How to detect if your wine has gone bad?

Though the general rule says that if the wine is kept open for over a week it goes bad, there are still a few exceptions to this, such as in case of dessert wines. But sometimes we become hesitant if we should consume wine or not. You might have seen experience drinkers instantly telling if the wine is in potable condition or not. You must be wondering how do they do that right? Well, no worries, mentioned below are some points through which you can easily differentiate between a fresh wine and a wine that has gone bad.

• The first and the foremost thing you should go for while testing a wine is its aroma. You’d get the smell of wet cardboard or wet dog if the wine has really gone bad. This is because of the molds growing on the cork of the bottle. Even if the mold is long gone it leaves a chemical called TCA on it which can put a negative flavour on it.
• Tasting a wine that has gone bad won’t hurt you much, but drinking it does not sounds like a good idea. If the wine isn’t in a potable condition you’d get a sour taste just like vinegar. You’ll feel a burn in your nasal passage after consuming it.
• If you see the formation of bubbles while pouring a wine which is not supposed to occur, it definitely has gone bad. The bubbles are formed as a result of fermentation inside the bottle. If you see such a sign its time to find a new bottle of wine.
• The wine will have no aroma. If you don’t get the aroma even after you swirl it to introduce air, the wine’s time has gone. You cannot get any smell because the wine doesn’t have any flavour at all.
• When your wine is exposed to air for a long time the wine takes on a colour browner that you would not expect. The red wine, when oxidized, loses its bright purple or red colour and acquires the brown colour.
• If you get the smell of vinegar or a nail polish remover it is because of the activities of the acetic acid bacterias which causes VA or volatile acidity. VA in a little amount is a good thing but when it starts dominating, it is termed as a fault.