Has It Gone Bad? When to Know Wine is Turned.

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by Adam Haggerty

April 18th, 2013

 

 

If I had to guess, I’d say that you drank a glass of wine and had no idea that it had gone bad. You probably just thought to yourself “this isn’t very good” or maybe you didn’t notice at all. Did you know this is the entire reason why a waiter has you taste a bottle of wine before he serves it? Unlike what many believe, it’s not for seeing if you like the wine. So how do you know if a bottle has turned, oxidized, gone bad…died.


Smelling it should be your first indication. There have been many times where I pulled the cork from the bottle and was immediately hit with a “smell”. Sometimes it’s nothing, but sometimes it's bad. Bad being, damn it I spent too much money on this bottle. Typically, I will then check the cork to see if wine managed to bleed through it. Seeing a cork that has bled through doesn’t always mean the bottle has turned. If it did though, it’s because air got into the bottle and changed the chemistry of the wine.

 


The wine is now in the glass and no smell was evident. Well, smell again. Get your nose right to the rim of the glass and take in a nice sniff. If the wine is good, the smell should be pleasant and very inviting. If the wine is bad, you’ll most likely smell unpleasant vinegar and a little sour. If you’re still not sure, drink it. Take in a nice healthy gulp and let your taste buds tell you what’s up. Trust your palette, if you taste something off, or again, a vinegar/sour taste, then your wine has gone bad. If blueberry, chocolate, strawberry, leather etc. isn’t one of the first things you taste, you could be looking for trouble. If you’re at a restaurant and are still not sure, ask someone who is with you to taste it, because you’re either drinking the bottle or it’s getting tossed.


Sometimes, after all these different steps of seeing if a bottle has turned, you might still find yourself unsure. This is the final test and is usually a pretty sure fire way of telling. Take a look. Hold your glass of wine up to the light and if it has a golden ring on top…bad. The ring won’t always be easy to tell, it might be clear as day or very slight. If the bottle is good, the color should be fluid throughout.

 


So there you have it, your tell signs that a bottle has gone evil. Quick little side note, if you just recently bought a bottle and found that it has gone bad, try returning it to the wine shop where you got it from. I say wine shop because they’re typically better about taking back bad wine. A liquor store won’t be so forgiving. I hope you never, ever, ever find yourself in a bad wine situation. Pop a bottle and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Adam Haggerty

 

 

Follow me @AdamHaggerty