What can be done if the wine has aged. Can wine go bad? How to identify homemade wine good and bad

Many of us like to prolong the pleasure by leaving some of the wine in the bottle for “tomorrow”, which sometimes comes only after a week. However, we must not forget: if the wine has stood in an open container for seven days, it better times left behind. Although, if a bottle of fortified dessert is in question, then the hopes for its safety are fully justified.

An experienced gourmet will easily understand that the days of wine are numbered. But beginners can do it too, if you follow a few rules. So, here are the criteria by which you can find signs of his untimely death in wine:

Appearance

The wine has become cloudy and leaves a film on the walls of the bottle. In some cases, dullness is the norm (if the wine is unfiltered). But if it has replaced the previous transparency and brilliance, it means that microbes are already actively developing their vigorous vital activity in the bottle.

Color change is another reason to think. When oxygen enters the wine, over time, it acquires a brown hue, like a bitten apple. By itself, this process is not detrimental to the wine, but the reddish color indicates prolonged stress that it experienced when it came into contact with air.

Sometimes tiny bubbles start to appear in the wine. This is evidence that the second fermentation has begun. That is, the wine, as if by magic, turns from still to sparkling. But, unfortunately, it will not work to save it until the next New Year: “homemade champagne” will give away soda water and something sour.

Aroma

The reason for the change in smell can be not only a long stay in an open container, but also a defect in the wine (it is found in one bottle out of seventy-five). In the first case, the smell will become sharp and rough, reviving the image of a medical or even a manicure room in your memory. Other far from the most pleasant olfactory associations are paint thinner and vinegar. All this fetid variety speaks of the activity of bacteria that produce acetaldehyde.

Taste

If you learn to determine the degree of freshness of wine by appearance and smell, you, fortunately, do not have to get acquainted with its taste. A spoiled drink will not cause serious harm to health, but it will not bring the expected pleasure either. It will taste like caramelized applesauce, and if you're even less lucky - vinegar or even horseradish, burning oral cavity with its cutting power.

Now that you know about the methods of "diagnosing" wine, it remains only to learn how to put these skills into practice. The next time you have a bottle of a clearly spoiled drink at your disposal, fix its smell in your memory. What is it - sour, garlic, or maybe nutty? This exercise will help you recognize dead wine in the future.

One of the first lectures at the wine school was devoted to the diseases of wine. At that moment, it became a discovery for me, and I hoped that this information would never be useful to me, therefore I did not pay attention to this in my posts. But about a month ago, I bought Gewurztraminer wine from a well-known chain store. I brought it home, poured it into a glass and realized that the product was worthless. The feast, for which the wine was bought, was held with tea, and I decided to return the wine to the store. If it cost 300 rubles, I might be too lazy, but it cost 1300, and I felt sorry for this money.

I spent two hours in the store, proving my case and filling out documents for examination, this is generally a separate issue - communication with customers there is simply at an embryonic level, but this is not important now. The wine was sent, and yesterday the result came and the money was returned to me. Therefore, today I want to tell you how to understand that wine is wrong and what to do.

I will not load the terminology, I will tell plain language to make it easier to remember what shouldn't be!

1. What happened to my wine - signs of secondary fermentation, vinegar flavor, wine plays and foams. Still wine (that is, ordinary wine, not sparkling) cannot afford this. Shake the bottle - a few bubbles - ok, but if the wine foams and plays (that is, bubbles, in other words), it means that oxygen has entered the bottle, and, roughly speaking, it has turned sour. Also, residual gas can be the reason that the wine was not cleaned well of bacteria, so the secondary process started and the wine began to ferment. It's a manufacturing defect, but that's not your problem. The taste of such a wine will be sour, but at the same time tasteless, perhaps a little bitter, and the bubbles will tingle the tongue. Important point- wine should have acidity, but the acid of spoiled, sour wine cannot be confused with anything.

2. Mold on cork, which may appear with poor storage. If the mold appeared on the outside, then in principle it's okay, if you find mold on the inside, in contact with the wine, side of the cork - this is a reason to return the wine. Mold may not pass into the wine, but it can produce an unpleasant musty odor.

3. Sediment- in red wines it is allowed, in white wines precipitation should not be. If you find a gray, black or brown sediment, take the wine to the store. Sometimes small particles from the cork can float in the wine - this is not scary.

4. Each variety has certain tones in taste and aroma, even if the wine is not your style, then you can feel the taste of a normal wine. If something is out of scope- a vegetable smell, the smell of rotten eggs or a rotten apple, in a word - something unpleasant, this is a reason to think seriously. For example, if wine comes into contact with copper during production, the wine will have the smell of a wet doormat and a red sediment. The truth is, I've never come across this.

5. Color- the wine should be transparent, if you understand that the wine is cloudy, then something is wrong with it.

From personal experience, I can say that it is secondary and acetic fermentation that occur most often. At the wine school, we were told that because of such a marriage, we once had to withdraw the entire batch from sale. Therefore, if you bought wine and felt something unpleasant (not “not tasty”, but unpleasant) - this is a reason to think and contact the store where you bought the wine.

