Wine Infographic: Wine Storage/Aging Cheat Sheet

New in the wine cheat sheet series:  storing and aging wine.  Here's your quick reference for how to store wine, which wines age well, and when to drink most wines.

To see the Cheat Sheet in full size…
…in Internet Explorer, right click on it and select “open in new tab.”
…in Chrome, right click on it and select “open link in new tab.”
…in Firefox, right click on it and select “view image.”

The cheapest, easiest, laziest way to cook with wine.

Okay, I know what I'm about to say sounds bad, and I'm the first one to advocate for drinking good wine and serving it correctly. But when it comes to cooking with wine, I just don't have the time (or the budget) to be a perfectionist. So I've developed some strategies to get the great flavors from cooking with wine without any of the hassle.

The general rule is to not cook with any wine that you wouldn't want to drink. You might open a single bottle to put into the dish you're cooking and to drink while you eat it. Or, if you're cooking with the leftovers from an open bottle from a few days ago, you'll want to make sure you preserved that bottle properly, using a vacuum or gas system and putting the wine in the fridge.

This approach is admittedly not that hard, but I have a few issues with it, because maybe I'm cheap and/or lazy. First, I'll spend about $15 on a bottle of wine to drink with dinner. I won't do it every day, and I'll spend more on special occasions. I'm reluctant to pour a $15-a-bottle wine into spaghetti sauce. If I spent the money and chose the wine, I want to drink it! And if I'm supposed to always cook with wine I would drink, then we have a problem.

Second, I cook dinner for my husband and myself 4 or 5 nights a week. This requires a lot of both planning and improvising. Sometimes I plan a meal and use a recipe; sometimes I make it up as I go along from whatever we happen to have in the house. Sometimes we're drinking wine with dinner, sometimes not. Figuring out which bottle of wine to cook with complicates things, not in an insurmountable way, but in an "I worked all day and need to cook something healthy and fast and I don't want to deal with one more thing" kind of way.

Ideally, it would be nice to have a couple of different types of wine on hand for cooking (red, white, etc.), without having to plan ahead, without having to worry about an open bottle spoiling, without cringing as you pour some of your yummy $15 bottle into the pan.

Here's how you do it!

How to Choose a Home Wine Fridge

Check out my latest article for HomeBrewTalk.com!

How to Choose a Home Wine Fridge

See all my articles for HomeBrewTalk.com here, and for WineMakingTalk.com here.

How to Save an Open Bottle of Wine

I wrote this article for HomeBrewTalk.com.  See it here:

The Best Way to Save an Open Wine Bottle

See my other articles for Home Brew Talk and Wine Making Talk at my author page.

Wine Gifts to Buy Online

I do most of my Christmas shopping online, because I don't have time to hunt through stores. If you have friends or family interested in wine, here are some suggestions to make your shopping easier. I have owned or used most of these items and have been impressed with them. Everything is listed according to category:  books, glassware/serving/entertaining, movies, etc. Enjoy!

BOOKS




For the novice wine enthusiast...  This is a cute, fun, and engaging book that also gets a lot of information across. It has good visuals, plus the scratch-n-sniff wine aromas. It would be great to keep on your coffee table as a conversation starter. I wrote a full review of it here.





For the beginning to intermediate wine enthusiast...  I just came across this book in past few weeks, and I love it. It covers lots of topics related to wine (how to taste, how to describe what you like, how wine is made, how to read labels, storing, serving, important wine regions, etc.) and answers all the "why" questions that I always want to know about. Even better, it's packed with infographics on nearly every page to illustrate the information. Look at the cute little yeasts! Later in the book, when the yeasts have died, they have Xs over their eyes.  It's awesome.

Also for the beginning to intermediate wine enthusiast...  Great Wine Made Simple is one of my favorite books for learning about wine on your own at home. It explains all the basics of wine in a clear and straightforward way, with a focus on learning to identify and describe the wine characteristics you like. To this end, it gives very specific instructions on how to set up your own wine tastings to learn about each characteristic. It lacks the fantastic infographics of Wine: A Tasting Course, but it recommends more tastings and goes into more detail about setting them up. For this reason, it's also a great resource for planning wine parties.





For the serious wine student...  This really covers all your bases.  There's not much you can't look up in this gigantic tome.





