On 5/12/04 9:00 PM, in article
, "Sabia Vanderzeeuw"
> wrote:

> Hi Greg,
> Please explain why the wine should be kept in the dark. I have see this item
> in many home brewers (wine) books. There is no explanation of why. In beer
> there is the chemical change in the hop compounds due to UV light. Why do
> we, as wine makers always state that light is bad for wine. Is there a
> scientific back ground? If there is please post it.
> Thanks,
> Eddie V.
> The Wine And Beer Factory.
>

There are a lot of chemical reactions that are induced by absorption of
light. Wine has many colored components in it - which means it's absorbing
light at certain wavelengths. Light will degrade these. I'm not sure what
kind of explanation you want. Light can induce polymerization of polyphenols
for example. The bottom line is, color and flavors can be harmed by light
and wine will "age" faster in light than in the dark.

--
Greg Cook
http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/Wine
http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/aws

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