If you decide to go to the store and defend your rights, then be prepared that you will most likely not be welcome. In Europe, they return the money with an apology. Ours is unlikely. At most, they will offer to exchange the bottle. This option was also offered to me, but the second bottle had the same defects - with a slight shaking, the wine played noticeably and foamed, so I insisted on an examination, although, of course, I was assured that everything was OK and “this is normal for a young wine.” Nonsense. The age of the wine has nothing to do with it, a young wine may not have a rich bouquet, but it will have the taste of wine inherent in this variety and will be quiet.

It is important to clearly state your complaints about the wine in the application. "Not tasty" - of course, will not work. Use your feelings and the simplest terminology. In my application, I wrote - "signs of secondary fermentation, vinegary taste, when the bottle is shaken, the wine plays and foams." Actually secondary fermentation and causes bubbles in large quantities. Then the wine is sent for examination (for the first time it is carried out by the store itself, that is, it is not independent). Most likely, no further action is required.
Three weeks passed from the moment the application was submitted to the moment the money was returned, to be honest, I did not expect an answer from them. Moreover, at first I didn’t even want to waste time and nerves on returning the bottle, but then I felt offended. And I also feel sorry for the money, they don’t fall from the sky to me. In the end, I am very pleased with myself and the fact that I was able to defend my case. Therefore, if you bought a low-quality or damaged product, make the store treat you with respect.

I once returned spoiled meat to another well-known (and quite expensive) chain store. At first they also tried to assure that everything was ok, but in the end they cut it from another piece, and everything really became ok. So fight for your rights!!

ps This post does not claim to be a scientific article!

Homemade wine is made according to different recipes, from different ingredients and often with the addition of others, such as cognac, liquor, white and red wines for blending. It is on the composition and recipe that the ripening period of the drink largely depends.

The most famous homeland of homemade wine is France, for many centuries the French have been making wine using their unique technologies.

Recipe features

There are various time frames for how long a wine must stand to ferment. For example, if you want to get a young wine, not very sparkling, then 10-15 days will be enough, provided that you see that almost all the gas bubbles have come out of the bottle.

homemade wine ingredients

The period of infusion of wine depends directly on its filling. For example, wine from rowan berries is aged for a whole year, from gooseberries - for six months, and the most "fast" options for wine material: currants and cherries. You can taste wines from these berries in 2 months.

Signs of wine readiness

One of the signs of wine readiness is its color. The wine should lighten, and all the cloudy sediment should remain at the bottom. The drink at least twice during the entire fermentation period will need to be carefully poured into another container so that the sediment remains in the old bottle. Experienced winemakers recommend draining wine regularly - once a month or two. The more often you pour a drink into a new bottle, leaving sediment in the old container, the better your wine will turn out, it will have an amazing light shade.

It is also important not to forget that during the period when the wine is infused, it must be placed in a dark room, preferably one where it is cool.

Do not forget that the longer the wine is infused, the more strong and tart taste it will have.

Many people use a rubber glove instead of a cork on the bottle, it is believed that if the glove no longer inflates, the wine is ready and all the bubbles have already come out. You can also make a hole in the cork and stick an ordinary drinking tube there, through which all gases will escape during the fermentation period.

If you follow these fairly simple rules, you will definitely be able to understand whether your wine is ready.

Becoming a good winemaker is not easy. This will take months, if not years of constant practice. Creation different varieties wines: white, red, rose and sparkling. Fermentation, maturation... But then - the pleasure of your own success. Praise from family and friends.

But there are failures even among professionals. It happens that the wine after cooking turned into vinegar. The characteristic smell, sour taste - completely discourage the desire to drink such a drink. And the long-awaited "masterpiece" is sent straight to the sink.

Souring of wine is a fairly common wine disease. It can affect any wine, including those with a long exposure. An alcoholic drink can turn into vinegar in a very short time. In this case, the entire container will become unusable.

Why does homemade wine turn into vinegar? Possible reasons how to learn about the beginning of the process and what to do to avoid souring - read on.

Causes of souring

In order for the wine not to be disposed of, first of all, it is necessary to observe the correct technological conditions when creating it.

The main culprits of vinegar souring are bacteria. Their appearance in wine is almost impossible to exclude. Even if you carefully sterilize all the equipment, they will be on the surface of the fruit. But they can harm the drink only in two cases:

• at high temperature storage (from 15 to 40 degrees Celsius);
• with a large amount of oxygen in the fermentation tank.

Such conditions create a favorable environment for the active activity of microorganisms. In addition, they begin to multiply rapidly. Bacteria destroy alcohol molecules, starting the process of acetic fermentation. It will take about 3-6 days for the wine to turn into vinegar. It all depends on the amount of oxygen, the characteristics of the wine drink and the temperature. After this time, the volume of alcohol in the liquid will be no more than 2%.

It is not difficult to determine that vinegar is already in front of you. A thin white film forms on the surface of the wine. There is a strong odor and a sour taste. The alcohol content is almost non-existent.

