Bad Wine And Pennies Somehow Go Well Together

Every drinker has their "greatest hits" selection of wine, the kinds of bottles that please the crowd without breaking the bank. When you're having a dinner party, you frequent your favorite wine shop, go straight to the aisle where you know your go-to crowd-pleaser lives. Upon returning home, you pull, pour, and wait for the oohs and aahs to erupt at your well-orchestrated get-together.

However, there may come a night when you're feeling a little adventurous. When there are no other plans and you get to go off and explore the unknown. You head to a new wine shop you've been meaning to check out. You pick a bottle with a slick label you've never seen (don't be too tempted by aesthetics, though — this can be a big wine mistake). You pour your first glass of this little-known varietal from an unfamiliar corner of the world and immediately the smell of sulfur, reminiscent of rotten eggs, overshadows the experience. We've all been there. It's not even necessarily a bad wine per se, but it's hard to get over that odor. After all, smell is really the first part of taste.

This unpleasant aroma is often attributed to hydrogen sulfide, according to Wine Enthusiast, which is a natural byproduct of the fermentation process that producers employ to get a wine just right. However, sometimes the wine in question doesn't get enough oxygen, which produces a "reductive" quality to the wine, hence the undesirable scent. Well, it seems there is a solution to this ill-smelling issue.

While most of that sulfur smell may dissipate if you let the wine decant for a while, there is a more hands-on approach, and it requires the assistance of none other than the unassuming penny. Only pre-1982 pennies will work, of course, as pennies made after that are actually mostly zinc. We need the real thing! The magic (or rather, science) lies within the copper. Per Live Science, when the sulfur compounds that cause the odor interact with the copper in the penny, the chemical reaction stifles the odor, allowing you to enjoy the aromas and taste of the fruit in the wine.

Just make sure to properly scrub and clean the penny before dropping it in for a quick swirl. The idea is to neutralize the odor efficiently, not introduce other unseemly particles or unwelcome tasting notes.

If your only methods of payment these days are cryptocurrency and Apple Pay, you might be a bit hard-pressed to get your hands on a penny. However, it might be worth plunging your arm into the depths behind the sofa cushion or looking under the seat the next time you ride in a friend's car. If you're planning on a night of wine, the humble penny might just prove more useful than you initially thought.