one year old wine turned kind of brownish

[GeneDaniels1963]

I just racked a black muscadine, and needed something to top up with. I found a bottle from last year. But when I poured some up, it looks kind of brown. I tasted and it is fine, although maybe a little different from my other muscadine wines. But the taste is good, the color is just distinctly different.

Anyone have an explanation?

 

[myndflyte]

Maybe oxidation?

 

[Yooper]

Definitely oxidation- color change (darker) is a dead giveaway. Maybe you didn’t sulfite enough to age it long(?), or had some oxygen contact when bottling?

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

Definitely oxidation- color change (darker) is a dead giveaway. Maybe you didn’t sulfite enough to age it long(?), or had some oxygen contact when bottling?

Yeah, I think all of the above. But it still tastes good. The "different" part is hard to describe, kind of nutty or caramel. But it is faint.

 

[Yooper]

Yeah, I think all of the above. But it still tastes good. The "different" part is hard to describe, kind of nutty or caramel. But it is faint.

When the oxidation gets worse with time, it will pick up more sherry-like flavors, and even have a sweet-ish brandy flavor to it. Sometimes it IS a good thing, and that's why aged wine can be wonderful, but usually it's micro-oxidation that comes with time. Since this is fairly quick in wine time, I'd recommend drinking it sooner rather than later while it is still quite enjoyable. It will get worse, unfortunately.

 

[GeneDaniels1963]

That's it, 'sherry like" flavor. That is a good description. And honestly, as it is, the taste is nice. I just don't think I would intentionally aim for it.

After the bottle I opened, there is only one more in the shed. So they both go to the top of the drinking list ;-)

 

[RPh_Guy]

Definitely want to use appropriate sulfite (after fermentation) for long-term aging.

 

[Plumzz]

Oxidation.

 

[WTD]

when you say use more sulfites for long term, do you mean double or triple dose it?

my campden tab box says 1 tablet per gallon for bottling, if im bottling long term should i use 2 or 3 per gallon? long term i mean 1-5 year and beyond

 

[RPh_Guy]

I think 20-30ppm free sulfite at bottling is good. Up to 50ppm is ok.

About a half 0.44g tablet per US gallon.