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Why does a wine sometimes smell like vinegar, or even nail polish remover?

In this episode of The Wine Lab, Andreea explores the science behind volatile acidity, one of the most confusing aspects of wine aroma. While small amounts can add brightness and complexity, higher levels can shift a wine’s character dramatically.

You’ll learn how volatile acidity forms, from grape damage in the vineyard to oxygen exposure in the cellar, and why microbes known as acetic acid bacteria play such...

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Is that wine flawed… or just different?

In this episode of The Wine Lab, Andreea explores the difference between wine faults and flaws before turning to one of the most powerful forces in wine chemistry: oxidation.

What causes the bruised apple aroma in oxidized wine? What role does sulfur dioxide play in protection? Why did certain white Burgundies suffer from premature oxidation, known as “premox,” in the 1990s and early 2000s? And why are wines like Sherry and Madeira intentionally oxidative?

This episode blends...

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Have you ever stood in the wine aisle holding a bottle and thought, “Am I overthinking this?”

In this episode of The Wine Lab, Andreea  unpacks why wine labels can feel so confusing, even to people who work in wine.

Why do some bottles list the grape, while others only name a place? What does Burgundy actually mean? Why does Bordeaux rarely tell you the grape outright? 

We explore how grape varieties work (think apples: Granny Smith vs. Honeycrisp), how geography compre...

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Piquette is one of wine’s oldest ideas and one of its newest obsessions. Made by fermenting grape pomace with water, this light, often sparkling wine has roots in ancient Roman practices, European vineyard culture, and everyday resourcefulness. Once known as a drink for workers and families - sometimes simply called “second round wine” - piquette has reemerged as a symbol of sustainability, moderation, and creativity.

In this episode of The Wine Lab, we explore what piquette is, how it’s made, and why it resonates so strongly...

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Ripasso wines are made by giving a finished Valpolicella wine a second pass through fermentation, pouring it over the grape skins left behind from Amarone or Recioto and allowing renewed microbial activity and extraction to take place. In this episode of The Wine Lab, we walk through what that second pass actually does: how refermentation can restart, how phenolics and color are re-extracted from appassimento-treated skins, and how the chemistry of Ripasso differs depending on whether the pomace comes from sweet Recioto or dry Amarone. Along the way, we...

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What happens when grapes are asked to wait?

In this episode of The Wine Lab, we explore appassimento, the traditional practice of drying grapes before fermentation, and how it reshapes wine long before yeast ever gets involved. From ancient Roman preservation methods to modern Amarone and passito wines, we look at how dehydration concentrates sugars, alters acidity, and transforms texture and aroma.

Along the way, we meet Corvina, the grape at the heart of Valpolicella’s most iconic wines and trace ho...

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Orange wine often feels contemporary, even radical, yet its roots stretch back thousands of years. In this episode of The Wine Lab, we travel to Georgia, widely considered one of the birthplaces of wine, to explore qvevri winemaking, extended skin contact, and the historical foundations of what we now call orange wine. Along the way, we unpack how this style bridges white and red winemaking, why it pairs so naturally with food, and how ancient clay vessels continue to shape modern wine conversations. This is a story of time...

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Welcome back to The Wine Lab. In this episode, we take a closer look at Marsala, one of the most misunderstood fortified wines in the world.

Often dismissed as a cooking ingredient, Marsala has a long history as a serious wine shaped by fortification, oxidative aging, and deliberate patience. We explore how Marsala is made, the grape varieties that define it, and why oxygen plays such a central role in its aroma and structure. Along the way, we unpack the classification system, from Secco to Vergine, and...

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Vermouth is everywhere, yet rarely examined on its own.

Often encountered through classic cocktails rather than the glass itself, vermouth plays a defining role in balance, aroma, and structure while remaining largely unacknowledged. In this episode of The Wine Lab, we slow down and treat vermouth as what it truly is: wine, shaped by fortification, bitterness, and deliberate design.

We explore vermouth’s foundations in neutral grape varieties, the use of grape spirit for stability and extraction, and the careful construction of botanical profiles built ar...

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Madeira is one of the most resilient wines ever produced. Fortified during fermentation, intentionally heated, and slowly oxidized, it defies many of the rules that govern wine aging and thrives because of it.

In this episode of The Wine Lab, we explore how Madeira’s unique production methods developed through long ocean voyages, how fortification with highly rectified grape spirit shapes sweetness and stability, and why heating methods like estufagem and canteiro create such extraordinary longevity. Along the way, we trace Madeira’s chemical evolution, its role in h...

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Step into the steep, sunlit terraces of Portugal’s Douro Valley and explore how landscape, law, chemistry, and culture shaped one of the world’s most distinctive wines. 

In this episode of The Wine Lab, host Dr. Andreea Botezatu traces the story of Port from the Douro’s historic demarcation in 1756 to the precise moment fermentation is stopped with grape spirit. 

Follow the evolution of styles, from ruby’s vibrant fruit to the layered depth of long-aged tawnies, and learn how traditional lagares, the Benefício vineyar...

