Wine duds— Do you dump or salvage?

[Ajmassa]

I guess they all can’t be winners! What do you guys do if/when a wine ends up sub-par?

Not talking badly flawed dumpworthy wine, but just not something you would enjoy. A wine you know you wouldn’t ever be reaching for off the shelf.

Trying to think outside the box since i have no desire for 13gal of homemade vinegar. And i’d prefer not to use sub-par wine to top-up good wine— or waste much good wine to blend in to salvage. But i’m not sure if I’d wanna stamp my name on it to give out either.
I find it incredibly difficult to dump wine down the drain. have only done this once on a batch with mycoderma after i tried saving.

Do you dump, bottle and give away, or figure another way to salvage?

 

[Bossbaby]

use it for cooking as a marinade or a reduction

 

[user 38734]

Cooking wine for sure.

Some people (I know a few) add Sprite or 7-Up to their wine - no matter what. If you know any one like that......

 

[mikewatkins727]

use it for cooking as a marinade or a reduction

Cooking wine for sure.

Some people (I know a few) add Sprite or 7-Up to their wine - no matter what. If you know any one like that......

Hey! Thanks for the ideas. I got one, three gallon batch minus one bottle, I've been scratching my head over what to do with it.

 

[dralarms]

I’ve got 2 or 3 batches that I absolutely loath. But the folks who like those flavors say they are great, so I don’t “flush” anything except absolute failures, the rest I bottle and find someone who likes them.

 

[user 38734]

Just remembered, I have Spanish neighbors who serve sangria. Some cheap wine, dump in a fruit salad....

 

[sour_grapes]

Honestly, I just drink it.

 

[CDrew]

In 2019 I ended up with 10 gallons of Mourvedre I was not happy with. I kept working on it for about 2 weeks, but realized it was just not good. In the end, It went down the storm drain. I could tell I was never going to want to drink it, so I cut my losses early.

 

[salcoco]

if you have a distiller near by have it distilled and use a a port additive

 

[BernardSmith]

Would/could a distiller nearby sell the spirit back to you for you to use as the base for a liqueur?

 

[SLM]

I make gallons of sangria throughout the summer, it's very popular. Unless the wine has such a funk that it will dominate the taste, any low quality wine can serve as a base. Here's a couple good starter recipes. I also like to experiment with fruit flavored brandies - blackberry, raspberry, peach.

Red Wine Sangria Recipe | Bobby Flay | Food Network
White Peach Sangria Recipe | Bobby Flay | Food Network

 

[balatonwine]

What do you guys do if/when a wine ends up sub-par?

Use it for cooking.

Use it for mulled wine (the spices hide the flaws).

Drink it when no one is looking.

Dump it.

Side note: I could have it distilled, into the local variety of "Pálinka", but I do not like distilled spirits, except 14 year old stuff from Scotland.....

 

[Mike Parisi]

Sangria for sure. Fruit, vodka, brandy or rum, sugar. Here's a good recipe, but I leave out the seltzer and use dark rum.

Red Sangria Is Perfect For Sipping Poolside

 

[winemaker81]

All my ideas have been touched on already -- all good ideas.

I made "beef burgundy" last night -- stew beef, onion, mushrooms, gyros seasoning (this worked amazingly well), and 2/3 bottle of my 2019 Malbec that has an odd aftertaste I don't care for. There were almost no leftovers.

Going to brine a chicken? Use a couple bottles of wine (white or red) in place of some of the water. You can use a lot of wine this way.

Do meal prep ahead of freezing. Add wine & seasoning to a ziplock bag. Add meat (chicken, pork, beef, etc) and freeze. The meat marinates as it's freezing, and more as it defrosts.

When cooking, open 2 bottles -- the one you don't like for the food and one you do like for you. This way neither gets jealous.

 

[mbleill]

A good friend of mine told me that bad wine makes a good environmentally friendly weed killer.

 

[JBP]

Getting late in the season, but vin brûlée is another option. Our Italian daughter-in-law introduced us to it - nice on a dark, cold winter evening. Or a cool spring/fall evening at the cabin, sitting by the lake. Like sangria and wine coolers, quality wine is not an advantage. I can share her recipe or you can just google vin brûlée recipes and search for one that strikes your fancy. This one is more complicated than most, but a great example.

 

[Rocky]

Just remembered, I have Spanish neighbors who serve sangria. Some cheap wine, dump in a fruit salad....

This is what I do with it and enjoy it in the Summer months. You can add all kinds of fresh fruit, e.g. lemons, oranges, apples, etc., some juices and a little bit of sugar. If you like, top it with some Club Soda and add some mint leaves. Served over ice, it makes a very refreshing drink on hot Summer days.

 

[ibglowin]

Honestly, I just drink it.

 

[ibglowin]

Or.........

Honestly, I just drink it.

 

[winemanden]

If it's a dry wine, we add a little lemonade. If it's sweet soda water. Bit like a spritzer I suppose.