oxidation problems

i'm used to being able to open a bottle of reasonably-priced wine, drink a couple of glasses and the stuff the cork back in and it'll keep happily for a day or two without a noticable drop in quality.

Two nights ago I opened my first bottle of decent quality claret (fantastic - WTN to follow) and did the same. When I returned to it the next day though the wine, although pleasant had lost all the big, ripe flavour that had made it such a joy the previous night.

So, are higher quality wines generally more susceptible to oxidation problems or was I just unlucky? Is there anything you can do about it - will good wine keep in a decanter or in bottle with an airtight plastic stopper?

[David M. Bueker]

Oxidation follows no rules. Some wines do defy oxidation (e.g. German Riesling), but others can hold some times and oxidize quickly others. It frequently has a lot to do with any of the following variables:

1) the acidity in the wine (the higher the better to resist oxidation)
2) the age of the wine
3) the way the wine was treated before it got to you
4) the temperature you keep it at after opening (I keep all opened bottles in the fridge, red or white)

Fortified wines, and sweet wines, seem to oxidize more slowly. For red wines, it seems to me that the younger they are the longer it takes for them to oxidize, but that is subject to a ton of exceptions. Young wines frequently benefit from the added air.
Some people try the vacu-vin to create a bit of a vacuum in the bottle. I can't personally tell whether that actually works. Some inject a neutral gas to stop oxidation. That certainly does work but is a pain. A good easy trick is to pour the part you will be saving into a smaller bottle, fill it to the top, and cork it or screw cap it and put it in the refrigerator, then drink the rest of the bottle. Though the refrigerated small bottle has been exposed to air during that process, the lack of additional air slows it down a bit too.

. When I returned to it the next day though the wine, although pleasant had lost all the big, ripe flavour that had made it such a joy the previous night.

So, are higher quality wines generally more susceptible to oxidation problems or was I just unlucky? Is there anything you can do about it - will good wine keep in a decanter or in bottle with an airtight plastic stopper?

Matt,
Assuming this was not an old wine, I suspect oxidation was not the problem. The oxidation reaction rate for red wines is sooo slow (except for old wines w/ high redox potential), that nothing is gonna happen over the course of a few days. Were oxidation going on, you'd see the typical reaction productions: formation of precipitates/sediment (as the polyphenolics polymerize) and browning of color.
I suspect what you have going on w/ the wine is simply a loss of the wine volatiles that you liked so much the night before into the headspace of the btl. About the only way to prevent this is stick the btl into the freezer and freeze solid the wine. Then thaw and drink at your convenience.
I'll often leave partially drunk btls, stoppered, out on the counter for several days w/ no significant deterioration in quality. As the volatiles escape the wine into the headspace, it often becomes a bit more tannic/astringent in taste.
Tom

Oxidation follows no rules. Some wines do defy oxidation (e.g. German Riesling), but others can hold some times and oxidize quickly others. It frequently has a lot to do with any of the following variables:

1) the acidity in the wine (the higher the better to resist oxidation)
2) the age of the wine
3) the way the wine was treated before it got to you
4) the temperature you keep it at after opening (I keep all opened bottles in the fridge, red or white)

And the biggest of them all: the amount of SO2 present in the wine.

Mark Lipton

[David M. Bueker]

Oxidation follows no rules. Some wines do defy oxidation (e.g. German Riesling), but others can hold some times and oxidize quickly others. It frequently has a lot to do with any of the following variables:

1) the acidity in the wine (the higher the better to resist oxidation)
2) the age of the wine
3) the way the wine was treated before it got to you
4) the temperature you keep it at after opening (I keep all opened bottles in the fridge, red or white)

And the biggest of them all: the amount of SO2 present in the wine.

Mark Lipton

SO2??? I don't drink wines with added SO2!

SO2??? I don't drink wines with added SO2!

Of course not, Mr. Rieslingfan Potassium metabisulfite, OTOH...

Mark "Sans souffre" Lipton