Wine is only as good as the people with whom it is being shared.
 
Say No To Spoiled Wine

Say No To Spoiled Wine

When it comes to enjoying a nice bottle of wine at home, I can’t do it with my beautiful wife because she doesn’t drink. What can I say… love is blind and lovers cannot see. However, I have high hopes to be able to do this with my sons, though I must wait a few years. Considering they are both still in grade school, it is the right thing to do in spite of our French origins.

All this to say that if I open a bottle of wine, I get no help from my family. Sure, I occasionally share a bottle of wine with a good friend, but that’s few and far between. So when I feel like opening a nice bottle of wine to pair a delicious meal, I will drink two glasses for dinner, maybe three and that’s about it. Half of the wine remains. Just the idea of this delicious beverage still sitting in the bottle, getting spoiled with every minute that goes by, makes me unhappy. But there are ways to fix unhappiness.

The first option that comes to mind – the most obvious by a long shot – is to finish the bottle. This will have the certainty to make me happy, along with some other symptoms I’d rather not share. The second option is a little more conservative and responsible: let me introduce you to the wine pump!

What does it do? It creates a void in the bottle by conveniently sucking as much air as possible. Air (21% of the air since we’re talking about oxygen) will oxidize your wine. Removing it from the bottle will preserve your wine and make it last longer. That said, you should always try to finish a bottle within 48 hours. After that, I can’t help you. You can get this convenient little apparatus in black or silver, plastic or metal, manual or electric, any shape or size; they even make some with a built-in thermometer! I bet you can get one in pure gold or diamond encrusted… alright, maybe not.

So do yourself a favor and go on Amazon. I’m sure you’ll find the one that fits your needs. They retail from $10 to $40 depending on the features you want. These should get you started in your search for the perfect wine pump:

Now you have no excuse… say no to spoiled wine by getting a wine pump today.
Pump it or lose it!

 

 

FAQ: How do you know if a wine is good or bad? – The first test is simple, smell it. If the smell of the wine does not invite you in for a sip it is most likely spoiled. If the wine’s aroma is moldy or resembles a musty basement, wet cardboard, or vinegar, it’s turned. A heavy raisin smell is another bad signal.

Other obvious signs are:
– When the cork is pushed out slightly from the bottle, it’s a sign the wine has overheated and expanded within the bottle.
– Examine the color. A brown hue in red wine demonstrates that the liquid is past its prime. White wines that have darkened to a deep yellow or brownish straw color are usually oxidized.
– Wine that lacks fruit, is raspy, or has a paint-thinner taste is usually bad.
– A still wine that is fizzy or effervescent has undergone a second fermentation after the bottling and shouldn’t be enjoyed.

Although the term “corked” commonly refers to wine that has gone bad, inspecting the cork alone will not determine if the wine is tainted. I once opened a very old Mercurey Burgundy (v.1947) from my grandfather’s cellar. Though the wine had already saturated more than half of the cork, it was fine. Actually, it was wonderful… but that’s another story. Be sure to smell and examine the actual liquid before jumping to conclusion.

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  1. Pingback: Wine Facts [Part 7] Wine Ponder

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