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,

Racking is the best way to age a wine. The oxygen added when bottling
obviously helped. You also may of had CO2 that blew off on the
racking. After 12 years of winemaking I have noticed that it's almost
easier to suffocate a wine then to add to much oxygen. If you don't
rack enough the wine will not degas and will not age correctly.

On May 21, 9:14*am, michael > wrote:
> 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

On May 22, 2:26*pm, wrote:
> Micheal,
>
> Racking is the best way to age a wine. The oxygen added when bottling
> obviously helped. You also may *of had CO2 that blew off on the
> racking. After 12 years of winemaking I have noticed that it's almost
> easier to suffocate a wine then to add to much oxygen. If you don't
> rack enough the wine will not degas and will not age correctly.
>
> On May 21, 9:14*am, michael > wrote:
>
> > 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

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

In article
>,
wrote:

> Racking is the best way to age a wine. The oxygen added when bottling
> obviously helped. You also may of had CO2 that blew off on the
> racking. After 12 years of winemaking I have noticed that it's almost
> easier to suffocate a wine then to add to much oxygen. If you don't
> rack enough the wine will not degas and will not age correctly.

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.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arn3lF5XSUg
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