Reading about the way Mark Neal likes to vigorously shake a young bottle to decant, it got me wondering about "bottle shock" and what the science is behind it. I've never opened a bottle soon after a delivery, so I don't know what, exactly, the effect of "bottle shock" would be or why it would take place. Who can help?

With the Neal reference, you are referring to travel shock, which I don’t place any value in at all for relatively young wines. Only old wines with sediment is this an issue.

Bottle shock is when the wine had just been bottled.

There is no science, as far as I'm aware, regarding bottle or travel shock. It's a belief that's held by some and not by others.

Basically what the believers will tell you is that if you open a wine shortly after a long journey or just after it's been bottled that it will taste disjointed, and that if you leave it for a week or two the wine will come back into balance.

I see. What would be the definition of "bottle shock" then? Just bottled which does what, exactly?

I always thought bottle shock and travel shock were the same thing.

During the process of bottling a wine it's squirted into the bottle and gets exposed to air. It may also have been very recently filtered. Though there is some debate about it, there are plenty of winemakers who claim that the wine gets "shocked" and doesn't taste as good during the following weeks. Personally I'm prepared to give it some credence though I haven't done any significant research.

As Dave mentioned, if the wine has just been bottled, it could have possibly just gone through filtration. It may also have been pumped several times: barrel to tank, tank to tank, tank to bottling line, etc. It also may have gotten a final dose of SO2. Bottling shock is real. Travel shock is perhaps prudent. What is the rush?

quote:

What is the rush?

You don't need to ask that question of this forum.

What is the rush?

Thanks for the laugh. There is a communal obsession with drinking wines before they have a chance to mature. The overwhelming majority of wines purchased by the posters on this site die a rapid death well before adolescence.

quote:

The overwhelming majority of wines purchased by the posters on this site die a rapid death well before adolescence.

It's better to burn out...than to fade away...
my, my, hey, hey

We get it, board-o. We get it....

I'm certain you don't.

I guess you should, um, tell me yet again your theory on drinking wine too early. Until I "get it".

Won't sink in.

Not true! I was going to open a bottle of J. J. Christoffel Urziger Wurtzgarten Riesling Auslese***, but then I remembered your teachings and realized that only a total rube would open this fantastic age-worthy Riesling so young. Let alone open several of them! Right? Did I "get it"???

I'll tell you several of the myriad things you don't get.

There's no tannin in this wine.
This wine isn't closed.
This wine is sweet and balanced.

Damn. I thought I had it. I get the first point. But, how do you know the 2nd and 3rd points prior to opening this infant and trying it? I'm just trying to learn.

quote:

Originally posted by TomNYC:
I guess you should, um, tell me yet again your theory on drinking wine too early. Until I "get it".

Don't worry. He will.

Is this all "harmless ribbing", or has Board-O stepped on some toes around here?

lol. Board-O would never step on anyone's toes, would he????

To get back on thread, the question was about bottle shock, not infanticide.

To me, the belief in the existence of "bottle shock" is like believing in UFO's. Some believe, others don't, and so far no one has proven or disproven its existence. Decide whatever you want to believe, and keep an open mind.

If someone really wanted to test the theory, it could be put to a well designed experiment, but the results would be of only marginal importance. Even if you proved that bottle shock exists (or doesn't exist) with the wine that was tested, everyone would still argue whether the results can or can not be extrapolated to the myriad of other wines out there in the marketplace.

My personal belief is that it probably does not exist for most wines, but may exist for some.

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quote:

Originally posted by TomNYC:
Damn. I thought I had it. I get the first point. But, how do you know the 2nd and 3rd points prior to opening this infant and trying it? I'm just trying to learn.

Geez. I never realized what a novice you are.

Q: How do you know a Christoffel *** Auslese is sweet?

A: They all are. Every one.

Q: How do you know a Christoffel *** Auslese is balanced?

A: They all are. Every one. That's why they have the ***.

Q: How do you know a 2 year old Christoffel *** Auslese isn't closed?

A: They never are.

Just trying to help the beginner. Someday you ought to try one of these.

Thanks....I truly appreciate the teachings. So we should all pop open all of our age-worthy German Reislings right away. Got it. Thanks for your help.

quote:

Originally posted by TomNYC:
Thanks....I truly appreciate the teachings. So we should all pop open all of our age-worthy German Reislings right away. Got it. Thanks for your help.

Geez, you are dense! Where did I say to pop open all of them? Nowhere. You're hopeless. If you could comprehend the written word, something probably could be done, but alas, that's not the case. Pitiful.

Damn! I thought I had it that time. Pardon my ignorance. I appreciate your obvious patience and understanding. Thank you so much for allowing me to learn from your immense experience. Your thoughtful responses will not be forgotten.

So, I should open some infants, but not all, unless they have tannins, in which case I should open none of them, unless they are, um, less than a certain level of, um....wait....what? Help me, oh great one. Help me to understand!

(by the way, rube, how long are you gonna let me string you along on this thread?)