Wine is a magical thing, it has been around for thousands of years and has evolved and grown through many generations of people in many countries. Today, people indulge in wine as if there is a shortage and many people are taking advantage of wine cellars UK to store as much as they can. But what is worse than no wine at all? Wine that has gone off. Imagine cracking open a nice bottle of Bodegas Roda Cirsion just to find out that it has gone bad! Oh, the humanity! To avoid this unspeakable disaster, here are our top tips on how to tell if wine has gone bad.
It smells off
Wine should always smell amazing (to a wine enthusiast). If you are getting hints of mold or a slight mustiness, then it might be time to bin that bottle! Other smells to look out for are cardboard, vinegar, or even the strong smell of raisins could mean that it has turned and is no longer drinkable.
Red wine tastes sweet
You may be partial to a glass of port or a smidgen of desert wine, but if your red wine tastes like either of those two beverages when it isn’t, then it is a bad sign for your wine. This means that is has been overexposed to heat and is, therefore, unable to be consumed.
The cork is slightly out of the bottle
Similarly to if the wine tastes sweet, if you can see that the cork has been pushed slightly out of the bottle, this is a bad sign as it means that the wine has overheated and expanded in the bottle, causing the cork to come out a bit. This means that your wine is undrinkable.
The wine is almost brownish in colour
Liquids that have gotten darker and become almost brown is a massive sign that it has gone off. Red wine is likely to go a brown colour and white wine is more likely to become a deep yellow or brownish straw colour.
You can taste chemicals
Wine that doesn’t seem to taste of fruit, or is too raspy and astringent and tastes of paint thinner is definitely not drinkable. This means that the wine has gone off and will not do any good to anyone if served with dinner.
It’s fizzy, but not sparkling wine
Still wine that has turned fizzy has gone off as this means it has started a second fermentation process after it has bottled and shouldn’t be consumed at all as you didn’t know how it might affect your stomach.