07/23/08 Wine Q&A

Q. While I am no wine aficionado, I have sent back wine a couple of times when I find that the wine bubbles across my tongue even though this wine is not a sparkling wine. This has happened with a couple of pinot noirs and once with a blended cab franc-cab sauvignon-malbec. The taste is not exactly vinegar in these instances, but it is not luscious and winey. So, the question is, what is this bubbly sensation upon my tongue and am I right in sending them back?

A. It's always a little difficult to diagnose wine problems from afar, but when a red wine is spritzy it is usually an indication that a secondary fermentation has spontaneously occurred in the bottle.

This is a winemaker mistake. If it goes too far, it can push the cork out or even explode the bottle, which is dangerous. So unless you have ordered a sparkling red wine, in a Champagne-style bottle, I would agree with your decision to send back the wine.

In the case of a white wine, it's a different story. Many young white wines have a bit of spritz (also called petillance) from being bottled with a little remaining CO2 from the primary fermentation. This is (usually) intentional and often refreshing.

Q. Do you have any tips on cleaning stemware and decanters to ensure detergent residue isn't left on the glass? I'm particularly interested in the hard-to-clean decanters. If you're using them for red wines exclusively, can you just rinse them with warm water and air-dry them?

If you have product recommendations (detergents that work well, other cleaning tools), that would be appreciated as well.

A. Briefly, the best answer is not to let red wine sit in a decanter overnight (or longer), for that is all it takes for stains to set. Once a wine is decanted, it is generally going to be consumed within the course of an evening. Be sure to thoroughly rinse the decanter with hot water before you retire for the night.

I often skip the soap, but if you put a few drops of regular dishwashing liquid in with the hot water and give it a good shake, that will clean it sufficiently. After that, a long rinse with more hot water.

I don't ever put my decanters in a dishwasher, but if you do, use the rinse-only cycle and no detergent. You can find special brushes and drying racks for decanters through online and wine-
accessory catalogs; the drying racks are especially useful. If you have red wine stains that you wish to remove on stemware, as well as decanters, it's OK to use denture-cleaning tablets. But you have to rinse very thoroughly to get the minty taste out!

* Paul Gregutt answers questions weekly. He can be reached at wine@seattletimes.com.

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