Whether your bottle is open or unopen, it may spoil if you do not store it correctly. It’s always good to learn carefully about your favorite, not only make you expert at it, but also not harm your health.
Depending on your bottle, it is ready- to drink or good for aging. You can plan on storing or consuming your wine. Here below is expiration estimate for different bottle for your reference:
- Bottled white wine: 1–2 years
- Bottled rosé: 1–2 years
- Bottled red wine: 2–3 years
- Non-vintage sparkling wine: 3–4 years
- Vintage sparkling wine: 5–10 years
- Fortified wine: decades
Can You Still Drink Old Wine?
It is possible for wine to go bad even when it’s unopened or even though it has a longer shelf life than opened wine. Wine does not expire exactly the date printed on it, so you still can consume as long as there is nothing changed with your wine.
Some Tips To Know Your Wine Has Gone Bad
Signs may show that a bottle of wine has gone bad.
- Color
First thing observed is your wine color. Take note of your wine color after opening the bottle, any change may show that your wine has already gone bad.
A red wine that has gone bad might change to a brown color, while a white wine may turn dark or have a deep yellow or brownish color when it goes bad. Transfer your wine to a wine glass and check the color oftenly if it goes bad.
2. Smell
If the wine has gone bad, it will bring the smell that you can easily guess. These can include a sharp, vinegar-like odor. If the wine has already stale, it’s small also changes. Some one says stale wine has a nut that is similar to burnt marshmallows or applesauce.
Some wine may go bad even before it’s opened or stored, because it’s the wine itself’s fault by the winery or manufacturer. Faulty wine can smell like garlic odor or cabbage or burnt rubber.
3. Taste
Nobody wants to drink wine that has already gone bad. However, in some cases, tasting a small amount is a good way to determine if the wine is still okay to consume.
The flavor surely changes when the wine goes bad. Bad wine has a sour taste resembling that of vinegar. It may also slightly shock a person’s nasal passage due to the strong odor and flavor.
Or in some cases, if wine has gone bad, it may have a very strong chemical taste, same as paint thinner.
4. Bubbles in the wine
Bubbles are present in a still wine, this sign that the wine is in fermenting. This process usually occurs due to yeasts that may still be active in the wine.
Health Risks of Consuming Old Wine or Can Old Wine Make You Sick?
Old wine might not cause you any sickness but still suggest consuming a big amount of old wine. Old wine occurs due to oxidation, meaning that the wine may turn sour like vinegar. Although it may taste unpleasant.
If you believe that your wine has gone bad, you should simply dispose of it or make use of it for some cooking purpose, as it will taste unpleasant and disappointing. I don’t think you want to get any more wine when it already tastes weird.
**Few suggestion you can try to repurpose your old wine bottle
- Make vinegar: First you need to get some vinegar which has some vinegar mother in it. Follow the portion of 3 wines: 1 vinegar. Then bring for cool in a dark place for a month.
- Use it like cooking wine: You can add in your salad dressing sauce ingredient your old wine instead of normal cooking wine, or also use it for a steam meat dish.
Conclusion on Can Old Wine Make You Sick?
Old wine may not taste as good as when you first poke your bottle, but it won’t risk you in any way. If you have quite a lot of leftovers you need to keep, make sure that all of them are re-cork well, and sit in a dark cool place with no UV rays, no vibration. Just make sure that you provide proper elements (temperature, humidity and light). Since all the bottles are opened, it’s good to quickly finish them.
