Hello, I've been ghosting this list for several months now and thought I
should say Hi. Hello!

Light of short wavelengths ie blue, violet, and UV have the ability to
dislodge electrons from atoms and molecules. This can cause one molecule to
split into two or more or make a new molecule by addition of a atom, ion or
the like. The reason for the colours to be in the blue range is that they
carry enough energy to kick that electron out of its natural state changing
the bonding tendencies of a given compond. This is also the reason why UV
gives us cancer, it changes our DNA (creates G dimers). With out getting
into to much quantum physics I can safely say that you can shine as much
red light on wine, as long as it does not change the temperature, and no
"artifical aging" will occur because of the red light exposure.

As for the bottle colour, you could have a clear bottle that will block
100% UVA and UVB light (UVC has to be artificially created since very
little makes it to earth). So I would say that the best bottle would be
made out of a UV absorbing (I believe boro-silicate glass is one, Pyrex)
with colourants that will absorb/reflect the blues and violets ie a blue
bottle. Now the price for such a bottle would be very high and it is not
very necessary as long as the wine is kept in a dark place. That said you
do not want to start spraying the room walls with a UV absorber and
painting the bottles with a UV Scatterer (titanium dioxide) because it will
slow your aging dramaticly, as the saying goes everying in moderation. Now
all we have to do is decide what moderation means!!

well thats my two cents worth.

Rob

Joe Sallustio wrote:

> Eddie;
> See 'Principles and Practices of Winemaking' by Boulton et al page
> 422. In short the shorter wavelengths are the most problematic and
> have the most potential to cause chemical changes. It 'catalyses
> consumption of oxygen and acheivement of rest potential'. (I'm not a
> chemist, just giving you the info you requested.) They suggest opaque,
> black or dark red would be best to exclude these wavelengths. None of
> this matters if the wine is stored in a box or stored in the dark and
> all wine is shipped in an overpack of some sort.
>
> Mine is staying in the cellar, along with my beer. I use more green
> than anything else and we use green Grolsch bottles for most of our
> beer too. We buy it by the case so I never had a skunky one by the
> way. I have no idea why they switched from brown to green, old
> Grolsch bottles were brown. The only time my beer or wine is exposed
> to sunlight is when we are consuming it, sunlight doesn't get much of
> a chance to do much... )
>
> A lot of good Italian and German wines do come in brown bottles. I
> use brown too.
> Regards,
> Joe
>
>
> Regards,
> Joe
>
> "Sabia Vanderzeeuw" > wrote in message
> m>...
>> Hi All,
>> This is not a discussion between Greg and me; please join in! This is one
>> of the great wine mysteries. Myth does not have a place in wine making
>> anymore. Clear bottles are a marketing thing!
>> Green bottles reduce UV only to a very limited extent.
>> The colour of a traditional wine bottle has to do with the base material
>> available to the bottle maker not to what is best for the wine! Just
>> stating that dark coloured bottles, green or brown, are the best for red
>> wine is not an answer. What is the effect of the many frequencies of
>> light on wine?