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In this episode of The Wine Lab, host Dr. Andreea Botezatu explores the scientific brilliance and cultural heritage of Sherry. From Andalucía’s luminous albariza soils to the flor yeasts that sculpt its aromatic identity, Sherry emerges as a wine shaped by geology, microbiology, and centuries of human expertise. We examine how fortification, performed after fermentation, determines whether a wine will age biologically as a Fino or oxidatively as an Oloroso, and how the solera system maintains continuity acro...

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Icewine is one of the most challenging and extraordinary wines ever produced,a liquid born from winter itself. In this episode of The Wine Lab, Dr. Andreea Botezatu explores how a frozen accident in 1794 became one of the modern wine world’s most coveted styles. We travel from Germany to Canada’s Niagara Peninsula, through vineyards picked at –10°C, and into fermenters battling extreme osmotic stress, soaring Brix, and yeast pushed to its limits.

From the brutal harvest nights to the chemistry of freezing, from osmotol...

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Before Champagne perfected the art of bubbles, there was pétillant naturel or pét-nat -  the ancestral, gracefully imperfect  way to make sparkling wine. In this episode of The Wine Lab, we explore the chemistry, the history, and the somewhat controlled chaos that defines this naturally effervescent style.

Why does pét-nat fizz differently? What actually happens when fermentation finishes inside a sealed bottle? And why are winemakers, from the Loire to California, falling back in love with this centuries-old technique?

From carbo...

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What makes Prosecco so different from Champagne or Cava?

 In this episode, Andreea takes you inside the tanks (almost literally) to explore the Charmat method, the clever bit of winemaking engineering that gives Prosecco its bright, floral personality.

We’ll look at how Glera grapes, stainless-steel pressure tanks, and precise temperature control create a wine built on freshness rather than aging. You’ll learn what “tirage” and “dosage” mean in Prosecco, why it skips lees aging, and how its chemistry translates into texture, aroma, and food pair...

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Across Europe, bubbles tell stories. In this episode of The Wine Lab, we explore two sparkling legends - Champagne and Cava -  both born from the same meticulous process yet shaped by different lands, grapes, and histories.

We’ll uncover how the traditional method transforms still wine into a storm of fine bubbles, why the same Brut label can taste drier in Champagne than in Cava, and how yeast, sugar, and time create that signature creamy texture and brioche aroma...

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In this episode of The Wine Lab, Andreea takes you inside one of winemaking’s most iconic tools — the oak barrel. From Celtic craftsmanship to modern coopering, we’ll explore how fire, oxygen, and time turn simple wood into a vessel of transformation.

Discover why oak became the gold standard, what happens during toasting, and how micro-oxygenation softens tannins and stabilizes color. Learn about the differences between French, American, and Hungarian oak, the chemistry behind aging, and even the future of sustainable cooperage — including experimental ideas like biochar...

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In this episode of The Wine Lab, we explore the science and story of tannins: what they are, where they come from, and why some wines feel silky while others grip your gums.

From the ancient craft of leather tanning to modern barrel aging, we trace how these polyphenolic compounds shape wine’s structure, color, and longevity. We’ll look at how fermentation temperature, pH, and rising alcohol shift what gets extracted from skins and seeds — and how acidity changes the way tannins feel on your palate.

Y...

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What do Port, Sherry, Madeira, Marsala, and Vermouth all have in common? They’re wines with an extra ingredient — spirit. In this episode of The Wine Lab, Dr. Andreea Botezatu explores how fortification began as a practical solution for preserving wine on long sea voyages and evolved into a craft that shaped trade, taste, and culture.

From Shakespeare’s Falstaff praising “sack” to George Washington’s love for Madeira, we’ll travel through history and a little chemistry to understand what makes fortified wines so endur...

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Everyone knows the story of Dom Pérignon — the monk who invented Champagne and declared he was “tasting the stars.” But history tells a very different tale. In this episode of The Wine Lab, we uncover the truth behind one of wine’s most enduring myths.

Dom Pérignon didn’t create sparkling wine at all! In fact, he spent much of his life trying to eliminate bubbles from the Abbey of Hautvillers’ wines. Yet his innovations in grape selection, blending, and cellar practices laid the foundation for the Champa...

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In the late 1800s, an almost invisible insect began destroying Europe’s vineyards. This episode of The Wine Lab takes you inside the phylloxera crisis — from the first mysterious vine deaths in France to the desperate experiments, scientific breakthroughs, and global collaboration that saved wine from near extinction. Along the way, we meet the heroes of the story, including Texan horticulturist T.V. Munson, whose work with American rootstocks helped rescue French viticulture. Discover how this tiny pest reshaped winemaking traditions, why grafted vines are now the global standard, and...

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Cork is everywhere in the world of wine, from the quiet of a cellar to the noise of a celebration. But how did this small stopper come to influence the way wines age, the rituals of opening a bottle, and even the way we think about quality? In this episode of The Wine Lab, we explore the science, the history, and the culture wrapped up in every cork, and ponder why it remains central to wine today. 

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 Is wine really “full of sugar”? What about those “zero sugar” labels, or the idea that wine is keto-friendly? In this episode of The Wine Lab, Andreea breaks down what you need to know about sugar in wine — from grapes on the vine to yeast in the tank, from chaptalization in Burgundy to back-sweetening in Riesling, and from Champagne dosage to carbs and calories. Along the way, we’ll uncover what’s legal, what’s marketing, and what really ends up in your glass. 

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