For the ultra-serious wine snob geek...  I haven't yet purchased a copy of this, but it's on my list.  If you know someone who always has to order the wine made from grapes you've never heard of, and you like her enough to spend over $100, this is what you need.





If you can't spend $100+ on your favorite wine geek, this poster is a great, less expensive choice.  A giant periodic table of wine grapes, organized according to detailed information about each of their characteristics?  Be still my infographic-loving heart!  Makes a great addition to any wine geek's office, kitchen, or preferred tasting area.



GLASSWARE / SERVING / ENTERTAINING

These are the glasses I use at home.  Because I plan wine tastings for groups, I need lots of glasses that conform to the standard tasting shape and don't cost much per stem.  These fit the bill, and I buy them by the case.  For more on choosing glassware, check out "Wine Glasses: What Kind, Why, and Where to Get Them."



  

I first saw this tequila tasting set for sale in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston gift shop.  I'm not sure what it had to do with the art on display, but I fell in love with it.  Except I don't drink much tequila... And then some great friends got it for me as a birthday present, and I've had fun experimenting with ways to use it.  My favorite way is to serve Port in the glasses and put chocolates or brownies on the tray.  Or you could serve Sauternes with foie gras or cheese as either an appetizer or dessert, and feel very European.  Not only does this serving set look great, but the glasses and tray come off the stand and can go through the dishwasher.  Hooray for easy clean-up!

**The price of the 6-shot set seems to fluctuate between $100 and $300.  If the price above looks high, check here.

I've never tried these before, but they look cool.  I've written before about why wine glasses should have a stem, but these are designed to travel, so I'm giving them a pass on that feature.  If you (or your intended gift recipient) like to take wine to any of the wonderful, outdoor Houston venues where glass is not allowed (like Miller Outdoor Theater or a Galveston beach), these would be a great way to upgrade your wine experience from that red plastic cup.





I own one of these and have been very pleased with it. The price has even come down quite a bit from when it was first released. Some people never decant or aerate their wines, others always do.  I fall into the "occasional" category. (For more on that topic, check out "Should you let the wine breathe?") But if you want to aerate, I think this is the best choice of the many options on the market. Some people like the Vinturi, but it takes 2 hands to use and spills if your aim is slightly off. This Nuance model fits into the neck of the wine bottle and provides a perfect non-drop spout.





If you have an open bottle you aren't going to finish, Private Preserve (or a similar system) is the best way to keep the wine fresh until you're ready to drink it. The can sprays inert, harmless gasses into the partially empty wine bottle, and the gasses, which are heavier than air, create a protective blanket on top of the wine, so it won't oxidize as quickly. Then you just stick the cork back in the top. For me, just one of these cans will last more than a year. For more on how to preserve wine, check out "Saving Your Leftovers (or, how Bear Dalton convinced me I'd been preserving my wine wrong for years!)."





Chalkboard table runners are fun to use at dinner parties or wine tastings. Write information about the wine, or which foods to pair with which wines, or let your guests write (or draw?) their impressions. As a bonus, the runner also protects the table from wine or food drips and spills. You need chalkboard markers to write on them. The markers go on wet (kind of like a paint pen, if you remember those), and need a few seconds to dry. Then the writing won't smudge. At the end of the night, wipe the chalkboard runner down with a damp paper towel (you may need to wipe a few times), and use it again and again. (You  can also see the aforementioned glasses in the pictures below.)

  

A fun and useful addition to any wine tasting party is the Wine Aroma Wheel.  It helps people identify what they're smelling in the wine.  It's fun at parties, but also for the serious wine student who wants to improve his ability to identify aromas.  An all-around great tool.







MOVIES



I enjoyed watching this film when it first came out, back when I was interested in wine but knew almost nothing about it.  I enjoyed it even more a few years later, after I had taken lots of wine classes.  It's entertaining, educational, and engages with one of the central issues of winemaking as the wine business becomes ever more globalized.





This film is also entertaining and interesting whether or not you know much about wine.  I wrote a full review of it here.



Happy shopping!

Drinking Barolo and Eating Rose Petals

I've written before about how long to store and age wine (the question of "when to drink") and admitted that I often wait too long to drink wines, because I'm saving them for the perfect occasion.  Well, recently I opened a wine that I'd been saving, and I think I got the timing just about right (if not early), so I thought I'd share my experience.

