heavier than a full bottle of something cheaper?                          +3    +3
Is the bottle open?                                                                                                 +4    n/a

Label:
Is the label easy to read?                                                                                        +1    -1
Is the label clean and free of any tears?                                                                   +2    -1   
Is the label eye-catching?                                                                                       +3    +2
Is the label counterfeit?                                                                                           -4    +4

Capsule:
Does the bottle have a capsule?                                                                             +1    n/a
Are there signs of seepage?                                                                                    -2    +2
Is the capsule made of tin?                                                                                     +3    +1
Does the capsule match the label?                                                                          +4    -4

Closure:
Does the wine have a cork?                                                                                   +1    +1
Is the cork/closure easy to remove?                                                                       +2    -2
Does the cork/closure come out in one piece?                                                        +3    -1
Does the cork/closure match the label?                                                                  +4    -4

Sight:
Does the liquid look like wine?                                                                              +1    -3
Is a red wine reddish, a rose pinkish and a white wine yellowish?                           +2    -2
Is the wine clear of foreign objects?                                                                      +3    -3
Does the appearance look off?                                                                             -4    +4

Nose:
Are the aromas enticing?                                                                                      +1    -1
Does the wine smell clean?                                                                                  +2    -2
Do certain (positive) aroma characteristics come to mind?                                    +3    -3
Do the aromas make you think about what you smell?                                          +4    -2

Flavors:
Do you sense some mixture of alcohol, acidity, tannin and/or fruit?                        +1    -1
Do the flavors linger in your mouth for at least 15 seconds?                                  +2    -2
Do the flavors make you want to take another sip?                                              +3    -3
Is the wine balanced?                                                                                          +4    -4

Texture:
Is the wine liquid?                                                                                                +1    -3
If the wine is sparkling, does it have bubbles?                                                       +2    -2
If the wine is still, is it free of bubbles?                                                                  +3    -3
Is the wine balanced?                                                                                           +4    -4

Overall impression:
Have you been drinking wine for more than 30 years?                                          +1    -1
Have you ever had a better wine previously?                                                        -2    +2
Would you drink this wine again?                                                                        +3    -3
Do you want to add 4 points just for the hell of it?                                                +4    n/a

Does the wine have attributes that numbers just can't describe?                              *     n/a

Add up your score and you’ve just scored a wine like a professional!        
I’m __ points on that!

For those of you arithmetically inclined, you will notice that the highest that a wine can score in this system is 98* points for a still wine and 97* points for a sparkling. This is of course due to the fact that wines are living entities that can achieve perfection no more than you or I...

The best wine closure in the world?

The variety of wine closures has never been so diverse. While natural cork is the traditional closure method for glass wine bottles, composite cork, synthetic corks, Zorks, glass Vino-Loks and screw caps all can be found safely keeping wine protected until you decide to pop the top and enjoy your wine. This past weekend I found a wine closure that I had never seen or even heard about before. After removing the capsule from a 2007 Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne "Les Sétilles," I was puzzled by white and black concentric rubber rings where the cork should be. Poking it with my fingers a few times did little to remove the unknown device. I decided that a corkscrew was the only way to liberate this Chardonnay. With a slight pull I had a bullet-shaped multi-material synthetic closure in my hand with "Guala Seal" embossed on the bottom.

Perhaps better known as the AS-Elite, produced by Ardea Seal, this interesting contraption is uniquely designed with three distinct components. The AS Elite uses a polypropylene chassis to maintain rigidity inside of the thermoplastic elastomer body. The final, and most unique, component is the inert techno-polymer shield that is the only part in contact with the wine. The makers of this product go as far as claiming that it is "probably the best closure in the world." While they offer no support of this claim, I would be interested in tasting a variety of wines that have been bottled and aged with AS-Elites, cork and screw cap in the future. In addition to the interesting closure, I also was able to enjoy a very nice Chardonnay with dinner!

2007 Olivier Leflaive, Bourgogne "Les Sétilles", France

This Chardonnay, imported by Frederick Wildman & Sons, Ltd., is from a vineyard that straddles Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault. It pours a clear, light-yellow color. On the nose, lemon, tarragon and nuts dominate with a slight hint of grassy notes. This is tart in the mouth! Lemon, pomelo, tart apple and melon lead on the forepalate but yield to a medium-length finish of chalk, nutmeg and smoke. Not overly complex, but a nice, simple entry-level white Burgundy. 13.0% abv Purchased $17. Good (tasted 11/28/10)

Faulty wine

Do you know why your waiter pours just a little bit of wine for you to try before pouring the rest of the bottle? And what are you supposed to do with the cork that is set on the table? The sample of wine is make sure that there are no faults with the wine; not to see if you actually like it. As for the cork, you can look at it but please don't smell it! If there are any markings, such as a date, stamped on it, make sure that they match the wine you ordered. If they don't your wine may have been tampered with. What happens if something is wrong with the wine or the cork? Simply notify your server and they should immediately correct the problem with a new bottle.

While not at a restaurant, I encountered a faulty bottle at home this week. One of the two glasses in the photo is flawed while the other is not. A few months ago, I saw a older Chardonnay from a Colorado producer that I enjoy on a clearance rack at my local wine shop. I knew that this particular producer doesn't add sulfites (used as a preservative in wine) and the storage conditions at the store weren't ideal but I decided the rewards of an aged Chardonnay outweighed the risks for only $12. I finally decided to open the bottle and wasn't all that surprised when the wine poured a deep golden brown color and smelled oxidized. Sure enough, the wine tasted very sherry-like (sherries are the most oxidized wines in the world but are made that way intentionally). The wine was undrinkable so I had to open a back up. Disappointed with this outcome, I didn't feel like opening another full bottle, so I decided on a 187 mL bottle of cheap California Sauvignon Blanc that I keep on hand for cooking. While the wine wasn't very good, there were no faults. So if this situation were to arise in a restaurant, don't hesitate to reject a faulty bottle of wine but if just don't like a wine it is what you ordered. If you have questions about a wine, any well-trained server or sommelier will be able to determine any faults for you!