How can you tell if your wine is past its prime? Here are three simple surefire ways to tell if your wine is undrinkable.
Eyes
Look for any signs of brown or deep yellow hues in your red and white wine. It’s a common misconception that a change in the color of the wine means that the wine is aging. When a red wine turns brown or a white wine starts to look more golden or brown, this is usually a sign that it is oxidized.
White wines like pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc should always have a vibrant, bright, pale to light yellow color.
Red wines can range from translucent ruby reds to rich, dark purples. If your wine has a rusty hue or brown coloring this is a clear sign that it’s oxidized and it’s best to toss it out.
If you notice that the cork is pushed out from the bottle, this is a clear sign that the wine has overheated and has bloated within the bottle.
Nose
Always trust your nose when it comes to sniffing out stale wine. When you draw in a glass of wine, you want to smell notes of fruits, herbs and spices. Old world wines will have muskier, earthy aromas like mushroom. If your nose picks up an aroma similar to a wet dog, raisins, vinegar, cardboard or a musty basement, that may be a sign that your wine has turned. In some cases, the barnyard scent is desirable. Due to the variations in “funky” aromas of wine, it can sometimes be difficult to judge a wine on scent alone.
Mouth
There are a number of ways that your tastebuds will tell you if your wine is spoiled. If it looks bad, smells bad, and tastes bad – it’s most likely chemically flawed.
Red wine (that isn’t dessert wine) should never taste sweet. If your red wine starts to taste sweet, it has been overheated. If your wine is bubbly and fizzy — but it’s not a sparkling wine – it has undergone a process of second fermentation after it has been bottled. Wine that has the taste of astringent or paint thinner is undrinkable. You should avoid drinking any wine that is overheated or has undergone a second fermentation.
