Question about oxidation

[wine_fan]

With beer brewing I know and understand that exposure to light during and after fermentation is bad. Is this true for wine as well?

I just racked my wine to the secondary (glass carboy) and I'm wondering how important it is for me to keep it away from natural and artificial light. It is currently sitting in a dark corner of a closet.

Thanks,

Greg

 

[novalou]

Keep your red wines as dark as possible. The light will wash out the color.

As for whites, keep out of sunlight.

 

[jethro]

I keep my carboy in a closet with a cardboard box upside down over top to keep it dark. The bottom of the lid is a couple inches off the floor. So yeah, you're smart to keep it dark.

I asked the guy at the local wine/brew supply shop about wine oxidation. He said you can only tell on a white wine because when it oxidizes it creates a brownish tint on the meniscus (where the wine contacts the side of the glass). He said it's like rust, so you can't see it in a red wine. So I've no idea how you'd even know on a red wine. Does it give the wine a foul taste?

 

[sour_grapes]

I asked the guy at the local wine/brew supply shop about wine oxidation. ... He said it's like rust, so you can't see it in a red wine. So I've no idea how you'd even know on a red wine. Does it give the wine a foul taste?

Oh, you probably have tasted this. Ever have a glass of wine from a bottle that has been open 4 or 5 days? It has a kinda distinctive taste, not awful, but not pleasant to my tongue.

At a restaurant, I don't often buy a bottle of wine, but just have a glass or two. I frequently encounter oxidized wine in this manner. I try to choose a wine that is popular rather than one that sounds good to me, but my instincts of what is popular are evidently not correct!

 

[Pumpkinman]

I put old shirts over my carboys.
You'll know when your red wine is oxidized, it starts to get a sherry like taste, it starts to turn a brownish color, Reds can smell "tired" and fruitless, and can sometimes develop a caramelized quality.
I'm very surprised that your LHBS would say that you wouldn't be able to tell if a red wine was oxidized, might be time to reevaluate the advice you take from them.