There are a number of funny things that can happen to a wine, and even though the wine may still be good there are not many who would drink an off wine. Luckily are there fixes to many of these problems that are simple and make the wine drinkable and indeed enjoyable.
Wine, young and old alike, can have compounds in it that can give off smells or tastes or sediment that gives it a poor appearance. A lot of the time these conditions can be fixed with decanting. Wine decanters are a true gift for wines; they settle sediments and aerate the wine. Aeration dissipates a lot of the unpleasant compounds that can be smelled in wine. One fairly common problem that cannot be taken care of with a decanter is a rubbery smell caused by a compound called mercaptans, which are often found in young wines. But this sulfur based smell can still be banished with some copper. A clean penny, dated before the 1980s can be dropped in the decanter for a minute to salvage the wine. Of course while a lot of wine can be saved, if ever a smell or look is too unappealing it is just fine to open a different bottle of wine.
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