I really guessing, but I assume everyone has tried a wine from a cheap glass (not crystal) and noted that the aromatics aren’t as expressive as you might expect. Crystal has micro pores and I’m assuming you could get a little bit of condensation on a slightly cool glass on the inside that would “block” the pores thereby decreasing the surface area of the glass (not the wine-air interface). Functionally converting your crystal glass to one made of glass. I really have no idea…but I’ve had a perfectly good glass of pinot, walked outside on the porch and poof…nose was gone. Never seems to come back just by going inside either… It obviously could be many factors but it seems to occur more frequently when more humid and all the time now that I live on the coast.
Can you suggest a source where I can learn more about this? Google hasn’t helped. TIA.
Robert, your question sparked my curiosity. I couldn’t’ find anything either, and after looking over some chemical descriptions of lead crystal (lead oxide GLASS), it appears I made an assumption that wasn’t true. I know I’ve been told that glass crystal has a higher surface area, but I don’t think I can back it up with science. As someone with a scientific background, this is a little embarrassing.
I’ll revise my comments to “Wine doesn’t smell good outside and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s humidity?”
HA! I found one reference, so clearly it must be true(sarcasm):
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/tip/why-buy-lead-crystal.html
…" Although not visible to the eye, the surface of lead crystal is coarser than regular glass. Thanks to this microscopic roughness, a lead-crystal glass allows wine to develop more intense aromas, further adding to its pleasure."
Still can’t find a scientific reference…
Thanks, though that smacks more of marketing drivel than fact. But who knows? And it causes me to ask: Were the glasses you were using lead crystal? Most of today’s ‘crystal’ contains no lead; ‘crystal’ is now defined by refractive index, not by lead content.
I’ve never noticed an aromatic difference with different types (as opposed to shapes) of glassware. Experimentation is in order! [Any excuse to pull more corks.]
Cheers!
I do not use lead crystal. Schott Zwiesel Tritan.
Drinking wine from lead-glazed goblets is reputed to have contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire! Lead-glass crystal is NOT a good idea, nor are lead-glass decanters; AFAIK NO modern glassware has lead content.
…but red glass can have uranium!
Weren’t they lead goblets, as opposed to “lead-glazed”? In any event, there is ongoing dispute as to whether that account is fact or fiction. See, for example: Lead Poisoning and Rome
Baccarat still manufacutres lead crystal stemware (30% lead oxide), which Williams-Sonoma (and others) sell: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/baccarat-grand-bordeaux-tasting-glasses/
Baccarat too expensive? Bed Bath & Beyond offers budget lead crystal stemware (24% lead oxide): http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/1/20351-flame-damore-6-ounce-crystal-wine-glass.html
Want a designer imprint? BB&B also offers Vera Wang lead crystal (24% lead oxide) manufactured by Wedgewood: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/1/11938-vera-wang-wedgwood-classic-platinum-6-ounce-wine-glass.html
I’m sure there are others, but that’s what a quick search turned up.
I’m not a meteorologist and I don’t play one on TV. But here’s a theory. The nose of a wine is due both volatile and non-volatile compounds emitted by the wine as it aerates. So, increased water vapor in the air (increased humidity) could affect either (a) the transmission of these compounds through the air, and/or (b) how your smell and taste receptors perceive the compounds as they are transmitted through the air.
Bruce
That would be my theory as well, especially (a). Though I really doubt the phenomenom is particularly true.
Just checking in back on this and an interesting range of observations.
My license is in CA. I live in NYC. Zzalto Bordeaux and drinking inside with AC.
Why doesn’t it? Except for the ceiling, our dining area is open to the elements. The Ala Wai canal is 100 feet away.
Afternoon humidity ranges from 51% to 61%, but when winds are from the south, it’s about 15-20% higher.
My wife likes her red wines kept in the refrigerator; when opened, they are about 40°.
When poured, moisture immediately condenses on the inside and outside surfaces of the glass (Riedel). I find it hard to believe that moisture does not constantly condense on the surface of the cold wine as well, but even if it didn’t, it picks up the moisture on the way to our lips.
If I could afford it, I would live in an apartment with an air-conditioned dining room, precisely for this reason.
Does not seem to affect the wines in humid PR. Maybe if you are not used to the humid climate it affects you more than the wine.
A bottle of '10 Clape Cornas drank at Nomad on Thursday evening showed nothing but exquisiteness.
I live in SoCal and during the warmer summer months, I’ve had days/weeks where it seems every bottle of red I open seems flawed, particularly pinot, but less so for syrah, and never for whites. On a couple of occasions, I’ve literally opened 3/4 bottles to find one that was even drinkable. This has never occurred during the other three seasons.
Since it’s happened multiple times on hot days across a range of otherwise reliable producers, and at the risk of encountering the Wrath of Zylberberg, I can only conclude that the weather played a factor. My guess it impairs the palate rather than the wines, which for me have been limited to reds.
agreed.
I don’t know if there is a way to isolate the exact cause, but I do notice wines not tasting quite the same in So. Fla at high humidity and sea level as they do here at a a mile high an virtually no humidity (among other differences). I suspect that has a lot more to do with the animal tasting the wine than the wine, itself, though. I’m also not a huge fan of big reds in tropical weather.
It’s odd and ironic that, after reading this board long enough, you might start to believe that you can hardly ever drink wine – bottles were transported recently, it’s humid out, you can’t drink wine with [insert almost any kind of food that isn’t European / wine country cuisine] and should drink beer instead, stemware is wrong, wine is too young, needs food, can’t be had with food, needs to be opened with others and not by yourself, etc. etc.
Of course, everyone should drink if and when they want, but I don’t seem to have any problem enjoying good wines almost any time I can have them. I appreciate ideal pairings and occasions, but I like good wine just . . . because it’s good wine. YMMV.
Despite your elegant philosophy, and despite my efforts to enjoy wine accordingly, I’ve experinced a handful of frustrating incidents that are similar to that described by the OP where the common element was warm and possibly humid weather. Trust me, I really didn’t want them to happen in the first place, so in an effort to avoid repeat occurrences, I appreciate this thread and won’t turn up my nose at any possible causes.
If you pour a colder wine into a glass, obviously moisture is going to condense on the outside of the glass in humid conditions. Notice that the condensation is mainly around the level of the liquid in the glass, not typically above it (at least in my experience). I have never seen moisture condense inside a glass, above the surface of the liquid. Maybe that happens in really warm, humid conditions (which we don’t have in California, but I’ve been in Florida and other humid climates enough times). At any rate, I wouldn’t think a bit of condensation would affect the taste of a wine. No matter what the humidity, the vapor pressure of water in the wine is most likely going to be higher than the partial pressure of the water component in the air around it. Look at it this way: if you leave a glass of wine on the counter overnight, does the liquid level go up or down in the glass?
Cheers