Wine storage problems
Corking
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a tiny percentage of bottled wine (about 1%) will suffer from this. The cork reacts with the
wine and gives it a musty, unpleasant taste. It is the most common wine storage problem and is
caused by harmless bacteria growing on the cork. As unfortunate as this is, there is nothing to do
but to discard all of the wine in the affected bottle. This is not to be confused with small fragments
of cork floating in the wine itself, which will not impair the flavour.
Oxidisation
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when wine has been opened and left for longer than a day; it tends to lose its aroma
and colour, giving an overall flat taste. The only way to avoid this, it to either drink the wine on the
same day it was opened or to use a vacuum device specially designed for removing oxygen from
opened wine bottles. If you use such a device, the wine should still be consumed shortly afterwards.
Ullage
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this is loss of wine from the bottle by evaporation or leakage. Signs of ullage include wine
seeping around the cork, a protruding cork or a stained label. It can happen if the bottle has been
allowed to get too warm. The wine may still be drinkable, if the leakage was recent; however, you
should be aware that if the wine cools down again, contraction can cause more air to be sucked
into the bottle and result in further deterioration.
Slight effervescence in still wine
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this isn’t really a problem with the way the wine has been stored,
but as a result of incomplete malolactic fermentation before the wine was bottled. A good way to
get rid of the effervescence is to let the wine breathe. Alternatively you can use a bottle vacuum
device, after about five minutes the effervescence will vanish.
Sediment
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this is not normally a problem, however both red and white wines can produce sediment
after a number of months in a bottle. The sediment consists of tartrate crystals and is totally
harmless. If anything the building of sediment can be considered a good sign because it means
that the wine was not subjected to much (if any) filtering, meaning that the flavours and aromas
should be preserved better.
A good way to get around sediment (if it is a problem) is to stand the bottle upright, the day before
opening, so that the sediment can settle to the bottom of the bottle.
You can also decant your wine; decanting will “open up” the flavour of both young and old wines,
but younger wines in particular. To decant, pour the wine slowly and evenly into your decanter.
