Oxidation

[joeyz6]

A friend of mine claims that a good glass of wine will have a small layer at the top that is oxidized wine, or something like that -- is this making any sense to anyone?

[winoweenie]

Joey think your friend may have jes' enuf knowledge to be dangerous. A wine that has been aged has the air that is between the cork and the top of the wine that oxidizes the wine. Unless he be buyin' wine bottled in Carnation milk bottles, that 'aint a lot of air. If that were the case the guy who got the 1st pour is the only one who would get that layer. WW

[joeyz6]

[img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/tongue.gif[/img] Ha ha! That description of my friend is almost TOO perfect. Sounds like you've met him...

I'm afraid I don't quite understand the jist of the oxidation thing, though. Are you saying that an aged bottle of wine has that layer, or a young bottle of wine has it?

[Bucko]

Wines age by a reductive process. If you have oxidation going on, you have a bad cork and a ruined wine.

Bucko

[joeyz6]

And does oxidation or reduction cause a discolored layer at the top of the first glass?

[winoweenie]

Bad storage or a bad cork causes strange lil' colorations to show up. It isn't oxidation that causes a layer. Your friend must've gotten some bottles outta' Hotsies cellar before he refrigerated. In Other words, Joey ole' pal, No GOOD aged wine has a layer of enny-thin on top. Pure Gorgeous Juice! WW

[joeyz6]

OK, thanks everyone! I'll keep an eye out for that layer in the future and show off my new knowledge to my buddy the next time I see him. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]

[lizardbrains]

I'm on chapter 4 of Wine for Dummies - so I'm working on the homework you guys gave me! And I probably haven't reached the part about oxidation, so please excuse my ignorance...!

If you put the bottle on its side - so the wine is touching the cork - you say it won't get oxidized? BUT isn't the air still touching the wine - just in a different part of the bottle?

[Bucko]

There is no air in wine unless you have a defective cork. Cork IS NOT permeable. At bottling, the air is displaced with inert gas (nitrogen/argon), so the ulage you see has no air per se.