--- title: 7 Ways to Make Bad Wine Drinkable description: This post originally appeared on FoodandWine.com/fwx So, the real wine shop was closed and you’ve lost the liquor store lottery. Must you suffer with your... canonical: https://time.com/3005754/7-ways-to-make-bad-wine-drinkable/ author: Food Wine article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-18T17:27:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:55:41.316Z og:title: 7 Ways to Make Bad Wine Drinkable og:description: Tips and tricks, from seltzer to pennies og:url: https://time.com/3005754/7-ways-to-make-bad-wine-drinkable/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8841c9991f53d887/69869c5ae53abaaee94d3a3f/146271633.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5200 og:image:height: 2925 og:image:alt: three wines og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 7 Ways to Make Bad Wine Drinkable twitter:description: Tips and tricks, from seltzer to pennies twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8841c9991f53d887/69869c5ae53abaaee94d3a3f/146271633.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 7 Ways to Make Bad Wine Drinkable > Sponsored content. 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There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=9a11ad36-e346-417a-aec7-e179169b4a52&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Food Wine](https://time.com/author/food-wine/) ## Food Wine Jul 18, 2014 5:27 PM UTC  Rose, white and red wines in glasses Rose, white and red wines in glasses Image Source—Image Source/Getty Images by [Food Wine](https://time.com/author/food-wine/) ## Food Wine Jul 18, 2014 5:27 PM UTC _This post_ [_originally appeared_](http://fwx.foodandwine.com/secrets/7-ways-make-bad-wine-drinkable) _on_ [_FoodandWine.com/fwx_](http://fwx.foodandwine.com/) So, the real wine shop was closed and you’ve lost the liquor store lottery. Must you suffer with your medium-gross wine until you’ve consumed enough not to care? No. There are steps you can take to improve almost any wine, or at least trick yourself into tolerating it. Here are seven ways to make the most of not-so-stellar selections. **1\. Chill it down.** As temperatures drop, flavors become muted. Most of us drink our worthy white wine too cold, but just-above-freezing is the perfect temperature for lesser bottles. **2\. Adulterate it.** That is, make a spritzer. Or [sangria](http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/sangria). Or the Basque specialty kalimotxo (red wine and Coke). **3\. If it’s red, drink it with mushrooms.** For reasons that wine-world pseudoscience hasn’t yet ventured to explain, umami-rich mushrooms tend to make ho-hum reds taste better. If your wine’s specific problem is a sandpapery mouthfeel, add red meat: Fat and protein both neutralize rough tannins. **4\. If it’s sweet, drink it with something spicy.** Sadly, assertive cuisines like Thai and Indian tend to obliterate the delicious nuances of great wines. Happily, they’ll also obliterate the unpleasant nuances of bad wines. If your palate is busy dealing with garam masala or another intense spice combination, it’s not going to notice that your low-rent Riesling is lacking a bit in acidity. **5\. If it’s oaky, drink it while you’re grilling.** Does your cheap Chardonnay smell like a burning 2-by-4? It may have been subjected to a process whereby big tea bags full of charred wood chips were dunked in it prior to bottling. No matter. Smoky foods work well with smoky wines, and a charcoal-grilled burger is the best kind of distraction for your palate. **6\. Drop a penny into it.** This won’t work on any old not-so-great wine, but if you have a bottle that smells like struck matches or rotten eggs, adding a penny to your glass might actually help. Certain sulfur-related compounds can cause these smells, and copper makes them dissipate. Clean a coin, drop it in, swirl, remove and enjoy. When it works, the difference is amazing. **7\. Bake it into a chocolate cake.** OK, this is actually a tip for making bad wine eatable. While you typically shouldn’t cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink, that rule can be relaxed a bit for baking. With sugar, chocolate and whipped cream involved, the wine contributes only a mild boozy note to [this surprisingly good dessert](http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chocolate-red-wine-cake). **More from** **_Food & Wine_** **:** * [10 Ways to Fool People Into Thinking You Know About Wine](http://fwx.foodandwine.com/drink/10-ways-fool-people-thinking-you-know-about-wine) * [14 Delicious Sangria Recipes](http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/sangria) * [11 Great Wine Pairings for Burgers](http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/wine-pairings-for-burgers) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3005754/7-ways-to-make-bad-wine-drinkable/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3005754/7-ways-to-make-bad-wine-drinkable/"},"headline":"7 Ways to Make Bad Wine Drinkable","datePublished":"2014-07-18T17:27:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:55:41.316Z","description":"This post originally appeared on FoodandWine.com/fwx So, the real wine shop was closed and you’ve lost the liquor store lottery. 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