Sometimes, when you pop open a bottle of wine, it just doesn't taste as good as you had hoped. Don't worry, there are ways to save your recently opened bottle of wine and turn it into a delicious wine. Even a terrible wine can be made to taste much better. So read on and I'll tell you how to make a wine taste better.
If you open a bottle of wine and it has one or more of the following symptoms, it can be adjusted and make into a very palatable wine:
Too Acidic, tart, even slightly sour
Too Flat, no zing, no acidity.
Too Dry, dries your mouth out, tastes like you are licking wood
Too Sweet, too much sugar, thicker mouthfeel than normal.
Bits floating in the wine.
These 5 symptoms are easily rectified.
So I bet you are now asking "what can I add to make my wine taste better?"
In your brewing cupboard you should always have a tub of Precipitated Chalk and a pot of Tartaric acid. Most people will also have some sugar, lemonade or tonic water. These are the ingredients that can turn a lack lustre bottle of wine, into a delicious bottle of wine.
Homemade wine needs time in the bottle to mature, for the acids and compounds to combine and form new compounds. Most of the time this is good for the wine. It's acidity can soften, its dryness can lighten, it harshness can mellow, it sweetness can reduce.
But sometimes it can go the other way. It's acidity can increase, it can become dry and this is when we need a few tricks up our sleeve to adjust the wine just before drinking.
Let's start with bits floating in the bottle.
They can be caused by a few things:
Small glass like crystals are usually Tartaric acid crystals that have formed due to too much acid in the wine. Than means the wine will now be softer, but it doesnt look amazing.
Flakes of sediment are usually caused when you have either bottled your wine too early and it was not crystal clear, or it could be a strong coloured wine that over time gradually looses it colour and that settles out, so when you move the bottle the sediment is disturbed and starts to float around.
These are easily removed, by passing the wine through a filter paper placed in a funnel.
Wine is too acidic
If your wine tastes like lemon juice, sharp, tart, sour then it has too much acid.
Pour the wine into a carafe (or a jug). Add 1/16th to 1/8th teaspoon of Precipitated Chalk and give it a swirl. This will react with the acids in the wine and remove the acidity. You may see the wine fizz a little and go a little cloudy, but this will quickly go. Leave it 5 mins, then have a taste. If its still to acidic repeat the above steps. But be careful, adding too much precipitated chalk will take all the acid out of the wine and make it lifeless.
Wine is flat, no zing
This usually happens when there is not enough acid, it could be due to the fruits not having enough acid, it could be because you didn't add enough acid, or it could be because your water is so hard the carbonates neutralise the acids.
This is where the Tartaric acid comes in. Empty your bottle in to a carafe and add 1/16th to 1/8th teaspoon of Tartaric acid. Don't be tempted to add more than this as you can easily make it too acidic. Swirl the wine around and leave for 5 minutes to fully incorporate. Then give it another swirl and have a taste. If its still not quite there, add some more as above and keep repeating until you have a wine at the acid level that makes the wine come to life.
Wine is too dry
This usually occurs when there is too much tannin in the wine. Some acids can also make it feel dry, so a combination of sugar and precipitated chalk can help.
Start with the sugar. Pour the bottle of wine into a carafe and all 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of normal granulated sugar. Swirl the wine and then have a taste. You might want to add a bit more, in which case add 1/2 teaspoon at a time until you reach a sweetness that balances the dryness.
Sometimes a tiny bit of precipitated chalk can help take down the acidity level too to just take away a bit of the acidic dryness. In which case a 1/16th of a teaspoon is all that is needed.
Or you could try adding some sweet lemonade (not diet) and turn the wine into a spritzer. Flat lemonade works amazingly to balance a dry wine.
Wine is too sweet
Some wines are naturally sweet, others may have had a stuck fermentation and been bottled before all the sugar was eaten, or you may have added too much sugar and the yeast were not able to eat it all. For whatever your reason for the sweet wine, if you want it less sweet, then I have found adding some tonic water helps add some dryness and balances the bitterness.
Pour yourself a glass of wine and add some tonic water until your wine reaches a balanced level that is more palatable.
Or, you could just take out some brandy and turn your sweet wine into something like a fortified wine, think port. A bottle of wine at 12% would need to add about 200ml Brandy to take it to about 20%ABV and have a delicious fortified wine.
Wines that can't be fixed
Now as long as your wine doesn't taste of goats cheese, vinegar, wet cardboard, tcp, plasters, mud, mould or a medicinal flavour, then it can usually be fixed by either sugar, precipitated chalk, tartaric acid or tonic water.
You may find it's just one bottle in a whole batch that's been affected, so it's best to adjust each bottle when you open it.
Feel free to get in touch if you would like any help on adjusting a wine. Just let us know what wine it is, and details of your problem, and details of the aromas and flavours and we'll be able to give you some suggestions on how to fix your wine.
