The short answer to this question, which we receive from time to time, is: It doesn’t. The reason people continue to ask the question is that they are often puzzled by the fact that wine vinegar labels often do not have expiration dates on them.

In a sense, though, wine vinegar is already “expired.” That is, it is wine that has expired by becoming vinegar. But as vinegar, the powerful acidity in it will inhibit just about all bacterial growth.

You might be interested to know that the Vinegar Institute conducted studies on this issue and confirmed that vinegar’s shelf life is almost indefinite. Thanks to its acid nature, vinegar is self-preserving and does not need refrigeration. White distilled vinegar will remain virtually unchanged over an extended period of time.

The same thing applies to wine vinegar, which can be found in both white and red versions. The only thing you might notice with wine vinegar, especially the red variety, is a slight color change or the development of haziness or some sediment. But even these are only aesthetic changes that will not affect the taste, quality or safety of the vinegar. The product may still be used with complete confidence.

Someone we know recently bought one of those wine refrigerators that are all the rage.  Now he is thinking about moving his collection of quality wines into it, wines that he has been keeping at a controlled room temperature for the past several years. He’s not planning on keeping the refrigerator very cold, but he nevertheless wonders if it will damage the wines to put them in the wine fridge at this point.  He says the refigerator temp will be only slightly cooler than that of the room where he has been keeping the wine all these years.

Our opinion? Yes, he can store the bottles in the new wine refrigerator. We would only recommend this in light of his intention to keep the fridge’s temperature at a reasonable level (not extra cold). For most people and in most cases, we still think that a good old-fashioned wine cellar, or even a spare room or stairwell space that can be kept at an even, slightly cool temperature, is superior to a wine refrigerator, at least for storing red wines.

While making your own alcoholic beverage from juices may not be considered rocket science, there is more to home wine making than squeezing grapes and bottling the juice until it turns into alcohol. Many grapes have different acid content and the amount of acid in the squeezing will determine how sugar will need to be added to make the finished product palatable. For those intent on doing their own wine making, they will also need some specific equipment designed just for the purpose.  

The Different Types

There are a number of different types of homemade wine one can make and they include the traditional grape wine, or vegetable wine or even the very popular dandelion wine that was common in Italian households in generations past. Of course, there are also other types of wine that one can make and the type of wine that one opts to make is only limited by personal taste and preferences. So, the sky is really the limit when it comes to the different flavors and brands of wine you can make.

Same Grapes For Red And White Wine

Some persons getting involved in wine making at home may believe that different types of grapes are used for different color wine. The color of the wine is largely dependent on the length of time the grape peels are left in the crushed grapes. Red grapes are commonly used, but even green grapes will add color to the wine if the peels remain in the juice throughout the fermentation process.

Not As Hard As Some May Think

The process for making the homemade wine is not as complicated as some may believe. Of course, it is not entirely easy either. It does require skill and patience as this is a hobby that is not one that can be performed haphazardly. (Well, you could perform it haphazardly but the taste of the wine will probably be awful!) But, if you dedicate the proper amount of time and effort to making the wine then you will end up with not only some great tasting wine but also having enjoyed quite a bit of fun doing it as well.

Joining a wine club is something which can be a lot of fun if wine happens to be a hobby of yours. You’ll be in good company, as a growing number of people are choosing to join wine clubs rather than other social activities, such as keg parties or knitting circles.

This is one of the reasons that more and more people are choosing to sign up as members of wine clubs. Whether your wine-loving participation truly makes you one of the cultured elite could be a matter of your own opinion, but hey after a few rounds of tasting several special burgundies does it really matter?

Many vineyards are now starting their own wine clubs in order to raise the profile of their companies – if you’ve been thinking about joining a wine club, then this article is for you. I’ve decided on five of the biggest benefits to joining a wine club here. There’s a lot more to be gotten out of joining a wine club than simply getting some good bottles which you won’t come across at your neighborhood liquor store.

1. Keeping it under wraps……It comes delivered in a plain brown wrapper so your neighbors don’t get suspicious (Very helpful if you have very uptight covenants for your suburb).

• Wine clubs all deliver their goods in plain UPS brown boxes so the nosy folks in your neighborhood can’t keep count of how bottles of the living grape you are actually receiving. Now when others grouse about trying to get rid of that nearby ABC store, you won’t become quite as upset.

2. Impress your friends. You’ll be able to amass a wine collection including some harder to find bottles at a low price. You can point to that garage Petite Syrah in your collection and tell friends that it sells at auction for hundreds of dollars (after all, they don’t have to know that you didn’t pay anywhere near that much for that bottle).

3. Make Money. You can host your own wine tastings from bottles in your collection. You could even choose to charge a fee for attending your tasting.

4. Saves Time and Effort. Being in a wine club can keep your wine collection well stocked, all without having to run out to buy wine. You’ll never have to run out at the last minute to find a bottle for dinner again!

5. Fool your friends!  Stump the snobs! One of the greatest benefits of joining a wine club is the pranks you can play.

• You’ll know exactly what’s in that bottle, but your friends won’t have any clue! You can have a tasting challenge which you’ll win every time – you know which vintage and which vineyard, after all  - even if your friends can name the grape or grapes, you’ll still have them beat.

• Fill the empty bottles of really good wine with cheap stuff that you bought on sale and serve them to any of the pretentious snobs that you might know…. You know the ones that we are talking about, I’m sure. Make sure that others get the best wine you have and only your select guests should have glasses filled with your special “house wine”.

The wine snobs will probably spend a lot of time trying to rave about the wine as much as everyone else. This can be a great prank to reveal later; that is, if you can keep a straight face through dinner.