"greenish hue indicates the health of wine" from Aubert's note?

I was checking out Aubert’s Ritchie Vineyard Chard and saw this in the tasting note.
http://www.aubertwines.com/wines/ritchie-2010/

“Please note the greenish hue on the edge of the glass, which is indicative of the health of the wine”

Is this true ?

Sounds like total crap to me. Not unlike the wines themselves.

I have wondered where this greenish hue comes from or what it means, but I do know that a greenish hue is a common trait found in most all of my favorite chards.

Just like the legs, very indicative of quality…:wink:
In all seriousness, the Ritchie is always a killer. I’d never trust the color alone to indicate quality (Unless it’s orange then it’s going down the sink or to the nearest bridge dweller).

Boom!

Sounds like you need to send all unwanted Aubert to me ! [scratch.gif]

I don’t think it has anything to do with health necessarily. I have found most commonly the green hue is closely attributed to Chablis. I don’t find it in many California white wines but when I do, I note its presence.

In wood aged fortified wines, a green olive oil type hue is a sign of quality.

I stand corrected. That does seem to describe Aubert quite well.

I was under the impression it was related to the wines being unfined and unfiltered.

I remember Parker discribing some white wines with a green tinge. He said it a good sign.
I think He said it indicates some chlorophyll which is good.

Are you sure it wasn’t Chartreuse? [rofl.gif]

Indicative of good or bad health?

Maybe a winemaker with a really bad cold?

Chartreuse?

Slowly I turned…

this originates from helen’s chards. it has often been said it’s chlorophyl based.

this originates from helen’s chards. it has often been said it’s chlorophyl based.

More like borophyll…

Haha nice!

It has nothing to do with the “health” of the wine. By implication, if you had a white wine w/out that hue, would it be unhealthy? That would pretty much mean any white with age is going to be sick.

There’s not a lot of research, but there’s some.

From a Hungarian research paper on the color of white wines:

Their color is given by the flavones and the hydroxycinnamic phenolic acids in the grapes. “White” wine shades present a range of colors from white, yellow-white, green-white to yellow, gold-yellow, gold, green-yellow, depending on the yellow pigments given by flavones

Here’s from Oregon State U, Dept of Food Science and Technology:
In white wine, the most important phenolic compounds are the hydroxycinnamic acids and of minor quantities, the flavanol monomers. These compounds are important with regard to the visual quality of white wine.

So what are flavones? Here’s what flavones are:
http://www.liquisearch.com/flavones

They’re just compounds found in lots of fruits and vegetables; they provide yellowish pigments to the foods. Depending on when the grapes were picked, the amount of sunlight they received while ripening, the variety of the grape, the vintage, the fermentation and winemaking, etc., you have a shift in one direction or another from green to amber.

Some people suggest that the green comes from chlorophyll, since the juice of the grapes usually has some chlorophyll and even carotene. Since chlorophyll changes as the wine ages, younger grapes would be greener. That green fades as the wine oxidizes or ages, but that greenish hue is common in many whites around the world.

At any rate, the comment about “health” was just marketing.