Can bottle shock cause effervescence?

[Papuli]

All I can find in my research on bottle shock is information on how the taste of the wine can change. But I got two bottles, packed by the winery in the mail. I opened them a few days later and there was some effervescence in the wine. It's a chardonnay and a cab sauv with screw tops, if that changes anything. Any info would be much appreciated!

[Bill Hunt]

Usually, a secondary fermentation is the cause. In some wines, it is desired, but in many, it is considered a flaw.

What triggered the secondary fermentation? There are possibly many factors, and I'm not sure if it could even be tracked down.

Hunt

[Dan G]

i have been wondering about this too - not necessarily bottle shock but a feeling of effervescence. I just bought a case of 2006 Devils Staircase pinot noir (Central Otago, NZ) and it has this mouth feel. There are no bubbles, just this strange (yet not unpleasant) sensation at the finish. I was wondering where it came from.

It wasn't something that I had thought I would hold on to - bought it primarily for drinking over the summer as it is a great backyard barbecue wine. However, I'll probably hold on to a bottle or two for a couple more years and see how it develops.

[maria lorraine]

The problem with bubbles or spritziness in Pinot Noir specifically is that it will likely turn into a smelly, deeply flawed wine. Take it back now.

Read more about bubbles in Pinot Noir here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5836...

[Scott M]

I don't have any direct experience with this happening with Pinot. I have noticed this primarily with high alcohol wines from California (Zin, Syrah, etc). It has been rare but when I do notice it the wine was just released and after 6 months other bottles would not display the sensation on the finish. Now Pinot Noir is typically not high in alcohol so it may be more of an indication of a longer lasting flaw.

[SFDude]

Hmmm, interesting. I have had a couple of bottle of Pinot that were made at Crushpad. They were from different brands but both had a touch of fizziness and then some excessively strong mushroomy flavors (not the nice earthiness one would like in a Pinot). I had thought the culprit might be bret, but your explanation sounds more likely. I wonder if a bug got into the winery.

[NY25712]

I MAKE MY OWN WINE AND THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS HAVE EXPERIENCED SLIGHT BUBBLES, I MADE 75 GAL STORED AFTER FERMNETATION IN 15 GALLON BOTTLES AND WINE MADE IN SEPT 2009 NOT ALL BOTTLES HAVE BUBBLES

[zin1953]

1) Why are you shouting?

2) Unless you are making sparkling wines, bubbles in your wine are a flaw. This is true whether you are a small, home winemaker or a large commercial producer. The two main causes of bubbles in bottled wine are a) an incomplete alcohol fermentation, or b) the wine undergoing malolactic fermentation in the bottle.

[ernie in berkeley]

Actually, for home winemakers there is a third cause: CO2 dissolved in the wine, possibly from the fermentation, hasn't dissipated yet. This is because many home winemakers use glass carboys for bulk aging and the gas can't exit. Furthermore, home winemakers usually don't bulk-age for as long a time as commercial producers, so the gas doesn't have time to dissipate. I bottle in August to free up the carboys for the next vintage (and let them bottle-age for another six-nine months).

Home winemaking websites have lots of threads on the best way to "de-gas" before bottling--I use a clean bottle-brush in a low-speed power drill to agitate, others use vacuum devices. Bubbles are definitely a flaw, not difficult to correct.

[maria lorraine]

Yet another reason for bubbles. A simple air-lock in the carboy lets the CO2 escape, but even air-locks can get clogged.

One reason for bubbles is that the homemade wine is moved too quickly to a carboy and the primary fermentation is still taking place.

My guess as to the most likely reasons for bubbles are a spontaneous ML fermentation after the primary fermentation (most wines will undergo ML even if you don't help it along), and nasty little microbes (that are everywhere unless you do a sterile filter) that cause fermentations of sugars other than glucose and fructose in wine (pentose, glyceraldehyde, lactose, arabinose, maltose, etc.). The sugars vary by varietal, and Pinot Noir (c.f. Dan G.'s post just below) is one of the most notorious for fermentable sugars causing bubbles after the primary fermentation. That's why I told him to take it back. The latter is not easily corrected; the former needs correctable action.

