Carbonation

[Brad Ballinger]

Thanks! Is secondary fermentation a bad thing? Please excuse my ignorance.

Yes, it's a bad thing. Of course, unless it's controlled and intentional, but that's not what we're talking about here. I've seen instances where the secondary fermentation started in someone's home cellar. It blew the cork through the capsule and spilled the wine all over the place.

I always thought that Brett smelled "like Band-Aids". Am I the only one that's come across this particular descriptor?

There are so many diverse descriptors for brett, but band-aid is indeed one of them. It should be noted, though, that some people don't mind and may even prefer a little bit of bretty character -- particularly if it manifest itself in a barnyard type funk. Where it gets to be too much for me is on the palate. I find the wines taste and finish with a strong metallic quality that has me making a face as if I've just eaten a tomato-based sauce that reacted with an aluminum pan.

[Chris Kissack]

I always thought that Brett smelled "like Band-Aids". Am I the only one that's come across this particular descriptor?

Band-aid (sticking plaster is what I called it) is the aroma of 4-vinyl phenol, the product of enzymic decarboxylation by yeast. As such it is likely that it may reflect the presence of Brett although it is not unique to Brett, I think.

I find the wines taste and finish with a strong metallic quality that has me making a face as if I've just eaten a tomato-based sauce that reacted with an aluminum pan.

That's a brilliant description of how some of these wines come across on the palate. I often find myself thinking of iron, nails, ink, but your description gets much closer to the sensation on the palate.

Is secondary fermentation a bad thing? Please excuse my ignorance.

It depends on the wine and your outlook on life. In reds I figure it's pretty hard to swallow (pun intended). In whites the wines can still be drinkable, and as it reflects the desire of the winemaker to use less sulphur and therefore a more natural end-product I might be prepared to live with it and drink the wine, much more than other faults such as corked or cooked wine. It depends on how the wine tastes, even if it's not how the winemaker intended it to taste.

BWs

Chris Kissack

[pdub]

I note this is an old thread, but I'm taking the time to marvel at how many folks' experience falls together as differently-noted parts of the same experience.

The French would call it "pettilant", the Italians "frizzante", but there's a shifting historic center for any given wine as to whether the fizz is intentional. If it's historically meant to be so (lambrusco, prosecco, vinho verde), you'll probably find references in the literature.

Beyond all that, it's cropping up more in recent years, as well-meaning small wineries make a best-intentioned effort to cut the sulfite levels in their wines. They succeed, but the cost is wines that are gassy and unpredictable in youth. This seems to bother me more than most folks; I like health advances, but not ones that create a chameleonic or unstable product. I personally view it as absolutely unacceptable in any red, and an annoying phase for young whites. I'm always open to a good argument, but months of unapproachability and warped flavor are not the same as the vicissitudes of normal character development for inexpensive whites. In a wine over $10 retail (again, one not in a regional style that supports petillance), I don't think referring to gassiness as bad craftsmanship is an overstatement.

pw

An unrelated note: the best description of brettanomyces I remember is "wet dog in july"

PW

[Rebel Rose]

As long as we're discussing nasty things in wine . . .

a) Brett can produce flavors ranging from mouse fur to aluminum foil, depending on the extent of infection.

b) Abundant use of sulfites will not necessarily prevent secondary ferms. If the wine is unfiltered and has not been cleanly racked and fined, it may still go off in the bottle despite a high level of sulfites, which are used primarily to keep fruit elements fresh and give them longevity, not, as I said, to necessarily "clean up" a wine that still has sugar or suspended particulate matter. Or both.

c) Larger wineries frequently use COPPER, in the form of copper sulfate, to freshen up fruit that has become oxidized from too much time in barrel or tank. If overused it gives the wine a distinct metallic character, and it gives me a ferocious headache and heart palpitations. One of the zinfandels most admired in this forum gives me these symptoms, but I won't say who it is because I'm afraid that the real issue is that I drink it in enough quantity to bring it on!

[Rebel Rose]

Does anyone think Buehler would/should replace it if I let them know of the problem?

I would definitely contact the winery and ask them to replace the wine. Take a digital photo of the remaining bottles and send it to them. Also offer to return at least one bottle so they can evaluate it. They'll be able to determine if it's a winemaking defect or a bottling line problem. Sometimes the micron filters on the bottling line become clogged and a sloppy crew will remove the filters for cleaning without turning off the line, allowing unfiltered wine to slip through in the bottles. You'll be doing them a service to let them know about the fizziness.