Scientists have figured out why some corked wine smells bad. Turns out, they have been contaminated by a chemical carried in the cork that produces a musky, and unpleasant smell often described as wet dog.

The chemical culprit actually suppresses the drinker's sense of smell.

"The present findings not only reveal a likely mechanism of flavor loss, but also suggest certain molecular structures as possible olfactory masking agents," the researchers write in their study, detailed today (Sept. 16) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The main chemical responsible for the off putting smell is called 2.4.6 - trichloroanisole (TCA). It infiltrates wine when a fungus that infects cork comes into contact with bleaches or chlorine used in wineries for sanitation.

Could this be a reason why some wine bottles these days are just bottle caps?