Ever have a wine go bad...

[Shaun @ Tru6]

in the glass?

I'm making chicken cacciatore tonight, picked up a bottle of Layer Cake Primitivo Zinfindel, 2007. Cheap-average.

First half of the glass, it was excellent. peppery but still soft and supple with a lot of blackberry, very drinkable.

Second half was flat and cardboardy.

At least the chicken is turning out OK.

[Buckterrier]

Can Ripple go bad? lol.
How was the date Shaun?

[TimT]

First impression...

You need to get more color on those veggies!!!

Brown chicken, then remove from pan...

cook veggies in order

start making sauce

place chicken back to finish...

[nynor]

i'd eat that.

[Gogar]

Keep drinking it. I've found that they put the best wine in the bottom of the bottle.

[nynor]

Lol!

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by Gogar

I've found that they put the best wine in the bottom of the bottle.

That's why we have spaces between our teeth. To strain the dregs of the wine.

Ian

[Don Plumley]

Looks yummy.

In the glass implies some sort of oxidative reaction, but "cardboardy" is typically associated with cork taint (tca). What kind of closure is Layer Cake using?

"Flat" is typical of an oxidized wine - complete loss of varietal character which is what I'm betting happened. It's unusual to happen that quickly, but with a lesser wine not out of the question.

[Jagshund]

I think I just gained five pounds and a hangover from opening this thread.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Mark, date went great, who can resist a homemade buttermilk fried chicken, lemon-thyme potato salad and ripe avocado with red wine vinegar picnic? the Spanish sparkling wine sealed the deal. No future though, sadly.

Originally Posted by TimT

First impression...

You need to get more color on those veggies!!!
Brown chicken, then remove from pan...
cook veggies in order
start making sauce
place chicken back to finish...

Thanks Tim. This was a simple add to the pan recipe. and I've got to say, it turned out pretty well. Tomorrow it will be twice as good.

Originally Posted by Gogar

Keep drinking it. I've found that they put the best wine in the bottom of the bottle.

Half the bottle now...lots of backspacing and retyping.

Originally Posted by Don Plumley

Looks yummy.

In the glass implies some sort of oxidative reaction, but "cardboardy" is typically associated with cork taint (tca). What kind of closure is Layer Cake using?

"Flat" is typical of an oxidized wine - complete loss of varietal character which is what I'm betting happened. It's unusual to happen that quickly, but with a lesser wine not out of the question.

Thanks for the input Don, I was wondering how it could happen so fast. Out of the bottle, it's great. In a big cab glass, 15 minutes later, it has linty taste and nose to it. Bottle is a screwcap so no cork to go bad. When I was browning the chicken, I opened it up and was happily surprised it was for a $14 bottle of wine. cooking cooking cooking, taste...grape juice and cardboard in a blender. Maybe this is why it was on sale?

I'm going to write to Layer Cake and see what they say.

At least the dinner was great. pretty stuffed.

can't wait for tomorrow's lunch.

[javadog]

Could it have been that the change you perceived was from the wine warming up as you drank it?

JR

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Could be JR. You know what I think it really is...Layer Cake is just a wine based on marketing. Each of their wines: cab from Napa, Zin from Italy, Malbec from Argentina and Shiraz from Australia are most likely hastily thrown together for them by a third party. Combined with a Food & Wine ad campaign, simple, seductive label and priced right (better than bargain, but cheap enough that you'll just try it to see), they've got a recipe for short term success capitalizing on 4 popular and accessible/drinkable varieties. I bought cheap wine at an average price.

[imcarthur]

Many wines will benefit from decanting for a few hours to allow them to open up - both smell & taste. This aerator appears to work. I just got one & have tried it several times on some cheaper wines. It won't perform miracles but it will help to show a wine at its best - quickly.



Vinturi

Ian

[Jagshund]

Couldn't you accomplish the same thing by placing a screen over the mouth of the bottle? Or would the pressure not be enough to work . . . guess not now that I think about it . . .

[imcarthur]

No. A screen does little other than gather any particles. It doesn't really aerate much better than pouring. The Vinturi aerates tremendously. The wine comes out the other end seriously agitated. And you can taste a difference.

Ian

[Jagshund]

I was thinking about the aerator on a faucet, but there's a tremendous pressure differential between wine falling into a glass and water being pushed through a pipe. Wonder what an aerator would do for ma whiskey?

[gtc]

I have a vinturi also. It works well, but it's kind of a bother to use. I'd suggest one of the spout-type aerators that go on the bottle... they're much more user friendly. Am@zon has a good selection.

[Jim727]

We tried the vinturi; interesting gadget. It can do some good things but needs to be used judiciously. It works best on tannic wines that are balanced and only need tannin softening. It won't help the hot (too much alky), overly fruity, or "sweet" (residual sugar) wines.

I agree with Don. Fwiw, tca can be found in wines even without corks - the winery can have it in the cellar (as one well-known brand became famous for) and it will still migrate into the wine. Ugly stuff; makes the wine smell like wet cardboard and really suppresses any subtlety.

I have had otherwise good wines go bad in the glass, but those have always been very old wines (never decant or aerate those!) that were fragile.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by Jim727

I have had otherwise good wines go bad in the glass, but those have always been very old wines (never decant or aerate those!) that were fragile.

That is great to know. I've got some "ancient" Spring Mountain cabs that I'm a little fearful of their content.

[imcarthur]

Bear in mind, age is relative because 10 years is not old for a wine. Many feel that with most Old World reds that this is a minimum. I tend to think this way, as I am no fan of the Parker-inspired fruit bombs. I like dust on the bottles.

Ian