substances that can and do contribute to the
flavor of wine (see box, p. 738).
Clarity and Color The appearance of a wine
can give some important clues about how it
will taste. If the wine is cloudy and the
particles don’t settle with a few hours’
standing, it has probably undergone an
unintended bacterial fermentation in the
bottle, and its flavor is likely to be off. Tiny
crystals (which do settle) are usually salts of
excess tartaric or oxalic acid, and are not
signs of spoilage; in fact they indicate a good
level of acidity. “White” wines actually range
in color from straw yellow to deep amber. The
darker the color, the older the wine — the
yellow pigments turn brownish when oxidized
— and the more mature the flavor. Most red
wines retain a deep, ruby-like color for some
years, along with a fruity character in the
flavor. As they age, the anthocyanin pigments
complex with some of the tannins and