I purchased a 2003 Prunotto Barolo about 6 years ago and had been storing it in a wine fridge.  A Barolo is a type of wine (DOCG level) from Piedmont in northern Italy which is made from the Nebbiolo grape.  Many Barolos can age and improve for decades.  They can be very expensive, but Prunotto is mid-range.  To decide when to drink my bottle, I did a little research online.  Some sites recommended aging this wine for a few more years to reach its peak, while quite a few of the personal reviews from those who had tasted the wine suggested it was time to drink now.  Since I had the right occasion coming up - the birthday of a friend who loves big, red wines - I decided to go ahead and open it.

The typical aromas of Barolo (and Nebbiolo) are roses and tar, and they usually have a lot of acid and tannin.  This Barolo had aromas of fresh and dried cherries, along with floral and earthy qualities.  The flavors basically matched the aromas, with an earthy, savory finish.  It tasted great.

As wines age, their characteristics change:

• fresh fruit aromas/flavors turn to dried fruit
• fruity aromas/flavors diminish, while non-fruit aromas become more prominent
• acid levels diminish
• tannin levels diminish (the tannin molecules join together and precipitate out of the wine, creating sediment)

So, did I drink this wine at the right time?  Yes and no.  I could have waited longer, because the wine still had lots of fruit aromas, lots of acid, lots of tannin, and surprisingly little sediment.  This tells me it could have aged longer and developed more complex aromas.  On the other hand, 11 years is a decent amount of bottle aging, the wine was delicious, and it was a good choice for the occasion.  I don't regret drinking it, but the next time I have a bottle of Barolo, I'll probably give it a few more years.

Here's what we drank it with:

Fresh bread and sharp cheese are always a good idea.  The espresso rind on this cheese made it especially good with the earthy flavors in the Barolo.

Sundried tomato tapenade and sausage are great options with Italian wines.

 Of course, cherries went well with the cherry aromas in the wine.

Because of the typical rose aroma, I thought it would be fun to smell/taste with actual, edible rose petals.  I bought these candied rose petals online, and they paired really well!  (The ingredients are just rose petals and sugar.)

Dark chocolate is usually good with big red wines.

We also had a few other cheeses, some wine crackers, and fresh tomatoes with balsamic vinegar.

The full spread:

You may also be interested in:

Is your wine over the hill?

Burgundy, Bottle Aging, and Tertiary Aromas

A Tuscan wine with simple, Tuscan-inspired food

Tasting and Comparing 3 Chiantis

Wine Infographic:  The Chianti Cheat Sheet

Burgundy, Bottle Aging, and Tertiary Aromas

I’ve pointed out before that many of us keep our wine for too long, and that most wines don’t improve after the first few years in the bottle.  Of course, there are exceptions to that rule, and one of them is Burgundy. This week I attended a tasting, hosted by the Bourgogne Wine Board (BIVB), of older vintages of Burgundy from 1996 to 2006.  These wines were amazingly fresh and fruity for their age.  Some of them were still improving and could last another several years (or 10). 

Let’s briefly review what happens when wine ages:

1. The molecules of acid and alcohol bind together in new and exciting ways, creating additional, more complex flavor and aroma compounds. (more on that here)
2. Tannins soften and mellow (and eventually begin to precipitate out of the wine, creating sediment).
3. Fruit aromas change from fresh to dried, and eventually fade, while the non-fruit aromas (like earthiness or minerality) become more prominent.

In tasting notes, you sometimes see wine aromas described as primary, secondary, or tertiary.  This has to do with #3 above.  Primary aromas come from the fruit itself.  Secondary aromas come from the winemaking process (oak aging, malolactic fermentation, aging on the lees, etc.).  Tertiary aromas come from bottle aging.  In older wines, the primary aromas move to the back seat, and the secondary and tertiary aromas start driving.  For instance, a young Burgundy that is primarily fruity with a hint of earth and sweet spice could potentially age into an amazing Burgundy like the one I tasted a few weeks ago that smelled like incense – seriously, it smelled just like church on Easter.  The fruit character was still there, but muted, and the sweet spice aromas had evolved into an intoxicating incense bouquet.  (This kind of transformation won’t happen every time – just with the best wines under the right conditions – and it will depend on what the original aromas were.)

