The absence of reflections, a darker color and bitterness in the aftertaste indicate the spoilage of the wine due to an excess of oxygen. Christina Monkus, an expert at the Fortwine wine trading company, told RIA Novosti about this.
It is noted that, on the one hand, it is necessary to contact wine with oxygen. However, its excess, which can appear during fermentation, aging or storage, leads to negative effects. Also, damage to wine can occur during improper transportation, too long exposure to high temperatures and in the sun, storage, as well as with a dried cork.
“To feel the defect is quite simple: the wines become flat, devoid of freshness and fruitiness, there is no complex aroma, which is often replaced by a bright tone of rotten apple. Flatness is also felt in the taste, and inappropriate bitterness can attack in the aftertaste. By the way, the color of the wine also changes: it becomes darker, and the luminous highlights that you usually catch in a glass with white or rose disappear,” Monkus explained.
At the same time, the expert stressed, oxidation (oxidation of wine) can also be a style. For example, Madeira, some sherries, ports, traditional wines from Banyuls and Jura and many other types are conceived by winemakers just like that.
In addition, there is an opposite process – reduction, when volatile sulfur compounds appear in wine. There are varieties that are most prone to reduction: these are Syrah, Grenache and Sauvignon Blanc. Also, wines that have a long aging on the lees can become somewhat “reduced”, since the yeast that has already become obsolete has an antioxidant property.
Source: Rosbalt
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