After a long day, there’s nothing you look forward to more than winding down and relaxing with a glass of your favorite wine. Sometimes, though, we experience a tragedy that every vino lover has undoubtedly encountered – a once-perfectly good bottle of wine gone bad. As heartbreaking as this can be, there are a few key ways you can tell if your wine has become flawed before your night becomes unsalvageable. Here’s how you can detect bad wine like a true pro:

By Sight

First of all, take a good look at your bottle of wine. Is the color lackluster, cloudy, a browner hue, or just appears to be “off”? This could be a solid indicator that your wine has suffered from a certain degree of stress and is undrinkable. The bottle’s cork can also give away the wine’s condition. If the cork is pushed out slightly, that means it has been in contact with air for too long, which makes the wine deteriorate.

Also, if you notice any tiny bubbles in the beverage and it isn’t a sparkling wine to begin with, then your wine has undergone a secondary fermentation. We don’t recommend drinking it pretending it’s a sparkling wine – you’ll be disappointed by the sour, spritz-y taste.

Please note that aged wine may possess a darker hue, but younger wine should not.

By Smell

If you aren’t certain of the condition of your wine, take the next step and employ your olfactory senses. Pour a little in a glass, swirl gently, and take a whiff. Does it smell moldy, musty, acetic, or otherwise unpleasant? This could be a sign that the bottle is either flawed or was left open for too long. Wine is a living beverage, and in time, chemical reactions will tap the bacteria within to begin converting the alcohol into acetic acid (essentially, vinegar). Don’t drink fancy vinegar – preserve your palette from despair and cut your losses.

By Taste

Let’s say you’ve smelled the wine in question and feel confident enough to give it a taste test. There are a few markers that will indicate that your wine is bad. An overly sweet red wine (that isn’t Port or a dessert wine) or the aforementioned fizziness in a non-sparkling wine can tell you that something’s off. Additionally, a sharp taste akin to vinegar is a sign that you should throw out the wine.

If you wind up drinking bad wine, don’t worry – it generally won’t hurt you. We just wish to spare you from the travesty! After all, life’s too short to waste on inferior wine. To keep your vino fresh and enjoyable, store it sideways in a chilled, dark location. Should you encounter a bad bottle, take a moment to restock on our award-winning wines! Our wine is available for shipping or pickup, all with a click of a few buttons!