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Question: Is this wine safe to drink?

(Posted by: MissP on 2010-03-09 11:41:18)

I have a 1.5 litre plastic bottle (yes plastic haha) full of wine, I saved from a party after the bottle broke at the top, I had to keep it somewhere. It has been sitting on the kitchen counter for 2 months now, is it still SAFE to drink? I don't care about flavour etc, but if me or someone else drinks it will we get sick/ die?

Posted by: Hannah on 2010-03-09, 11:43:24

I wouldn't trust it. You should see the funk that grows at room temp in even left over wine bottles that weren't cleaned out... mold etc. I'd toss it just to be safe.

Posted by: Maria Alonso on 2010-03-09, 11:43:39

It is likely safe to drink. Wine has a remarkably long shelf life, although after a few days after being uncorked, or in your case, untwisted, it will likely lose much of its flavor, which you don't care about anyway.

Posted by: Dave C on 2010-03-09, 11:46:02

You won't get sick and die... if the wine is off... it just turned into vinegar. You know how much people are willing to pay for homemade wine vinegar? A lot! Also, you can cook with the leftover wine. Adds a lot of flavor to meats and sauces.

Posted by: Lila on 2010-03-09, 11:47:26

Not safe , it probably has allready been oxiatives.

Posted by: Samantha on 2010-03-09, 12:42:36

The first thing you need to be concerned about is the potential for broken glass being present in the plastic container if the wine came originally from a glass bottle. If shards of glass fell into the bottle when it broke, drinking the wine could be potentially very hazardous to your health. Glass shards in your stomach can cause a lot of damage. Assuming that there is no broken glass in the liquid, the next question is whether the bottle has been capped while sitting on your counter. Has it been exposed to potential contaminants such as ants, fruit flies, etc? If so, the protein from these can promote mold and fungal growth, especially if the alcohol has been allowed to evaporate. If there's no glass, and no dead bugs, and you are okay with the wine tasting pretty awful, it probably won't kill you. It may make you ill, but that might have happened when you drank it fresh. I'd skip it, if I were you. If it still smells ok, you can try using it to flavor pasta sauce or soup. Heating it up will kill anything weird in the bottle.

Posted by: Dan on 2010-03-09, 13:51:58

I would toss it. Even a small crack can let in air which will speed up the oxidation process. Once a normal bottle of wine is exposed to air it will only last 2-4 days with optimal taste. Wine is just a stage in the fermentation process. if exposed to air the process continues and the wine will eventually turn into vinegar. The only sure-fire way to see if it is still good however, is to open it up, smell it, and if it still smells OK, then try a small sip.

Posted by: Weatherman on 2010-03-09, 14:02:34

You won't get sick BUT You introduced air into it, and in the two months it has been sitting it will have turned to vinegar