We've all been there. You threw a dinner party and were gifted various fine wines that you and your friends just had to try out. They look fancy—one of them has alabel with an illustration of an orca whale breaching in the distance. The leftover wine sits on your counter half empty and by the time you pick it up to use in a beefy braise or stew, it’s been upward of a week. As you stare into the bottle, you can’t help but wonder: Does wine go bad?
Does wine go bad?
I hate to report that wine does go bad. It all has to do with oxidation, a chemical reaction that converts ethanol to acetaldehyde as a result of air exposure. It’s an essential part of winemaking. Oxidation can happen through introduction to air in the winemaking process, during fermentation, during aging time in the barrel, or during corking—it’s very normal!
As our professional sommelier explains, exposing certain wines to air is common practice to “let it breathe”. As she puts it, “We’re unlocking the aromas and waking up that bottle. But there is a shelf life, unless you want to turn it to actual vinegar, which one could do.” Oxidation can easily change the wine taste, increasing its levels of acetic acid and turning its flavors flat. The once-vibrant berry bouquet of your favorite Pinot Noir may start to smell stale and vinegary instead.
Lots of winemakers use sulfur preservatives to protect the wine from the oxidation process, so wines with less sulfur can turn vinegary more quickly. Bacteria can also interact with the open bottle of wine, causing spoilage and changing the flavor and viscosity.More...
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