Back to Burgundy...  Both red and white Burgundies are capable of aging well, as long as they are stored properly (in a cool, dark place, not too dry, and not bumped around too much).  Burgundy's wine regions – also called appellations, AOCs, or AOPs – are divided into a hierarchy.  Grand cru is the top, then premiere, then village, then regional.  Here's a handy list of all the appellations from the BIVB website, which indicates which level in the hierarchy each appellation holds.  For long-term aging (10+ years), focus on appellations at the village level or above.  The Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune sub-regions are particularly known for good quality and ageability.  These can be expensive, so if you have less money to spend, a cheaper bottle can still age, just maybe not as long.  Burgundy is one of the increasingly rare regions where the wines are built to age.

I plan to create my own cheat sheet for Burgundy at some point, but for now, check out the one from Wine Folly below.  All those appellation names are what you will look for on the bottles!  (click to enlarge)

You may also want to read:
A little chemistry explains a lot
Is your wine over the hill?
French Wine Cheat Sheet
Chardonnay Cheat Sheet
Pinot Noir Cheat Sheet

Would you drink wine with a moldy cork?

I bet your answer is no, and mine was too until recently.  A few weeks ago I pulled this great bottle of Rioja out of my wine fridge and was disappointed to see mold growing out of the holes in the foil.  I had bought the bottle a couple of years ago and had stored it properly that whole time.  My first thought was to throw it out or return it to the store and ask to exchange it, but I decided to do a little research first.  

It turns out that mold on the outside of the cork is not a problem, and may even be a good thing.  The presence of mold between the cork and the foil suggests there was a good deal of humidity present when the foil was put on the bottle at the winery.  Humidity is good because dry air can contribute to a cork drying out.  Dry corks shrink, then leak, letting wine out and/or too much oxygen in.  My bottle was a Rioja Reserva, and in Spain the term “reserva” has a specific meaning:  this wine was aged at the winery for at least 3 years.  Mold on the cork just means that it was aged in humid conditions, then over time a little mold grew where some moisture was trapped between the cork and the foil.  

If you come across a moldy cork, just wipe off the mold with a damp towel and open the bottle as you normally would.  Examine the end of the cork next to the wine – mold on THAT end is cause for concern.  If the mold was all on the top, drink away!  I wiped the top of the opened bottle again before pouring, just to be sure the mold was gone.  My Rioja Riserva tasted just as good as I remembered.  I’m so glad I didn’t throw it out!

P.S.  The moldy cork issue is different from the wine being “corked.”  Stay tuned for more on corked wine at a future date…

Oxidation, Friend or Foe?

The process of oxidation contributes to some of the world’s great wines, yet most of the time it is considered a fault.  Here’s a primer on what it is, how to recognize it, and when you might want some!

As the name suggests, oxidation happens when wine is exposed to oxygen.  Oxidation can happen slowly or quickly, depending on how much oxygen is in contact with the wine.  Oxidation causes wine to turn a brownish color and creates nutty, sometimes caramelized aromas.

If you open a relatively young wine (less than 5 years old), and it looks like this picture, it is oxidized.  See how brown it is?  When I opened this 2-year-old wine, I noticed that the cork was protruding slightly from the bottle.  This is generally not a good sign, but you never know until you open the bottle.  Sure enough, the wine was oxidized due to a bad cork seal, which allowed far too much oxygen to circulate into the bottle.  If this happens to you, I have good news and bad news.  First the bad news:  this wine is officially “faulted” and will not taste the way it should.  The good news:  if you like the way it tastes, you can still drink it.  It won’t hurt you or make you sick.  (I drank some from my oxidized bottle, just to notice the changes in flavor.  It wasn’t terrible.)

Many wines are partially oxidized on purpose.  This happens in a slow, gradual, controlled way when wines are aged in oak at a winery.  It also happens very slowly as wines are aged in the bottle, since the cork allows a small amount of air into the bottle.  (More about aging wine here.)  If the picture above had been a 10+ year old wine, there would have been no problem.  Part of the allure of older wines is that they take on different characteristics through slow, gradual, oxidation.  If you use a wine aerator, you’re increasing the wine’s exposure to oxygen just before drinking it, to mimic a bit of that aging effect.  (More on aeration here.)  But wines that have oxidized at a young age due to improper bottling or storage are not better for it.  Storing bottles on their sides helps to keep the cork moist, maintain a good seal, and prevent unwanted oxidation.  

