barrett@hpcnoe.UUCP (06/26/84)
Upon moving to colorado from oregon about 6 months ago, I brought 2 cases of wine with me. Recently, upon opening them, I am discovering an interesting effect: the wine is semi-sparkling. Is this perhaps because the wine was bottled at sea-level and opened at 5000 feet elevation, or is some other effect to blame? (The wine in question is 1982 Oregon White Reisling by Chateu Benoit) Dave Barrett hplabs!hp-dcd!barrett
pdt@mhuxv.UUCP (tyma) (06/29/84)
There are a few possibilities as to why the wine bottled at low altitude appears semi-sparkling at high altitude. One is strictly chemistry (or physics, if you prefer): gases are generally more soluble in liquids at higher pressure. The pressure was higher during bottling at low altitude; therefore, the gas has solubility X, and an appropriate amount dissolves in the wine. When the bottle is opened at higher altitude (lower pressure), the solubility of the gas is *less than X*, so some gas escapes as bubbles. The other explanation is chemistry, too, I suppose: if the wine were made "cremant", then it was not fully fermented before bottling. Some fermentation continues after the bottling, producing more alcohol and carbon dioxide. It's just like champenoise, except the amount of fermentation after bottling is much greater for "champagne" wines. The "cremant" style is common among, for example, Moscato D'Asti wines, and is seen on rare occasions in white burgundies. I dunno about U.S. rieslings.
hyder@hpfcpkh.UUCP (07/17/84)
The wine in question has some "spritz" even at sea level, one of
the fine qualities of most of the wine at Chateau Benoit. A move
to higher altitde would make the bubbles larger, perhaps more
active.
Nice to hear about Oregon wine. Those of you who haven't tried
them are in for a plesant surprise. Varietal whites and Pinot Noir
that are outstanding. Some of the best are smaller wineries that
don't get out very far. My favorites are Schafer and Benoit. The
limited selections that make it to Colorado from the biggies
(Amity, Sokol Blosser, and Knudesen-Erath) aren't very exciting.
Paul Hyder {...hplabs!hpfcla!hyder}
( Just two cases? Gosh, I drank more than that on my move out
here.)