What does the "second day" mean?

WINE TALK
21

I try and use a reference to ‘time’ in all my notes, as I do taste most of them over a span of 48-72 hours, unless I am going to a dinner. I do try and make a remark about time if I am unable to taste a wine the following day, as well.

In my diction, 2nd day would mean the following day after I opened it. Meaning, if I open it at 5PM, and then taste it the next day at 5PM, then the second instance of enjoying it would be Day 2.

I do my best to set context and factors around the wine, as some people might find it of value. If not, then I still get to have my experience chronicled for the next time I open the same bottle.

22

That is often claimed, but it hasn’t been my experience. The ability of a wine to last after it’s opened has seemed to me to have more to do with the type of wine than its longevity. Some grapes pull it off, some don’t. Spoofy high-alcohol fruit-bombs are often unchanged for weeks but that doesn’t mean they’ll age longer than a claret that starts to show signs of oxidation the next day.

23

Hi, Frank. So, in your opinion, it doesn’t matter how the wine is kept between day 1 and day 2? There are lots of people spending lots of time and money on that 24 hours, but I also know some who don’t think that first day (at least the part after the first few hours) really matters that much. Are you in agreement?

24

I appreciate the OP question. How the wine was or was not preserved tells me a lot about my own expectation for how a wine will perform over time. I have opened wines that I vacuvined and not with results that are dramatically different. With all the discussion about corivined wines and how they perform with time I do not see the difference.

25

I’m more interested in the preparation on the first night.

26

You’ve vacuvined wines for months at a time?

27

Peter, when i drink wines over a couple of days, my routine is pretty simple. I stuff the cork in and either leave it in the fridge or put it back in the cellar standing up to keep it cool for the next day. That’s all.

I’m not sure I understand your question so maybe you re-prhase it so I can tackle what you asked.

28

No but the idea of how a wine was handled is significant.

29

If the wine is especially closed I might leave it in the decanter or bottle overnight and then revisit the next day. If I’m in the mood for 1-2 glasses of a mature wine, I’ll pour it back in the bottle and re-cork until the next day. In the summer, I normally stick the bottle in the fridge and pull it out an hour or so before I want to drink it.

If I’m robbing the cradle like with a young Bdx, Burg, etc, sometimes I’ll revisit over a 2-3 day period to see how it evolves. I’m not too worried about what the note tells me, I’ll figure it out when I’m drinking the wine.

30

All of this is useless if you do not know and trust the palate of the TN writer. I agree with Keith, it is almost impossible to agree on a wine with someone you are sharing an actual bottle with in real time!

31

That, though, goes for all tasting notes, Carlos. The 2004 red Burgs are the best example, but…all tasting notes have to be read with that in mind, including the supposed professional tasters. At least, you’ve got to understand their palates…and limitations and writing styles, too.

I always save some wine for the next day. I try to write my notes for my own cellar inventory program the next morning when I think I taste best (am, when I have no food, no interest in drinking, etc. to distract). So…I’m always looking for the “next day” as an indicator of where a wine is heading. If it improves, I usually think is is in need of further aging/development. Of course, it depends, as Keith posits, on the grape, but…all wine evaluations start with that, IMO.

32

Corked on the counter to improve. If ready and just left over, corked in the fridge.
With very few exceptions the wine is better on the second or third day which goes to show I drink my wines too young and like aged wine.
Or like spoiled wine. [snort.gif]

33

As far as the first night prep, if I don’t mention it, assume a PnP. Otherwise I will generally describe what prep occurred. Don’t know that I’ve ever posted a second day note other than to conclude “fell apart by the second day” or “even better on the second day”.