A few wines are heavily oxidized on purpose.  The most famous of these are Oloroso Sherry, Tawny Port, and Madeira.  These are sweet, fortified wines that are aged in oak until they take on a brownish hue and nutty, caramel-like aromas.  They are delicious, and you should try one!

Have you ever opened a young wine that had turned brown from oxidation?  Did you taste it anyway?  Did you like it?

Boxed Wine?

Really?

Yes!  There are plenty of reasons you might want to buy boxed wine.

• It’s cheap.
• It’s environmentally friendly (less packaging and less weight to ship).
• The bottle can’t break.
• It can’t have cork taint.
• It’s portable – you can take it to the beach or any other place that doesn’t allow glass.
• It will stay fresh for WEEKS!  Maybe more!

When I say boxed wine, I mean the bag-in-a-box type.  Some wines are sold in “Tetra Paks” which are basically cardboard, and can do all of the things listed above except the last one – stay fresh for weeks.  That’s because the bag-in-box design keeps the wine away from oxygen as you use it, while a Tetra Pak doesn’t.  Bag-in-box designs have a spigot, while Tetra Paks usually have a small plastic screw cap on the top.

But will it taste good? 

Box wines have a bad reputation, but in recent years they’ve been improving.  Here are some to try, based partly on my experience and partly on tasting panels that have posted reviews.  These are the recommended brands that are available in our area.  They come in 3 liter boxes, which are equivalent to 4 bottles:

• Osbourne Bodegas Seven Red Table Wine - $17
• Bota Box (especially the Shiraz) - $18 
• Black Box - $21
• Herding Cats (especially the Chenin Blanc & Chardonnay blend) - $14
• Fish Eye (especially the Pinot Grigio and Riesling) - $15

Though you may never get a spectacular wine out of a box, you can definitely get a decent one for a great price.  Box wines are good for entertaining, for when you just want a glass of wine every now and then and don’t want to open a bottle, for the beach or picnics, and for cooking.

And as a bonus, here’s a way to reuse the bag, courtesy of America's Test Kitchen:

Is your wine over the hill?

I tend to keep wines far too long.  I buy an interesting bottle, and then I save it for when I’m serving just the right meal, for when I get around to hosting that one tasting I had in mind, for when that one person I know who would love it comes over, or for that occasion that’s special enough to justify the cost of the bottle.  In most cases, I’m doing myself (and whomever drinks it with me) a disservice because many times these wines are aging past their prime while I’m waiting for the perfect moment to drink them.  In an effort to inspire myself and others to stop hoarding wine, I’ve come up with a brief guide for “when to drink.”

Rule #1:  90% of the time, DRINK IT NOW!

Many people believe that older wine = better wine, but that isn’t necessarily the case.  The vast majority of wines on store shelves today is meant to be drunk within a year or two of bottling.  Here are some details:

• Only 10% of red wines will taste better when they are 5 years old than they did at release
• Only 5% of white wines will taste better when they are 5 years old than they did at release
• Most wine loses fruitiness within 6 months of bottling
• Anything with a screw cap (or in a box) is not meant to be aged

Rule #2:  If you want to drink older wines, know what to look for.

You may want to seek out that 10% (or less) of wines that will improve with age, because you appreciate the complex flavors, earthiness, or mellow tannins that develop over time.  Keep in mind that less than 10% of wines will be better after 5 years, and only about 1% of wines will be better after 10 years!  And you will need to store it properly as it ages.  (Hints on that here.)  To find a wine capable of aging, look for one that meets these qualifications:

• Top quality
• Strong levels of acid and/or tannin
• Costs more than $25 (and sometimes quite a bit more)

Here are some specific suggestions:

• High quality red Bordeaux (like St. Estephe, St. Julien, Pauillac, Margaux, St. Emilion, Pomerol)
• High quality dessert wines of Bordeaux (like Sauternes)
• High quality red or white Burgundy 
• Barolo from Italy
• Top quality Napa Cabernet 

So to recap, and because any subject involving time and numbers needs a chart…

Wines have a lifecycle.  A few improve before they start to decline, but most start declining right away.  Here’s a simplified chart that illustrates this:

Now I have to go open a bottle of wine I’ve been pointlessly saving!

