WineXpert Cause of sour zinfandel?

[Tree Frog]

Have made about8 kit wines and most have turned out to be quite good. However, I bottled a batch of Lodi Old Vines Zinfindel last month and it was distinctly sour.

Adding just a touch of sugar seems to mask some of the sourness and make it marginally drinkable.


Any guess about what I did wrong?Is it likely that some of the sourness will disappear from aging?


Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks !

 

[Joseph1]

The sourness you taste is from the acids in the wine. I opened two bottles of Lodi Old Vines Zinfandel this weekend, one with6 months bottle aging the other with 4 months. Bothhad a distinctively tart taste, though less than they had at bottling. The acidity will mellow with bottle aging. I believe the estate kits require a year or more of bottle aging before they begin to reach their potential.

 

[Tree Frog]

Joseph,


Thanks ! That is encouraging.

 

[geocorn]

The Lodi Old Vines Zin needs at least 6 months of aging time before it is ready to drink; however, if you can be patient and wait a year, you will be really happy with your Zin. As it turns out the Zin and Pinot Noir are a little bit different that most varieties, in that when they age, they change character quite a bit until they settle in. You could open a young bottle today and like it. Open a bottle from the same batch in a month and wonder "What happened". As I was taught, "Patience is the virtue of the wine maker."