Would like to hear opinions on the topic of so-called bottle shock;
have had the experinece a couple times where a wine smells / tastes
different soon after bottling, but eventually recovers to it's former
character. Have other experienced this? what is the cause? Typical
recovery times?

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You can download it at http://www.malcom-mac.com/nemo

On Jun 1, 11:45 am, AxisOfBeagles > wrote:
> Would like to hear opinions on the topic of so-called bottle shock;
> have had the experinece a couple times where a wine smells / tastes
> different soon after bottling, but eventually recovers to it's former
> character. Have other experienced this?

It's fairly frequent for home winemakers. It happens almost all of the
time but you may not notice it since the effects on taste are
sometimes quite subtle.

>what is the cause?

Exposure to oxygen during the bottling process. Oxygen added to the
wine will react with other compounds. It usually takes a few days
before "bottle shock" is noticeable.

>Typical
> recovery times?

A couple of weeks to a couple of months. 1 month should be a safe bet,
3 monts is pretty fool proof.

Stefan Mazur

Well... we've only made reds & we're not very, uhh, "meticulous" in our
methodology. Bottle shock has lasted from a month to 6 months & counting in
our bottlings. I have noticed that our lighter reds, merlot, barbera, and
the occasional cab sav seem to exhibit a greater tendency towards BS, but
that's both subjective & observational . 3 batches of really robust zin,
about a week on avreage & about the same for 2 batches of peach and a small
batch of pear-raisin. Some of the guys in the group have different
observations from bottle to bottle of the same pressing! The cause? I'm 100%
sure its due to evil spirits, cooties & bad juju. To mitigate such, we
usually offer up to les dieux de vins a sacrifice of Gauloises,smelly cheese
& marc. Frequently. Even when we're not afflicted. It's preventative, don't
you think? (Not to be engaged in without a witchdoctor's supervision. Your
sacrifices may vary.) When we bottle in December, I usually don't worry
until the spring if there's no palatable improvement. HTH. regards, bob




"AxisOfBeagles" > wrote in message
...
> Would like to hear opinions on the topic of so-called bottle shock;
> have had the experinece a couple times where a wine smells / tastes
> different soon after bottling, but eventually recovers to it's former
> character. Have other experienced this? what is the cause? Typical
> recovery times?
>
> --
> I'm trying a new usenet client for Mac, Nemo OS X.
> You can download it at http://www.malcom-mac.com/nemo
>

I cann't say I have read anything definative on bottle shock but it
certainly happens. I suspect it has something to do with the air that comes
in contact with the wine during bottling and especially with the air that is
under the cork when it is forced into the wine at 2 or 3 atmosphers when you
drive the cork home. After a month or two the effect is reversed by slow
chemical reaction. Once again, these are suspicions with nothing to back it
up.

Ray

"AxisOfBeagles" > wrote in message
...
> Would like to hear opinions on the topic of so-called bottle shock;
> have had the experinece a couple times where a wine smells / tastes
> different soon after bottling, but eventually recovers to it's former
> character. Have other experienced this? what is the cause? Typical
> recovery times?
>
> --
> I'm trying a new usenet client for Mac, Nemo OS X.
> You can download it at http://www.malcom-mac.com/nemo
>
>