A Fall Horror Story: Carbonation in.....Zinfandel?!!!!

[DougS]

Either bacteria or yeast is probably doing something in the bottle. In either case, if you liked it at the winery and poured this one down the drain, it’s a flaw that has tainted the wine. I would tell the winery. It might have nothing to do with residual sugar. I’ve seen MLF bacteria contaminate quite a few “natural” wines that are probably fermented to dryness. Fizzy doesn’t necessarily mean bad (that can change over time, though), but fizzy plus bad is probably a serious microbial issue.

[Bryan_Price]

Never heard of (apparently) J Dusi Winery until this post.

Question: If asked to name the winery that provided a flawed wine, why not name the winery? Why be coy?

A few days ago I posted on the worst wine I’ve ever had. It was from Vinyes Singular.

Victor Hong’s explanation of secondary fermentation of a wine with residual sugar is a reasonable explanation, but far from the only one possible. And perhaps it wasn’t even added sugar, maybe just wine that was bottled without added sugar but without having fully fermented. In that case, kudos to J Dusi for not adding enough sulfur to kill both secondary fermentation and flavor. Stuff happens.

Dan Kravitz

So it doesn’t come up in a keyword search. I’m hesitant to be negative about wineries.

[Chris_Seiber]

It’s secondary fermentation from residual sugar, which is sugar from high brix grapes which didn’t ferment — not added sugar, as nobody would add sugar to Paso zin.

In other words, not all the sugar fermented, but then at some point after the cork was put in, it fermented, and now all the CO2 emitted from the fermentation process is trapped in the wine, making it fizzy.

I had bottles of a Linne Calodo zin blend that had that. It tasted like grape soda.

It’s a winemaking flaw. You have every right to return them.

[Victor_Hong]

It’s secondary fermentation from residual sugar, which is sugar from high brix grapes which didn’t ferment — not added sugar, as nobody would add sugar to Paso zin.

In other words, not all the sugar fermented, but then at some point after the cork was put in, it fermented, and now all the CO2 emitted from the fermentation process is trapped in the wine, making it fizzy.

I had bottles of a Linne Calodo zin blend that had that. It tasted like grape soda.

It’s a winemaking flaw. You have every right to return them.

My post about added sugar for added points was facetious.

[jbray23]

Give it a rest, Victor. Your anti-Cali-wine quips in multiple threads are getting tiresome.


I, too, had some carbonation in a Thomas PN. The wine was fine, so I don’t believe there’s a correlation (necessarily) between the carbonation and it being a bad wine.

Victor is just a curmudgeon, but he lives his 80’s and 90’s value California auction wines, he brags about his cheapness all the time!!

[Oliver_McCrum]

It’s secondary fermentation from residual sugar, which is sugar from high brix grapes which didn’t ferment — not added sugar, as nobody would add sugar to Paso zin.

In other words, not all the sugar fermented, but then at some point after the cork was put in, it fermented, and now all the CO2 emitted from the fermentation process is trapped in the wine, making it fizzy.

I had bottles of a Linne Calodo zin blend that had that. It tasted like grape soda.

It’s a winemaking flaw. You have every right to return them.

Red wines often have some residual CO2 without being flawed, though.

[larry_schaffer]

Bryan,

Thanks for sharing. Other than the bubbles, how was the wine? Curious whether it tasted ‘off’ as well, or was just slightly carbonated.

As others have pointed out, there are a couple of reasons why the wine may have had some carbonation, including secondary fermentation going off in the bottle or the possibility of a continuation of primary fermentation. One other reason this may happen is if the wine is made in stainless steel, trapping CO2. This happens more with whites than reds but it is a possibility.

Did the bubbles subside over time? We never heard.

And this is a reputable winery with a historic vineyard at its base. ANY winery can have an ‘off’ bottle - even some board faves. No one will probably post about those, though . . .

Would love a follow up, Bryan, and to hear whether you reached out to the winery for more information or possibly for a refund/replacement.

Cheers.