Red wine in bad condition. How to know if a wine is pitted and in poor condition. It is not always easy to see if a wine is pitted or in poor condition.
We say that a wine is bad when its smell and flavor are not adequate.
The pitting of a wine is something very common and we should not be alarmed. The pitting is caused by a bacteria, acetic bacteria.
This bacteria needs oxygen to live, which tells us that if a wine is pungent it is because air has entered the bottle. Normally it is because the cap is in poor condition and has allowed air to pass through.
Red wine in bad condition
If we are not wine experts, we cannot identify with the naked eye whether a wine is good or bad. Let’s look at some considerations.
How does chopping occurs
The sharpness of the wine is produced by the contact of oxygen with alcohol, which gives rise to acetic bacteria, and the sum of the three elements produces acetic acid.
Oxygen+alcohol+bacteria = acetic acid
Bacteria, in contact with oxygen, slowly oxidize the alcohol in the wine, which is transformed into acetic acid and ethyl acetate.
This ethyl acetate is what provides the characteristic vinegar smell.
Therefore, by avoiding contact of the wine with the air, we will largely prevent the wine from spoiling.
Today, winemaking and conservation techniques, and the proper use of sulfites, prevent the creation of these microorganisms.
Wines with traces of sugar, low alcohol or low acidity are the most conducive to the creation of acetic bacteria.
How we detect wine in bad condition
The most common thing is to detect it by smell and taste. If when tasting a wine it smells bad and tastes like vinegar, the wine is in poor condition, and therefore should not be consumed.
This wine should be rejected and never drunk.
Sometimes the wine is not completely bad, that is, its degree of oxidation has not yet reached its highest point, and therefore its smell and flavor are not very pronounced like vinegar.
In these cases it is best to wait a while before consuming it definitively and see how the wine evolves (eyesight, nose and mouth).
Alerts to detect wine in poor condition
We have already seen how the smell and taste of wine can tell us the level of condition it has.
In addition, there are a series of alerts or signs that can tell us before trying the wine if it is in poor condition. These signs are:
bulging capsules: it indicates that there is air between the capsule and the cork.
Protruding cap: the cap is slightly protruding and presses against the capsule.
The level of wine in the bottle is clearly lower than usual.
grounds in wine
Unsuitable color
The time elapsed since bottling: in young wines, more than five years.
The temperature of the bottle: an excess of temperature should alert us.
Consequences of consuming wine in poor condition
First of all, we should not be alarmed by having consumed a wine that is not good. Nothing happens, since what we are ingesting is vinegar, and this is not toxic unless we consume large quantities.
However, for greater peace of mind we can go to the nearest pharmacy and get a stomach antacid, for greater peace of mind.
Other factors that cause it
The cork can be another factor that causes a wine to taste.
It is the so-called “cork smell”. In this case we are going to detect it because the wine has traces of cork in its bottle, and when we open it we perceive a musty smell.
The smell is unmistakable as it has a characteristic smell of wet cardboard.
How to take advantage of spoiled wine
A wine in poor condition should not necessarily be eliminated. Here we leave some applications of a wine in bad condition:
1.-Wash fruits and vegetables: alcohol dissolves impurities and kills some types of pathogens such as salmonella.
2.- Facial mask: the antioxidant power of wine provides benefits to the skin when applied directly.
3.-Clean grease stains: especially oil stains on the garage floor.
4.- Heal bruises: wine is rich in flavonoids, a natural antioxidant that has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body.
5.- Clean glass: a wine in poor condition is almost vinegar, and it cleans glass and mirrors perfectly.
6.- Cooking: add wine to any stew, to enhance the flavor of what is cooked.
7.- Make vinegar: leaving the bottle open at room temperature for 2 to 3 weeks, it will turn into vinegar.
How to fix spoiled wine
A wine cannot always be redirected. There are some homemade ways to fix a wine in an initial state of oxidation.
1.- If the cork has a wet part and a dry part, possibly changing the container several times and aerating it, we can quickly eliminate most of the vinegary smell and flavor.
2.-When it is due to the cork, we observe pieces of cork in the liquid, it is usually due to TCA (trichloroanisole), a substance that adheres to plastics easily.
In these cases, putting a piece of kitchen film in the bottle and putting it in contact with the wine will solve the problem to a large extent.
Before finishing, we want to recommend a good broth to accompany your rice and pasta dishes, we are talking about the Gran Albina Reserva red wine, a Rioja with a very reasonable price and great quality.