What does "reductive" mean?

One of the terms for which I can't find a tag in my thick skull.
Can "reductive" be described in terms meaningful to a classic Zinaholic?

John

One of the terms for which I can't find a tag in my thick skull.
Can "reductive" be described in terms meaningful to a classic Zinaholic?

It's the opposite of oxidative, John! In wine terms, reduction of sulfites produces smelly things like thiols (mercaptans) and sulfides, leading to smells of rubber, skunk, rotten eggs, sewage and other pleasant things.

Mark Lipton

[Robin Garr]

One of the terms for which I can't find a tag in my thick skull.
Can "reductive" be described in terms meaningful to a classic Zinaholic?

Dr. Lipton covered the ground, and there's not much point in adding to a substantive response from a real chemist.

Nevertheless ... Here's an article I wrote on the topic a few years ago:

http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvis ... 0120.phtml

Oh.
Stinky!
Thanks!

John

One of the terms for which I can't find a tag in my thick skull.
Can "reductive" be described in terms meaningful to a classic Zinaholic?

Dr. Lipton covered the ground, and there's not much point in adding to a substantive response from a real chemist.

Nevertheless ... Here's an article I wrote on the topic a few years ago:

http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvis ... 0120.phtml

Very nice article, Robin! It's a pleasure to read something on a topic like this that gets all the chemistry right (rare IME). Just a geeky sidenote: thiols are also known as "mercaptans" because of their avidity for binding mercury (mercury + capture). Another way to rid your wine of reductive smells would be to drop a few drops of liquid mercury into it, but I don't see that as a very attractive solution to the problem.

Mark Lipton

[Robin Garr]

Another way to rid your wine of reductive smells would be to drop a few drops of liquid mercury into it, but I don't see that as a very attractive solution to the problem.

My grandfather was a dentist, and back in the day, he used to let me play with little blobs of mercury. I thought it was great fun. I never ingested any, but still, I hope some weird effects won't belatedly come home to roost.

Another way to rid your wine of reductive smells would be to drop a few drops of liquid mercury into it, but I don't see that as a very attractive solution to the problem.

My grandfather was a dentist, and back in the day, he used to let me play with little blobs of mercury. I thought it was great fun. I never ingested any, but still, I hope some weird effects won't belatedly come home to roost.

Fortunately, heavy metal toxicity is an acute rather than chronic ailment. If you haven't become "mad as a hatter" by now, you won't unless you're still being exposed to heavy metals on a regular basis. FWIW, heavy metals are cleared from your system by their coordination by thiol detoxification agents such as glutathione. There's empirical evidence to suggest that diets high in sulfur-containing amino acids and thiols (nuts, seeds, garlic and onion) may speed the clearance of heavy metals from your body.

Mark "please pass the aïoli" Lipton

I eat lots of garlic and onion. Had osso bucco for dinner tonight with broiled asparagus. And what's broiled (or grilled) asparagus without garlic?

John the stinky

Robin:

http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvis ... 0120.phtml

The articulate teacher at his best.

Well written, Robin and thank you. I guess I'll have to but a silver spoon in the cellar now.

Another way to rid your wine of reductive smells would be to drop a few drops of liquid mercury into it, but I don't see that as a very attractive solution to the problem.

My grandfather was a dentist, and back in the day, he used to let me play with little blobs of mercury. I thought it was great fun. I never ingested any, but still, I hope some weird effects won't belatedly come home to roost.

Fortunately, heavy metal toxicity is an acute rather than chronic ailment. If you haven't become "mad as a hatter" by now, you won't unless you're still being exposed to heavy metals on a regular basis. FWIW, heavy metals are cleared from your system by their coordination by thiol detoxification agents such as glutathione. There's empirical evidence to suggest that diets high in sulfur-containing amino acids and thiols (nuts, seeds, garlic and onion) may speed the clearance of heavy metals from your body.

Mark "please pass the aïoli" Lipton

Stinky people live longer? Or the longer people live the stinkier they get?

Wait...am I confusing correlation and causation again?

>> Wait...am I confusing correlation and causation again?
Probably. The question is, which way?

John, hoping for a very stinky 90

One of my favorite xkcd comics of all time:

http://xkcd.com/552/

[Robin Garr]

If you haven't become "mad as a hatter" by now ...

Let's don't put that up for a vote, okay?

Hi Mark,
Are mercaptans converted into disulfides by an oxidation reaction?
How easily is a disulfide reduced back into mercaptan?

BTW Robin, Great article! (I remember reading it when you first published it. You’re definitely not “mad”)

Salute