does wine ever go bad?

Answer 1

It sure can! Wine does have an upper age limit. Anything over 25 years old is for show and collection, not for drinking. Even when it's been stored in ideal conditions the quality would go downhill (unlike Scotch, for example). A rule of thumb is that the more expensive the wine, the longer the shelf life. Anything for $10 or under (red or white) should be consumed in 1-2 years (3 max), even when stored under ideal conditions. More commonly, wine can turn to vinegar when it's oxidized (this requires exposure to air). People have known about this for thousands of years. In fact, it's the bases for some Jewish laws (about food storage) and also New Testament Bible stories. The Catholic church considers it to be a problem to serve wine that's gone bad (or vinegar) at communion. (This implies that it's leftover from a previous service, which is itself not OK. That's why the priest has to drink all of the consecrated wine that's leftover!)

How wine tastes is a personal issue and can vary person to person based on how your particular taste buds interact with the chemicals in the wine. But sometimes, it's just objectively bad, even when it's not old. How do you tell when you just don't like the taste of a particular bottle of wine vs. when it's gone bad and needs to be thrown out?

Corked
The most common flaw in wine comes from a defective cork that infects the wine and turns the aroma to a mildewed, wet-cardboard smell and the taste to a flattened, dried out sensation. The wine is called "corked" or "corky."

Oxidized
The oxygen in air makes a good wine go bad in a day or two if an opened bottle isn't properly looked after. An oxidized wine smells to me like stale bread or weak vinegar. This a particular hazard with wines by the glass at restaurants, where half-empty bottles are often kept on the bar overnight. Refrigeration helps, even for reds.

Cooked
Wine can be "cooked" if kept in hot attics or trunks, above stoves or in frugally minded corporate offices where the AC is turned off over the weekends. It's a slow simmer, but the wine gets ruined before long. It will look brownish around the edges of the glass (whether red or white) and may smell caramelized. If you also noticed that the cork in the bottle was pushed up and partway out, it's probably cooked.

Going through malolactic
Winemakers put most red wines and many whites, especially Chardonnay, through a mild secondary transformation in addition to the yeast fermentation that turns them from grape juice into wine. the conversion is called malolactic. But if a winemaker isn't careful, the malolactic can happen after wine is bottled. The result can vary from a mild effervescence to a totally stinky aroma and bizarre flavors. One frequent sign is an unusually cloudy or hazy appearance.

Sulfury
Sulfur dioxide is added to virtually all wines in very small quantities to prevent oxidation and bacterial growth. That's why you see the note on the label that says "Contains Sulfides." Sulfur is a good thing in moderation, but if the winemaker goofs and adds too much, then the wine smells like matchsticks and can prickle the inside of your nostrils. It's not wise to drink it. Another wrinkle on the sulfur problem is when a wine smells like rotten eggs.

Answer 2

Does Wine Ever Go Bad

Answer 3

Yes and no. Wine can certainly age beyond its peak; however, it doesn't spoil, insofar as spoilage implies the growth of some microbial agent. Since fermentation is halted prior to bottling, the alcohol content cannot increase with time, and can even decrease after many years in the cellar.

Unfortunately, cork can only form an air-tight seal if it remains moist, and a wine that has been left upright for too long such that the cork has been allowed to dry will often sherry in the bottle.

So as long as the wine is tannic enough to need aging, the wine is filtered properly, and the cork is kept moist, the aging process should turn an acrid, youthful wine into a fuller, mellower complement to your meal.

Answer 4

Yes.

Wine can go bad over time, or if stored improperly.

white wine lasts for about 6 to 7 years. You usually want to drink white wine that is less than 5 years old.

Most red wines go bad after about 20 years. You don't want to drink most red wines unless they are at least 3 years old, or older. I usually buy a bottle of red wine and let it sit for a couple of years.

Answer 5

As a home winemaker there are lots of things that make wine go bad. Anything from lack of sanitation to exposing it to sun light. The most common cause is a bad cork. The quaility of natural corks has gone down. Several well known wineries are going with screw caps now as this is the best way to seal the bottle.

Answer 6

Hi. I purchased 18 bottles of Yalumba Signatures wines in 1997 in Melbourne, it stated that the wine is good for consumption from 2012 to 2015. We store them in wine cooler.
Recently we took it out to drink. It taste awful. Pls advise what can be wrong ? What can we do ?

Answer 7

Not all wine is meant to age. The lighter one shouldn't be aged at all.

As far as the ones that you can age, you have to do it properly. You have to leave them on their sides so the cork doesn't dry out and it has to be at a cool temperature. If you don't do these, the wine will eventually go bad.

Answer 8

Not in my house it doesn't!! But, yes, it can, if it's stored too warm and too long. It becomes vinegar. I also don't like wine refrigerated, so, whether it technically "goes bad", the only "wine" I put in my refrigerator is some really cheap stuff that you have to unscrew the top instead of uncork it. God Bless you.

Answer 9

Reds usually spoil faster than whites. Once oxygen gets at a wine, it beings transformation to vinegar. A white will usually be good for a week if refrigerated... reds I won't keep more than 48 hours. In your case, throw it out (or leave it a bit longer and use it in a salad dressing as a vinegar).

Answer 10

Yes, especially if it is exposed to air. If a cork is bad and air gets into the bottle the wine will smell and taste very bad.