FROM WINE BY THE GLASS TO OXIDIZED WINE
CUSTOMERS ARE INCREASINGLY ORDERING WINE BY THE GLASS INSTEAD OF BOTTLES, BUT WHAT THEY GET IN THEIR GLASS IS SOMETIMES OXIDIZED. HOW TO UNDERSTAND IT AND WHAT TO DO
>Wine by the glass and oxidized wine Tagliata di cinta senese – Fattoria del Colle Trequanda Toscana
By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Fattoria del Colle Trequanda, Casato Prime Donne Montalcino
I order wine by the glass, especially if it’s an opportunity to try new things and share a glass with friends. However, restaurants often aren’t equipped for this type of service. They don’t have nitrogen systems or even oxygen extraction pumps. You might see bottles served by the glass displayed on the counter, corked, with the original cork, so besides being too warm, they’re almost certainly oxidized.
WINE BY THE GLASS IS ATTRACTIVE, BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO CHOOSE AND STORE IT
At a certain point, it’s worth making a sacrifice and ordering a whole bottle, hoping the manager will have a bag to take it home and finish it at leisure.
And yet, wine by the glass is on the rise. Many, like Andrea Gori, believe it is the best way to stem the decline in consumption. And, all things considered, it’s also very profitable for restaurants and wine shops. For still wines, a bottle is good for five glasses, and by the third glass, the manager has already pocketed the full retail price. Obviously, this is possible if the service is intelligent, offering the right wines: established brands alongside authentic rarities waiting to be discovered, but above all if the storage equipment is adequate.
HOW TO RECOGNIZE AN OXIDIZED WINE
A delightful article by Roberta Volpe published in Gamberorosso explains how to recognize oxidized wine. Obviously, the issue doesn’t concern wines that should be oxidized, such as Sherry, Marsala, or Vin Santo.
The key is to recognize wines that shouldn’t be oxidized but have instead been stored improperly. Such as left open for more than a day or exposed to light and heat for many days.
Some people can detect oxidation at the onset, but for the average consumer, it’s enough to avoid the real alterations to the wine’s original character, the ones that ruin your dinner.
The color of oxidized wine is darker and less brilliant, and on the nose, aromas of fruit or flowers are replaced by those of cooked fruit. On the palate, especially red wines, they are more aggressive, bitter, and have less persistence.
LIGHT AND OXYGEN: THE REAL WINE KILLERS
Obviously, the problem doesn’t just concern wine served by the glass at restaurants or wine shops. It also regards wine displayed on the sideboard at home like a trophy or, more commonly, opened to be drunk a little each day without any closure. I’d like to offer these consumers some practical advice:
1) Leave the bottles on the sideboard forever; don’t drink them.
2) Buy a pump to extract oxygen; it’s inexpensive and works well.
Immediately after pouring the wine, vacuum the bottle so that it is “vacuum-sealed.” Then keep it in the refrigerator, or better yet, in a refrigerated wine cooler. This way, you can drink your bottle for 3-4 days without it oxidizing.
But if you’re a true wine lover, buy a Coravin and you can extend the life of your opened bottle even further. You don’t need to spend a lot or even have an Enomatic, but drinking little and drinking well is always a pleasant thing and you just need to make small adjustments to allow yourself this joy.