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Correcting oxidized wine

January 4, 2014 by Jason 6 Comments

I wrote this blog back in 2010 originally. For the record, I haven’t had to deal with oxidized wine since that time. Recently, I’ve been asked about correcting a wine that has oxidized. So, I dug it up and revised it a bit and here it is. Hope it helps.

If you are diligent in tending your wine, you may never experience oxidation. However, if you are like me and tend to experiment a lot, you might have more wine going than you can sometimes keep track of. While a balanced wine generally takes care of itself, sometimes I may check in on it a little later than I should. Meanwhile, perhaps the S02 levels may drop while I’m not looking. But let me be clear, I definitely won’t neglect my prize batches.

The reality of the situation is, I keep a cellar that is like a big test tube of experimentation. They say a good winemaker has a lifetime of experience. I believe that. My goal is to pack in more experience in less time to produce a better wine, sooner. So I experiment a lot and log everything.

I have experienced oxidation a time or two. The best way to describe oxidation is to cut up an apple and watch within seconds while it turns brown. Air is the enemy to wine. Air is also our enemy. Funny, we need it, but it too wears out our bodies and makes us grow old. There are several factors that can oxidize wine. Two most common are too much head space in the carboy, or too low of S02 levels in your wine. Be sure to mind these two things, and you may never experience oxidation.

Many people think when a wine has oxidized, you have to throw it out. Really, oxidation can be reduced, and in some cases eliminated by the use of powdered skim milk. It won’t win you any awards, but it can still become a good, drinkable wine again, reminiscent of the base you fermented. That is better than dumping it down a drain.  Try this before you dump it.

The procedure:

  1. Calculate the amount of wine to be treated, in liters, and for each liter of wine measure out 0.5 gm of powdered skim milk into five (5) mL of cold water. Stir into a solution making sure all the skim milk is dissolved. NOTE: It is important that you use powdered skim milk, not de-creamed whole milk or malted milk.
  2. Now bring the S02 level of the wine up to the required amount with respect to the pH.
  3. Stir the wine vigorously and while it’s swirling, add the skim milk solution by pouring a single stream like what would come out of a sink faucet to make it enter the wine well below the surface. There may be a bit of foaming, but it will dissipate. Continue to stir the wine to ensure all the skim milk is well-distributed. It is important that the skim milk solution enters well below the surface. If you pour it on the surface, little, or nothing, will happen. I think the air is already having an effect on it. I have done this and botched ‘the pour’ before and it did nothing for the wine. Once the skim milk is fully distributed, brown curds will develop in the wine but will ultimately settle out.
  4. Replace the airlock and allow the wine to settle for 2-3 days. Meanwhile, prepare a fining agent for fining the wine if you want to try to polish the wine again. I have skipped this with good success.
  5. After 2-3 days, rack the wine off the oxidase curds into a clean carboy and stir in the fining agent (if you do one.) Allow this to settle for about 10 days, then rack the wine off the lees. Add an airlock. Filter. and bottle.

Let’s just try to avoid oxidation in the first place. Check your wine when it’s time, and make sure your sulfite levels are in line with the pH. When fermentation is complete, or when you know the wine is mostly degassed, ditch the airlock and plug that baby with something. I still have yet to find a decent stopper that I like, but I’m planning to be in stainless VC tanks soon. Have little headspace, or flood your headspace with an inert gas. I recommend Argon over CO2. I’ve never understood why many say C02. We’re trying to degas our wine already and I think C02 could possibly get back into the wine. Does anyone have thoughts? Happy vinting.

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Filed Under: winemaking Tagged With: winemaking

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Comments

  1. Dawn says

    December 4, 2019 at 5:08 pm

    Thanks Jason!
    I’m glad I found your helpful & inspiring site.
    I was about to dump a whole batch of pino grigo that became a rusty sherry.
    I know what happened now & well, at least I’ll keep a few bottles to enjoy as “Sherry”.
    By reading your explanation and remedy, I’ve come away with a much clearer picture of where I went wrong and how a PH balance and air dictate the outcome.
    Now I just may be looking at your expertise on bee hives next!
    I have some bee boxes I have to address.
    You are a very busy person!!

    Reply
    • Jason says

      December 4, 2019 at 6:15 pm

      Excellent, always happy to help. If you haven’t already, check out the group here where we talk about this, beekeeping and lot’s of other stuff! Happy Holidays! https://www.facebook.com/groups/morganranch/

      Reply
  2. Lionello Guglielmi says

    January 22, 2020 at 8:30 pm

    Hello, I have 200 litres of red wine, made from Californian grapes and need some help. I am not sure that I understand how to carry out step # 2 and how much powdered milk to I need for 200 litres of wine?

    Reply
    • Jason says

      January 22, 2020 at 11:24 pm

      Hi Lionello, step 2 is something that you will need to do in order to prevent oxidation from happening again. Get the pH of the wine and this chart will help you adjust the S02 to the proper levels. https://www.accuvin.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/How-SO2-and-pH-are-Linked.pdf – It really helps to have the ability to get the free S02 levels in your wine. I use the Vinmetrica SC-100 to do mine.

      As for the amount of powdered milk, If you have 200L of wine, it’s 200 x .5g of powdered milk, and and 200 x 5ml of water.

      Reply
  3. Engin says

    September 16, 2020 at 3:18 am

    Hello Jason,

    I am experiencing a similar situation right now and what you wrote drew my attention. I have a wine made from 60 kg of syrah grapes. I think it oxidizes very little. At the first opportunity, I will try it according to the recipe you have given.

    But can you explain in more detail how and why skim milk powder can correct oxidation?

    Thanks once again for the information you shared.

    Reply
    • Jason says

      September 16, 2020 at 9:03 am

      Hi Engin, I admit I do not know the hard science behind it, but basically it’s a chemical attraction/bond of ions. The oxidase in the wine is attracted to the milk ions. Maybe someone who knows more can chime in. It is important that the skim milk solution enters well below the surface. That is… you stir the wine into a swirl and pour the solution in in a way where it goes beneath the surface quickly. If you pour it on the surface, little or nothing, will happen and it will eventually settle to the bottom. I’ve had a few failures. If successful, brown “curds” will develop in the wine and will also settle out. In both cases, you will rack the wine off the top of the settlement. Keep me posted on your progress.

      Reply

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