[ernie in berkeley]

> moved too quickly to a carboy

Yes, we intentionally press at 0 brix, a little before fully dry, to keep the CO2 "blanket" in the carboy while the gross lees settle out. But still, now, after eight months and three rackings, with (inoculated) ML finished long ago, my '09s are still a little fizzy and will be until I stir them. Being heavier than air, CO2 just stays in the liquid unless it's agitated or vacuumed out. The air-lock won't let dissolved CO2 escape by itself.

This is different from the nasty microbes--the wine smells and tastes great and I've never lost a batch to unwanted fermentation or other spoilage even years after bottling. As opposed to a case of bourgeuil I once got on deep discount because of a slight fizz, and within a year it was spoiled and undrinkable, with a sour-beer smell.

[maria lorraine]

I like your rigged gizmo for agitating the wine to release the CO2. Surprised you don't sparge with inert gas.

[Bill Hunt]

ML,

As one who appreciates ML (sorry for the pun), in many wines, that "nasty little microbes" is rather off-putting. Maybe those microbes need a better press agent?

Just a bit of a tease, 'cause you need one, and I love many wines with ML.

Hunt

[maria lorraine]

Bill,

Nearly all red wines undergo ML and nearly all wines will begin ML all by themselves unless it is mechanically stopped. If you're speaking of white wines with ML, I find the European ML white wines differ considerably in flavor from the American ML white wines -- a different strain of lactobacillus no doubt causing the difference in flavor. This is unrelated to the percentage/intensity of the ML; the flavor itself is different. The American form is more buttery, more movie-popcorn buttery, than the creamier, lighter Euro ML. Have you found this to be so?

Though I love clean Chards, Burgundian Chards, occasionally a ML Chard will blow up my skirt. But ML Chards seem to scream for food -- a roast chicken, scallops, shellfish, something with butter -- so their unctuousness blends in with the food. At least that's what my palate says.

Still heading this way this summer?

Maria

[Bill Hunt]

I do agree with the differences. Could be strains, or maybe a difference between, say American oak vs French oak. For me, FR ML is "leaner," but no less delightful

As for our travels, we're in Del Mar, trying to raise $ for the PHX Symphony, but it will be a very short trip, like the last one for wife's hospital.

Wish that I did have a wine-country trip in the works. Have not had those monthly SF trips for some time. My wife has been heading to Orange County mostly, and there has been zero time to do anything. Last month, I met her at LAX to head to Hawai`i for two weeks of bliss, and as we were to board the 777 the next morning, an emergency canceled the entire trip!

At least we are headed to Blackberry Farm in July for a Staglin dinner!

Now, when our Hawai`i trip was canceled, I still managed to sneak her off to Sedona, AZ. We did one full day in the Verde Valley "wine country," nearby. I knew the wineries in Southern AZ, but was totally unfamiliar with those north of Phoenix. We were both surprised. There are some fairly serious wines coming out of that area. I'd wager that 60% of all the wines were surprisingly good. Most of the rest were at least OK. Surprising.

Later,

Hunt

[Bill Hunt]

Jason,

Think vinhos verdes. We all know a few, "mostly" still wines, that have effervescence, though usually at a low level.

However, when not intended, it IS a flaw.

Hunt

[zin1953]

My comments were *specifically* directed at the poster, a home winemaker. But you're absolutely correct that some Vinho Verdes will intentionally leave some "residual" CO2 in their wines -- or "nitrogen sparge" their wines at bottling.

[Scott M]

Is it truly effervescence and you see bubbles or is it more that you feel like it is effervescent on your tongue but don't actual see bubbles?

If it just feels effervescent and the wine is young (ie. just released from the winery) then I have experienced that phenomenon with very young wine and it will go away with more time in the bottle.

[RicRios]

Most probably the flaw was already present before the trip.

[maria lorraine]

Yup. Call the winery.

Probably an incomplete fermentation and a major error.
Read more here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5836...