Wine oxidation

Oxidation describes the deterioration triggered by excess oxygen reaching the wine, converting ethanol into acetaldehyde. It browns the colour, dulls the brightness and pushes whites toward notes of bruised apple, rancid walnut and tired honey. Unlike the deliberate oxidation of flor-aged wines, this accidental fault erases the primary fruit and shortens freshness, frequently signalling a failing closure or storage kept at an excessively warm temperature.