Bottled red wine

May 21, 2010 3 Replies

Some of you may recall that I have been having problems with my 2006 Regent red wine.It seemed tannic and rather harsh after about 3.5 years in a 5 litre demijohn.However it has now been in a bottle for 3 months and on opening a bottle this lunchtime,I was very pleasantly surprised how much smoother it had become.In fact my wife described it now as being very good and smooth,whereas previously she described it as harsh and tannic. What happens to red wine when it is bottled? I always have assumed that the wine in a 5l glass demijohn would taste the same as that in a



70cl glass bottle.Is it the air one introduces when transferring,and does that suggest that I should be racking my wines rather more than I do? Comments welcome. Michael

Micheal,

Rack> Some of you may recall that I have been having problems with my 2006

I had a similar experience with an elderberry/blackberry 2 years bulk / 3 months bottle. It' amazingly good compared to taste in bulk...

Three rackings without splashing (12-18 mo.). SO2 of 25 - 35 ppm. Oxygen in the neck of the bottle, where the cork is going, is sufficient O2 to age wine. Wine typically becomes weird for 3 months following bottling. This is referred to as "bottle shock". From there on out it is an oxidation/reduction reaction where tannins link together (polymerize), and then precipitate out of solution.

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