Put your Wine in the Microwave

So I read this article about putting pinot noir grapes in the microwave before being crushed and made into wine. The basic idea is that the grapes were fermented for a shorter time and had more colour and tannin.

I don’t have access to enough grapes or the equipment to see what would happen myself, but I do have wine. And a microwave.

I put the wine in the microwave for 60 seconds, and found that it took a very long time to come back down to proper cellar temperature of 62F.

Once it did, the effects were noticeable. And it was not just myself, I poured side by side samples (same wine, one nuked, the other not) for a few other sommeliers and even a chef.

One word that was repeated with each taster was metallic. The nuked wine simply lacked any life. It was dull and bitter on the finish and lack aroma too.

Here is article that might explain why this happens. It also may make you want to throw your microwave out.

If you are having a few people over one night, I suggest you try the side by side nuke test yourself. If you do, I would be interested in hearing about your results.

Happy drinking,

J