This happens not only with homemade wines, but also with factory wines. Large manufacturers, as a rule, solve the problem with additives. The most commonly used preservative is E220 (sulfur dioxide). It is added to almost every bottle of shop wine. It prevents the development of microorganisms, therefore, keeps alcohol from spoilage. At home, adding such a substance to wine is not recommended. Violation of the dosage will make the alcoholic drink hazardous to health.

How to save

It is impossible to fix wine that has already become vinegar. The only way to save a drink is to initial stage acetic fermentation, the first day or two. How to understand that the process of turning into vinegar is running? Main features:

• slight vinegar smell;
• unpleasant taste;
• light bluish film on the surface.

Noticing such alarming signals, you should not hesitate. Because bacteria won't wait. So what needs to be done.

1. Immediately remove the wine containers to a cool place, with a temperature not exceeding 9 degrees Celsius.

2. Carefully remove the film from the surface of the liquid.

3. Pour the drink into clean, sterilized bottles. All containers must be filled to the top to avoid contact of wine with oxygen.

4. Put all the containers in a large saucepan on a wooden stand and pour water up to the level of the corks.

5. Heat the water to 65 degrees Celsius and soak the bottles in it for about 10-15 minutes. Cool down.

If pasteurization has not helped, and the wine still tastes like vinegar, it is wiser to find another use for it. Both red and white wine will make good quality vinegar. To do this, leave a glass container with sour wine open for several weeks. All this time, you should observe a temperature regime of 20-22 degrees Celsius.

Winemakers take note

In order not to encounter wine diseases, it is necessary to strictly observe all stages of wine production. Any mistake in the recipe will result in spoilage. As a result, you will translate good products and waste your energy.

A few tips for preventing wine souring.

• When making home wine, use clean and dry appliances. All containers and equipment are subject to sterilization with boiling water.
• Pick grapes carefully. Throw away rotten and moldy berries.
• Watch the quality of the water and sugar you use.
• Dilute the wort to a minimum with water. This can lower its acidity and spread bacteria.
• Use a water seal during fermentation. It prevents the penetration of oxygen into the wort and removes carbon dioxide to the outside. A rubber glove also works well as a water seal. It is put on the neck of the bottle and one finger is pierced.
• Wine should be stored in a cool room no higher than 10 degrees.
• Do not neglect any of the manufacturing steps. Violation of any point can lead to the formation of vinegar.
• Drink wine within the specified time. Homemade alcohol should be drunk one and a half to two years after it was made.

Many winemakers make mistakes. Therefore, it is worthwhile to protect yourself from vinegar poisoning in advance. An alcohol meter will help distinguish wine from vinegar essence. If the device indicates the absence of alcohol in the drink, this is clearly not wine. Be sure to remember exactly where you made a mistake and only then try again.

The shelf life of most elite wines is not limited. Drinks of a lower class are stored less: white wines - 3 years, reds - no more than 10 years. The shelf life of alcohol depends on the content of sugar, acids and tannins in it. A spoiled drink can always be identified by characteristic indicators.

The wine has been left open for more than seven days.

Many people like to leave an unfinished drink for later. But usually the moment of its repeated use comes not earlier than in a week. It is worth remembering: if the wine stood open for about a week, then most likely it has lost all its properties. Only fortified dessert wine can be stored for a long time. And the remains of other drinks are best used as a marinade.

Bad smell

The repulsive and unpleasant aroma emanating from the drink is the main sign of its spoilage. The reasons for its appearance can be different - from poorly washed equipment in production and poor control when picking berries to the influence of trichloranisole. Musty basement odors, spoiled eggs, and mouse droppings may be present in spoiled product. It must be remembered that high-quality and good wine smells pleasant and gives pleasure. If an unpleasant odor emanates from the product, then something is wrong with it.

sweet taste

The wine should have a harmonious taste with a slight acidity and a pleasant aftertaste. It should constantly change flavors, resembling a good ripe fruit or berries. Therefore, it is important to listen to feelings. And the presence of bitterness, excessive sweetness or vinegar taste indicates its deterioration during storage.
An unbalanced taste may be due to the inexperience of the master or an error in production.

If the wine has become too sweet, then it is better to get rid of it. This occurs when storage standards are not followed.

If the cork sticks out of the bottle slightly, even though you haven't even taken out the corkscrew yet, then the drink is overheated. You should not use it, as undesirable chemical reactions begin to take place in it.

brownish tint

Changing the shade of an alcoholic drink is another reason to stop drinking it. When oxygen enters the wine, it acquires a brown tint. This process does not spoil the other indicators of the drinks, but indicates prolonged contact with oxygen.

Have you noticed a chemical taste?

If, when tasting a drink, a clear chemical aftertaste is felt in it, then it is better to refuse to use such wine. This sign is not an indicator of spoilage. Drinks that were originally prepared incorrectly with the addition of dyes, flavor enhancers and preservatives have a chemical aftertaste.

It looks like the wine is carbonated, but it's not sparkling

If there is such a sign, then it is better to stop using it. Do not hope that this is a young wine. In a good drink, this should not happen.