Your question about how to avoid a swampy, reductive odor in your Chardonnay after bottling is an interesting one. For readers who may not be aware, “reductive” is a non-exact sensory term often used to signal rotten egg or hydrogen sulfide-type aromas. Hydrogen sulfide in wine can be caused by a few different things but is most often produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae during fermentation, usually due to a nutrient or amino acid deficiency. Since you don’t specifically mention rotten eggs here, and because you say your wine smells fine right before bottlings, I’ll assume we’re not talking about a classic “rotten egg” hydrogen sulfide problem. Ruling out hydrogen sulfide and the related mercaptan and sulfide-containing compounds that are corollary defects, I’m assuming you’re talking “swampy and reductive” in a more general sense. Not knowing more particulars is tough, but since the defect seems to be catalyzed when you bottle your wine, let’s investigate a few areas. First, don’t bottle your wine too soon. Sometimes, right after harvest, I go to the winery and want to take a 750 mL bottle
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