BTW,

Adding 30ppm SO2 to a non-sulfited wine will not leave 30ppm FREE SO2.
Think about it, most of it will bind with the oxygen during racking.


On Feb 11, 10:44*am, Wildbilly wrote:
In article
,





*michael wrote:
On 9 Feb, 11:52, "Paul E. Lehmann" wrote:
michael wrote:
On 9 Feb, 02:17, "Paul E. Lehmann" wrote:
Wildbilly wrote:
In article
,
michael wrote:

I have been drinking a 2006 Regent( a European hybrid developed for
early ripening in cool climates ) red wine recently and have been
amazed at the difference temperature makes.My mini vineyard is in
Herefordshire,in southern England,and whereas I have been making some
excellent dry white wines(as judged by others),I am new to red wine
making.

The year 2006 was very good in England,with all grapes ripening very
well,and earlier than usual.I fermented the grapes on the skins and
with the grapes natural yeast,and achieved full fermentation after 2
to 3 weeks-the grapes were pressed after 6 days maceration.The wine
was matured in gallon glass demijohns for three years,and bottled
recently.I tried the wine in my cool pantry (it has been pretty cold
in England this winter),and was a little disappointed.It had a very
nice fruity nose but seemed a little tannic.We compared it with a
commercial Australian Cabernet ,and was not convinced that mine was
that much inferior.We decided to serve it to our friends at a dinner
party,as English red wine made from English grapes is quite unusual.

The surprise came when I warmed up the wine to about 65For room
temperature.The wine had lost its tannic nature and was very good,with
absolutely no comparison to drinking the wine at 50F.I am well aware
that red wine should be drunk at room temperature,but had no idea that
its character should change so much;it makes it difficult to assess
wine being stored in a cooler place.
I would welcome comments
Michael

Good reds and whites: 14C - 16C
Young fruity reds, rosés, and dry whites: 11C - 12C
Sparkling: 7C - 8C
Dessert Wines: 6C

Chilling a wine, reduces your ability to taste it. Too warm and it will
seem flat. Then again, wines are like steaks. No one can tell you the
right way to serve it (well done, rare), or what is the best temp to
serve wines, for you. Learn the rules, and then you can break them ;O)

I like your quote at the bottom

Paul- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks for the comments.
I think that my problem with this red wine is that I have got an
excess of tannin.I thought that it would become more mellow after
three years in a glass demijohn,but although it has coated the glass
with a thin red deposit,there has been no deposit in the bottom of the
demijohn.The grapes were very ripe when picked (Brix 18.5 which about
the best we get in our cool climate),but possibly a little low on
acid.The wine has a good fruity nose,its colour is deep red and
clear,but that is about the best one can say-the taste gets better on
the second or third glass,but presumably all wines do due to the
alcohol kicking in.It is somewhat better than a supermarket wine at 8
dollars a bottle,my friends at a recent dinner party liked it and my
daughter gives it 9/10.However,I feel that I need more understanding
of what I perceive to be wrong,in order to improve it.
Michael

Try this:

Next time you open a bottle, pour out a glass and drink it and save the rest
in the opened bottle until the next day. *Test to see how the remaining
wine in the bottle taste the next day - or two days. *If it is a lot better
taste to you, then your wine will improve with age - it just needs more
time.

Have you checked out the site:

http://www.winepress.us/

There are a LOT of us there and it is very active with a lot of good topics
and opinions. *I am known as PEL on the site. *You can also post pictures
which sometimes help a lot in the conversations. *They have been having
problems with their server but it has been fairly stable recently.

Paul- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yes,it does get a little better when left in an opened bottle for a
day or so.The wine is already 3 years old,but perhaps it is not
maturing very fast in glass.What surprises me is that I do not get a
tannin deposit on the bottom of the glass demijohn.That is why I have
not deemed it necessary to rack it-all I see is a deposit on the
inside of the glass.Perhaps red wine does need more air (which it
would get if maturing in oak),so perhaps I will rack some more to
introduce some oxygen to help with maturation.I assume that I add a
small amount of sulphite(30ppm) on each racking,though I thought that
red wine (unlike white wine)does not need it due to its tannin .
Thanks again
Michael

All wines need SO2, unless you're making vinegar (little is needed below
pH3). 30ppm is about the max. free SO2 that you want. If you add 30ppm
to each racking, the wine will be undrinkable. Polymerization of tannins
is a slow oxidation. Exposure to the air is will lead to rapid oxidation
--- acetic acid --- acetaldehyde --- big waste of time, effort, money.
--
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merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

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