Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 (Tek) 9/28/84 based on 9/17/84; site tekgvs.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!petrus!bellcore!decvax!tektronix!tekcrl!tekgvs!jerem From: jerem@tekgvs.UUCP (Jere Marrs) Newsgroups: net.wines Subject: Re: Wine and Beer -- preservation issues Message-ID: <1189@tekgvs.UUCP> Date: Sun, 18-Aug-85 23:24:30 EDT Article-I.D.: tekgvs.1189 Posted: Sun Aug 18 23:24:30 1985 Date-Received: Sat, 24-Aug-85 13:43:49 EDT References: <731@brl-tgr.ARPA> <256@weitek.UUCP> Reply-To: jerem@tekgvs.UUCP (Jere Marrs) Distribution: net Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR Lines: 53 Keywords: Vinegar, sulfur dioxide, aeration, tannin Summary: Wine preservation If you open a 750 ml bottle of red wine and expect not to consume it at one sitting, it can be saved by decanting the wine into a saved, cleaned, 375 ml bottle from a previous wine. Save the cork which you have removed with an "Ah So" cork remover that doesn't put a hole in the cork. Decant the wine such that it does not splatter in the bottle to avoid mixing in oxygen. Replace the cork with the "Ah So" and replace on your cellar shelf. It can age nicely for years to come if it's done carefully. The danger to opened red wine (and white, for that matter) is oxidation. The oxygen can oxidize the flavor elements (phenols and such) and the color elements. The ethanol can also oxidize into acetaldehyde whose aroma is unmistakeable in wine. The color can go from a red or purple-ish color to a brick-like color indicating oxidation. Color is not the best criterion of oxidation spoilage as old, rounded-out and smooth vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon can have a brick color and be delicious. In a young wine, it is an index of probable premature spoilage. Placing the wine in the refrigerator (corked) should slow the spoilage rate considerably. Be sure, of course, to warm it to about 18 degrees centigrade before quaffing. The formation of vinegar, if it's going to happen, takes place during the fermentation of the original juice while there's still sugar to work on. The vinegar, if it occurs, is due to the action of acetobacter which is carried to the fermenting must by the fruit flies. The formation of vinegar is a bacterial action and not a yeast. If the wine is fermented to dryness, and has at least 10% alcohol, it is *very* unlikely that vinegar will form since the alcohol at that level will kill the acetobacter. That's why many low-alcohol German wines can bacterially spoil. Doubtless what you detect as vinegar is the acrid odor of acetaldehyde. Salad dressing made from oxidized wine would be unpalatable. The aptitudes of French wines VS American wines for oxidation, if there is any difference, would be due to different amounts of residual sulfur dioxide in the wine. It is possible that US wines have higher amounts than French wines (at bottling), but I doubt it. Actually, I never have any French wines left over to determine that. Aeration of wines is a subjective issue. There are differing opinions. My integrated feeling about it is that if the Cabernet is quite young and tannic, uncorking the bottle for a period of time will enhance the aromaticity of the wine considerably. If it's a very recently released Cabernet, decanting with splashing (avoided above) can help also. A Cabernet that has benefited from bottle age should be breathed very little, if any. A French red Burgundy or an Oregon Pinot Noir should not be breathed at all, since their flavor elements are subtle with great finesse. Jere M. Marrs Tektronix, Inc. Beaverton, Oregon tektronix!tekgvs!jerem