If you've ever found a bottle of white wine that's been sitting in your kitchen area for a couple of months (or years) and taken a sniff, you understand that wine can spoil. While red wine does not technically ruin the method other food does, exposure to oxygen, sunlight, and heat can trigger it to degrade, offering it an undesirable taste.
So how does white wine ruin? Over time, the compounds in white wine that provide it its signature taste and aroma break down, and the wine starts to taste flat and vinegar-y. This process is accelerated by heat and light, so it is essential to save white wine in a cool, dark place.
Get More Information Surprisingly, wine really improves with age, as much as a point. As wine ages, the tannins (compounds that offer it a bitter flavor) begin to break down and the white wine ends up being smoother and more complex. This is why lots of red white wines enhance with age and why most white wines are best consumed young.
However, when a wine starts to ruin, there's no going back. As soon as those tannins have broken down, they're chosen great. So if you come across an old bottle of white wine that's starting to turn, it's best to simply put it down the drain.