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Maybe. Or maybe not. Maybe. Or maybe not. It depends on what are the causes of the change in flavors and what exactly was the cause of the "weird aftertaste". And exactly what was the "weird aftertaste". Typically, if my wine tastes okay during the entire process, it will usually turn out...

Lived in Norther CA for many years. Went to Napa more than once. If you can, you should just drive there. Suggest for a first visit, a "plan" to visit the "big" ones. Like Mondavi, Sterling (in Calastoga just up the road), and Beringer. But along the way.... (that is, your "plan" need not be...

Lived now in Europe for 20 years. Lived in Switzerland, now in Hungary, been to (in no particular order) : France Germany Austria Italy (saw the Pope) Belgium Netherlands Liechtenstein England Ireland Poland Czech Republic Slovakia But where I really wanted to go for years is Spain. But still...

To start, you can not really compare the ageing qualities of a Zin to a Shiraz. Different grapes. They will age differently. You do have a few years of Zin. Which is good. But you did not really supply complete details of each year. You said the last batch aged bulk for 18 months... But how...

Well said. I am a vegetarian mainly for heath reasons. I spent too many years in doctors offices and getting probed to mention. I stopped eating meat and then all my issues went away. Happy and healthy for many decades now as a vegetarian. But... Wait for it.... That is just me and my body...

In deference to the ladies, and to my wife, I prefer this one: "Happy life, happy wife." Which, in my opinion and interpretation, is not a statement to give free reign to a shrew. It is simply for each partner to consider the other. :) Well... that actually may be true.... hick.... (starts...

I actually have degrees in Biology** and Ecology. And those litter buggers also fascinate me. And I still do not understand those little buggers. Which is also fascinating. **When at UCLA, one of my genetics professors specialized in yeast genetics. Even he, then, was trying to figure them...

Funny thing is I first heard it differently. And only when I first moved to Hungary: If there are two Hungarians in a room, you will still get three opinions... But I guess since so many Hungarians make wine, it is basically the same thing.... :) Which is why references, to actual research...

I would say... Yes. And No. That is (as always), it depends. That is it depends on, for example, how much more fermentation will happen. Near the end... I think the risks are minimal compared to O2 damage. So, by and far, the real issue is of degree. And that is the art of wine making. When to...

It will only help in removing O2 in the air space above the wine. But that is not the only issue of where O2 can damage the wine. Any O2 suspended in the wine itself (which can come from many sources) is also an issue, and that will not be affected by the CO2 emitted within the wine. That is...

Good answer. I was just curious. Same for me... why Hungary? Simple: My wife is Hungarian. And have lived in Europe full time for over two decades -- First in Switzerland and now in Hungary. :) Actually, she is a dual national with both Hungarian and Swiss citizenship. It is complicated ---...

Our cellar and the house walls are both made this way. Laid bare when we had the walls renovated, Our Stone House One has to cover this type of exterior wall, or point them with a weather resistant mortar -- we decided on the former (we plastered the walls) as this was historically how the...

Living in an area that has produced wine since the Roman period (there are Roman ruins nearby**), and the Romans did not use humidifiers, why would I? :) But seriously... Perhaps you did not understand my comment. Actually, the humidity is not the issue. In fact, I have rather low humidity...

The black mold is less likely from cellar humidity, and more likely from years of horizontal damp moving from the outside soil, along the "mortar"** into and onto the cellar wall. And once the moisture reaches the cellar wall, mold forms. I had renovated our cellar about 15 years ago because the...

Over a decade ago I considered buying Amphorae. From Italy. Yes, they were expensive. But what was really expensive was the shipping cost, which was even more than the cost of the Amphorae. Back then, the Amphorae came in two treatments: With or without bees wax coating on the inside. The bees...

Sorry, not really answering your question. But as an American citizen who bought vineyards in Hungary, why France? And why Beaujolais? Europe has so many interesting wine regions. If you speak French, that would be a good reason to intern there to avoid language barriers... if you intern in...

What @winemaker81 said. Do not confuse oxidized wine with skin contact wine. They may look similar, but they are worlds apart. After all, Pinot noir, a famous red wine grape, is often also used in fine Champaign (a white wine) and one can even make a varietal white wine from Pinot noir. Wine...

Amphora go back 8,000 years. Wood is still the new kid on the block. Stainless is not even out of diapers.... :) I mostly use HDPE... (plastic). That may be embryonic.... I guess my point was, what really matters is, what is or was, "predominate" in any period in history can vary. That this...

And before oak, clay amphora were used as the main bulk containers (for thousands of years). So the idea of "oak aging" and "mirco oxygenation" is indeed a modern (few centuries) ideology of wine making. Stainless is even more modern as stated. I say "ideology" as I do not believe there is any...

Thank you for participating in my joke. To some vegans, even having a sheep dog is enslavement.... :) How differently vegans and non-vegans see the world, was exactly my joke. 😀