Cooking with Leftover Wine

I’ve written before about how to save wine to drink later.  The best method is the combination of a gas spray (like Private Preserve) and refrigeration.  But what if you just want to cook with it?  For cooking, I have lower standards for what the wine tastes like, I want an easier way to preserve the wine, and I want to be able to keep it around for a longer time.  Here are some strategies for saving your wine and some ideas for how to cook with it.

How to Save It

Please don’t leave it on the counter!  The same chemical reactions that make wine unpleasant to drink will make it unpleasant to cook with.  To preserve wine for cooking, you don’t need to do as much as you would to preserve it for drinking, but you do need to do something to prevent oxidation and spoilage. 

Freezing is the best option.  It degrades the wine’s flavor somewhat, but keeps it from oxidizing.  A great technique for freezing wine is to pour it by the tablespoonful into an ice tray, as demonstrated in this video by America’s Test Kitchen:

A lazier method I’ve used is to remove the cork (because the wine will need room to expand) and just put the bottle straight into the freezer.  This works if you plan to use the wine all at once.  Otherwise you end up having to thaw it then refreeze it later, which is not as convenient.

You may notice after freezing white wine and defrosting it that there are small white crystals visible in the wine.  This can happen when tartaric acid precipitates out of white wine because it has been chilled and then warmed up to room temperature.  It’s nothing to worry about, and you can still cook with it.

How to Use It

Keep in mind that the flavors in wine will become more concentrated when it’s cooked.  This is why many people follow the rule that if you wouldn’t drink it, you shouldn’t cook with it.  Also consider that wines with heavy tannins and/or oak aromas could contribute too much bitterness or oakiness to your food.  (Find out more about tannin here.)

You can use wine in lots of things you cook.  Here are some ideas:

A Little Chemistry Explains a Lot

I’ve mentioned before that the French Wine Society has great on-demand webinars for members.  I watched one this past week on the subject of wine aromas, and it was fascinating.  The most interesting thing I learned was a very simple fact about wine chemistry which explains a lot about aging and storing wine.

Acid + Alcohol = Esters

Wine contains molecules of acid and alcohol.  I’m no chemist, but basically those molecules are moving around and bumping into each to each other inside the wine bottle.  Eventually, they’ll start hooking up (wine can have that effect) and forming new, larger molecules.  These new molecules are called esters.  (I’ve mentioned them before.)

What Older Wines Have That Younger Ones Don’t

Esters give wine its aroma.  The longer the wine sits in the bottle and ages, the more esters (and aromas) are formed, and the more complex they get.  This is why older wines are so highly prized!  (Keep in mind that not all wines are capable of aging.  Only certain wines will continue to improve for more than a few years.)

Why Vibration Matters During Storage

While the wine is aging, in order for all these esters to be formed, the wine has to be kept still.  When it’s moved around or shaken, those esters fall apart and the complex aromas can be lost.  This is why limiting vibration is important.  So if you’re storing wine for an extended period of time, you need a cooler designed for wine, and not just a refrigerator.  And try to avoid moving the bottles around if you can.

The term bottle shock (there’s even a movie about it) refers to the effect that being jostled and moved around has on the wine.  For example, if a wine is opened immediately after being shipped on an airplane, it will not show its best.  It needs a little time to rest in order for those esters which were broken apart to reform.  And if it’s really shaken up, it may never be quite as good as it was.  This is because some esters are formed after the wine is in the bottle, but others can only form during fermentation.   So if you lose those, you can’t get them back.

It’s nice to learn that older wines have great aromas or that vibration is bad for wine, but I always want to know why those things are true.  I guess I just need to start studying chemistry.

Saving Your Leftovers (or, how Bear Dalton convinced me I'd been preserving my wine wrong for years!)

This week in the Rice continuing education class, Bear Dalton discussed wine preservation issues.  If having leftover wine seems strange and confusing to you, consider Bear’s approach:  “If you have leftover wine, I’m assuming you opened more than 1 bottle.”  I like that. 

Having taken a lot of other classes, I was familiar with the usual wine spoilage concepts and storage options for leftovers, but Bear took things a step further with some new information that convinced me I’ve been preserving my wine wrong for years!

Most wine drinkers know that if you don’t finish the bottle the night you open it, you need to do something to keep it fresh.  But why does wine spoil anyway, and what’s the best way to preserve it?  Let’s review why the wine spoils, some options for saving it, and then pick the best approach, with Bear’s help.