Looks oxidized?

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Vlabruz

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My pinot gris kit I was going to rack and bottle in a few days. It appears much darker than it was from what I remember I last added 1/4 tsp kmeta 4/6. Its been covered in a black bag and airlock maintained.... could it just be dark looking from the large volume?
 

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My pinot gris kit I was going to rack and bottle in a few days. It appears much darker than it was from what I remember I last added 1/4 tsp kmeta 4/6. Its been covered in a black bag and airlock maintained.... could it just be dark looking from the large volume?

I would wager it is just due to the larger volume (and, hence, the larger path length through the wine). This is called "Lambert's Law," although I prefer the term Beer-Lambert Law, because I like beer. :)
 
As @winemaker81 says taste it!
The oxidation that gets many of us is ethyl alcohol combining with oxygen (as head space) to produce acetaldehyde. I describe low levels as a sharp flavor kinda like apricot, and really not bad. High levels produce a burn in the back of the throat when swallowing and will mask fruity aromatics. ,,, tastes bad.
Brown Color normally goes along with loss of some of fresh flavor, but can still be a pleasing beverage. Light is the main catalyst of color change. As a wine judge I dock lots of points because the flavor is yucky/ not pleasing but might only dock a wine one point for color (if it is really bad).
You answered your post, it tastes fine therefore excessive oxidation has not happened.
 
Well I bottled the wine and it is definitely slightly oxidized. Im not certain why. Its a kit. I left in the carboy for 3 months with out adding any more kmeta. Maybe the cause? I also left it for 3 days in the 6 gallon under vacuum to clear most gross lees than racked to a 5 gallon. I did this after the initial stabization.
 

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Can you judge oxidation by color? I'm asking because I don't know. The color in the bottle looks similar to many pictures I see from a quick search of Pinot Grigio. Some are lighter and some darker. I like Ohio Bob's suggestion of leaving some out for a bit. You can compare the neglected one with a fresh sample.
 
Can you judge oxidation by color?
No. Yesterday I opened a Raspberry wine I purchased well over a year ago. The bottle is clear and when I looked at it, my first thought was, "Oh, @^*%!!!" as it looked brown. I pulled the cork, and it smelled & tasted like raspberry. A bit older than optimal, but no sign of oxidation. Like older strawberry, the color was not appealing but the wine was good.

If a wine is oxidized, trust your nose. It tells the tale.
 
If a wine is oxidized, trust your nose. It tells the tale.
Dumb question - what does oxidized wine smell like?

If you say it smells like sherry, I would ask what does sherry smell like? (Sheltered life...)

*OR*
I would say I don't know anyone named "Sherry".
 
Dumb question - what does oxidized wine smell like?
Like sherry. 🤣

Not sure how to describe it, I searched and got: stale, nutty or even like burnt marshmallow or stewed fruit

Upstream @Ohio Bob suggested pouring a few oz of wine in a glass and leave it overnight, although depending on the wine it might take longer. Try pouring a 6 oz glass in the late afternoon, and the next morning, swirl, sniff, and taste every 3 hours.

If a wine experiences oxidation before bottling, hit it with K-meta (I used a double-dose), bottle, and use the wine up quickly. Mild oxidation isn't bad tasting or smelling, and the wine is perfect for cooking.
 
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- what does oxidized wine smell like?
If you say it smells like sherry, I would ask what does sherry smell like?
sherry;. Sherry flavor is fairly pleasing but will mask all fruity aromatics from grape. Sherry flavor is produced from a slow oxidation of alcohol. ,, store some wine with 1/4 inch ullage in a pint plastic milk bottle (LDPE) with a solid cork for six months. Taste at three months and again at six months
acetaldehyde; at low concentration a pleasing apple like note, at high concentration a burn in the back of the throat when swallowing. ,,, store some wine in a corked half full glass bottle like a salad dressing bottle. Taste every month. Acetaldehyde is common when metabisulphite addition is low or when head space is too large.
 
Okay @winemaker81 and @Rice_Guy, done. I opened some strawberry earlier in the day and put some in a glass. I'll also put some in a small container for long term. Color-wise I know it's not a good choice to check for oxidation. I may do the same to the next couple of bottles just to see what happens.

Next time I open a grape wine I'll try to oxidize some AND try making vinegar. I'm thinking it might be better to infuse a flavor into vinegar rather than vinegarizing (is that a word?) one of my country wines. I'll have to find out.

OK, I'm on a roll here - any other experiments I should do with an open wine? I'm serious! Always willing to learn!
 
Put some grape wine in a glass and leave it out overnight. In the morning it will taste oxidized. Leave it out for another day and it will taste really oxidized. Or if you have two bottles of wine from the same batch, leave some out for 24 hours, then open the other bottle and compare the two.

It took me a while to learn to recognize alcohol oxidation and distinguish it from other wine faults.
 
Adding on to @Raptor99's suggestion, pour wine each night for several nights, and compare how the wine gets progressively worse.

Oxidation is an odd thing -- many moons ago I purchase a case of a CA Chardonnay that was well rated, and it deserved that rating. However, I left half a bottle on the counter for 6 hours, and it oxidized. I found that all bottles smelled and tasted great when opened, but half a bottle left (even refrigerated) oxidized. I've never experienced that with any other wine.

Note that I'm now considering that it wasn't oxidation, but something else that I assumed was oxidation.

I'm thinking it might be better to infuse a flavor into vinegar rather than vinegarizing (is that a word?) one of my country wines.
If you decide to make vinegar, keep it way away from your wines! From what I've read, it's possible to contaminate your wine. There are many sources online for vinegar making instructions.

I'm still considering Kombucha ...
 

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