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Is oxygen good or bad for red wine?


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Old 14-08-2011, 19:04
AcerBen
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I've been getting into red wine recently but I'm terribly confused because I'm reading about what you should do with it and the advice seems to contradict itself.

Oxygen supposedly attacks the wine as soon as it comes into contact and makes it go bad - yet the whole point of decanting wine is to mix it up with oxygen to make it better.

Can someone explain please?

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Old 14-08-2011, 19:13
paulkwilkins
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Oxidized
The oxygen in air makes a good wine go bad in a day or two if an opened bottle isn’t properly looked after. An oxidized wine smells to me like stale bread or weak vinegar (which it’s trying to turn into). This is a particular hazard with wines by the glass at restaurants, where half-empty bottles are often kept on the bar overnight. Refrigeration helps, even for reds. Another preventive measure is pouring the wine into a smaller container like a half-bottle (375 milliliter) with a tight lid so that it fills to the top and excludes any air

http://www.wine.com/v6/aboutwine/art...cle=7&state=CA
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Old 14-08-2011, 19:35
degsyhufc
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You need to open a wine to let it breathe. Decanting is an extension of that although I don't bother with it.

I've had some midpriced wines that have tasted better a day or two later when the flavours have developed more.
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Old 14-08-2011, 20:04
AcerBen
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You see, the first two responses look like contradictions to me?
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Old 14-08-2011, 20:06
Iggy's Boy
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Good, then after a while, bad.
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Old 14-08-2011, 20:10
orangebird
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You need to open a wine to let it breathe. Decanting is an extension of that although I don't bother with it.

I've had some midpriced wines that have tasted better a day or two later when the flavours have developed more.
Completely disagree with this - unless you actually decant the wine, opening the bottle only serves to let the wine in the neck of the bottle to breathe.
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Old 14-08-2011, 20:22
AcerBen
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Good, then after a while, bad.
How long until it starts going bad? A friend of mine bought me a bottle of nice wine for my birthday and he reckoned if I had a glass a night for three or four nights I'd notice it got better with each night. (It lasted two by the way )
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Old 14-08-2011, 20:52
Iggy's Boy
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Well I don't know much about vintage wine - this may be the case with the bottle your friend bought (is he some kind of wine expert?) - but I know that with the seven quid plonk I buy, if I left it out for two nights, even with the cork in, it would be rancid.
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