Pinotage and Brett

Fellow Master of Wine Igor Ryjenkov of Toronto has sent me the following interesting observations on the effects and incidence in South Africa of the Brettanomyces spoilage yeast which, being associated with high alcohol and low acidity, is an increasing potential problem worldwide:

The characteristic aromas of plastic or hung game, often likened to the smell of Elastoplast, still found in many South African red wines, are now believed to be caused by a particularly resistant strain of Brettanomyces, according to Bruce Jack of Flagstone winery.

According to Jack, in as many as 90 per cent of the tested cases where...