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cork size mishap....

Hi....tonite I opened a Cab Sauv. that was bottled in October/04.....something was wrong for sure....upon pouring it seemed off in colour.....the wrong shade of red ....some brown mixed in .....but the lighting was poor so I pressed on....upon tasting it was flavorless....syrupy even....I suspected oxidation even though it wasn't sherry-like....I phoned the store where I bought the kit (a national franchise wine store) and they said bring in a bottle and we'll send it away for analysis.Then I started to suspect the cork.....I phoned another supplier where I bought the corks and asked if they sold those particular corks....they said yes and its a #8 cork.....seems like I may have bought that size by mistake ....usually buy #9's.....anyway my question....can a wine bottled with a #8 cork in standard size wine bottles oxidize in 6 months?.....there was absolutely NO leakage of wine....bottles kept on sides at all times....temp. of 50-55F. thru the winter....dark location....all the right stuff ....but the wine sucks...blechhh.....andy j.

Reply to
Andy j.
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A #9 cork would make a better seal, I expect, but if there is no sign of leaking (and no sherry-like flavors) it may be something else. (What, I couldn't guess.) I think I'd be inclined to try another bottle or two, and see what the analysis results are, before I came to any conclusions. Syrupy sure doesn't sound good, though. Any taste of residual sugar? Was the S.G. on this batch down around 1.000 when you bottled? If so, it should have enough alcohol to be stable in the bottle . . .

Doug

Reply to
Doug

I realize you did not see any leakage but a #8 is too small for a standard bottle neck. I do suspect that is a big part of the problem, sorry.

To check for browning, hold the glass up to the light and tilt it a bit, look at the edges of the liquid. It should be clear on the perimeter and the color should build in intensity as you go to the center. If it's got browning, those edges may not even be clear, but you will see the brown on the outer edge pretty easily.

If the sulfite level was low or the bottles were not filled to the right level you could also have issues, but I doubt that is what is going on. The bottles should be filled so that between 1/2 and 3/4" of air is under the cork, if those levels dropped something bad happened...

joe

Doug wrote:

Reply to
Joe Sallustio

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