Introduction: Can the "old wine" that has been stored for 28 years still be drunk? How long is the "shelf life" of liquor? Increase knowledge
Recently, a fan asked me: Can I still drink the "old wine" that has been stored for 28 years?
When his son was born, the fan was excited to buy a bottle of wine, saying that he was going to save it until his son's wedding day to drink it, and now that his son was ready to get married, the wine should also come in handy.
But just in case, I came to me to consult the above questions.
Considering that many people in life are confused by this problem, today I will focus on explaining to you whether the "old wine" that has been stored for 28 years can still be drunk, and how long the "shelf life" of liquor is.
First, clarify the composition of liquor
If you want to know what has changed in baijiu in these 28 years, you must sort out the composition of baijiu.
The main ingredients of liquor are water and alcohol, which accounts for about 98%, and the other 2% are various acids, esters and aldehydes, which can behave as mellow and sweet taste, professionally known as "flavor substances".
Second, the liquor changes during the storage process.
The first change: a decrease in alcohol content
We know that alcohol (also known as ethanol) is very volatile, and even if it is not stored, it will volatilize.
Usually the liquor stored at home, the bottle is not opened, there will be wine aroma running out, which is the result of alcohol carrying other substances volatilization. In the process of long-term storage, alcohol will slowly volatilize, accumulate into more, and reduce the alcohol content.
From this point, it can be seen that if we usually want to store wine, we should mainly use high alcohol, otherwise we cannot withstand volatilization.
The second change: less acid and ester
Alcohol not only undergoes physical volatilization, but also undergoes chemical oxidation reactions, forming aldehydes and acids.
As soon as there are many aldehyde substances, it is easy to cause discomfort on the head, so the liquor stored for too long is not suitable for tasting.
In addition, acids will further react with alcohol (alcohols) to form ester substances, and ester substances are the source of rich wine aromas, such as most of the aroma of liquor is brought by ethyl acetate and ethyl lactate.
This explains the principle of "the older the wine, the more fragrant it is".
But this sharp "esterification reaction" is limited, and to a certain extent it will be in a state of stagnation. If it continues to be stored, not only will the alcohol content decrease, but more acids and aldehydes will be generated, the ester will become less, and the aroma of the wine will become lighter.
The enlightenment of this change to us: liquor is not put better and better, or wine that has been stored for a certain number of years is no longer suitable for drinking.
Third, can the "old wine" that has been stored for 28 years still be drunk?
Having explained the above principles, it is time to get back to business. In fact, to answer this question, it is necessary to understand how long the "shelf life" of liquor is, and this question is linked to the aroma of liquor.
Let's first take one of the oldest liquors, the fragrance type liquor, which is fresh and elegant as the main color, so the body of the liquor is relatively not so rich, so the "shelf life" is generally capped at 10 years.
In the past 10 years, the liquor molecules and water molecules in the liquor have become more and more closely combined, and the taste tends to be soft and coordinated, but the aroma is gradually insufficient, so if it is a fragrant liquor that has been stored for 28 years, it is recommended not to drink.
On the contrary, sauce-flavored liquor is different. The sauce wine itself is more full of wine, and the taste is mainly mellow, so the "shelf life" is 2-3 times higher than that of the fragrant liquor, stored for 28 years, and the taste is basically in the best state.
Finally, summarizing the above knowledge, as well as the personal experience of the editor, I suggest that you:
1, save wine to choose a high degree of liquor, such as 52 degrees, 53 degrees.
2, store wine pay attention to the surrounding environment, when dry, ventilated and room temperature-based, remember not to put damp places.
3, red wine can be placed horizontally, but white wine must be placed vertically.
4, remember not to learn to bury wine and cave wine, otherwise the bacteria in the soil will damage the wine.
After reading the above, is it an increase in knowledge? If it helps, you can also bookmark and forward it to your friends.
Edited by: Orange peel