Re: Shiraz vs Lever 2000

> > I just purchased a cheap bottle of Australian Shiraz and I've noticed a > > slight soapy taste... Is this considered a bad trait in a wine?... > > It may just be the way my taste buds work, and it may be described > differently by others, but I've found what I describe as a "soapy" > taste/sensation in a number of cabs.

I wonder if you're not tasting "salty" and confusing it with "soapy"?

It's fairly common practice to do a final adjustment to the free sulfur dioxide in wines just before bottling, using potassium metabisulfite. The amount is not much, but tends to be more in a high pH wine (most California Cabs are fairly high in pH) - and the potassium doesn't have anywhere to go, as red wines are not usually cold stabilized (which would precipitate excess potassium as bitartrate).

Potassium has a different flavor from sodium; I suppose you could characterize it as "soapy".

Tom S

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Tom S
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