New house; discovered an opened bottle of Madeira!

[Marcin]

It was in a cabinet above the fridge, so it makes sense someone forgot this. This isn't the only "present" in the house, as the previous owners vacated the premises rather hastily due to new jobs starting overseas ...

So. Do we drink it? It doesn't smell funky, but who knows how long it was up there. It's about 3/4ths, 4/5ths full. Apparently Madeira's age just fine when open for even long periods of time ...

[WarrenM]

It's open? Dump it.

[ElGuapo]

Don't dump it. It's a gift! Use the Universal Edibility Test (http://www.ehow.com/how_2156033_perform-universal-edibility-test.html). Good for many occasions, including this one!

[walTer]

heh, of course I voted to chug.... but I think EB might be right if it is open. Sadly. Then again, that test might be the way to go too...

I recommend buying some Deschutes Black Butte XX and drinking that instead. :D

[Jakub]

Madeira keeps better than most wines, but yeah, sample it gently first.

[Aeon221]

I'll take it!

Don't listen to these namby pamby girls, grip it by the neck and down it like a man!

[tromik]

I'm guessing they were using it to cook with. Do the same.

[Pogo]

What are the dangers of drinking it after it's reached a certain point? I imagine if it really was bad it would smell funky from bacteria or whatever. I don't know about wines.

[Qenan]

Clearly, the sane answer is to dump it.

[fire]

If it smells like vinegar, dump it. Otherwise, drink it! What have you got to lose?

[Hanacker]

In college, I once left a bottle of liquid detergent in a communal laundry room for a few hours. When I came back, someone had used it and replaced it with what smelled like some kind of alcohol. I don't really trust anonymous liquids anymore.

[hong]

I'll take it!

Don't listen to these namby pamby girls, grip it by the neck and down it like a man!
^ money shot joke

[Sol Invictus]

"Decanter" it.

http://lurkmore.com/w/images/thumb/a/a1/Decantering.png/416px-Decantering.png

http://lurkmore.com/w/images/thumb/6/67/1189907347473.jpg/800px-1189907347473.jpg

http://lurkmore.com/w/images/0/08/Decantering_Faces.jpg

[tiohn]

"Decanter" it.

YES!!

[Marcin]

If it smells like vinegar, dump it. Otherwise, drink it! What have you got to lose?

Nope, smells like a sherry-ish wine.

"Decanter" it.

I am not familiar with this one.

The vote stands at 31/20 for drinking. I'm going to give it another sniff and ponder whether the previous occupants looked like psychos that may have replaced the madeira with sweet, delicious smelling rat poison, and then decide.

[grahamiam]

Decanter = slowly pour the wine into a decanter (glass serving bottle), allowing the sediment to settle at the bottom of the wine bottle while the clear wine goes into the decanter. Pour at an angle such that the sediment does not go into the decanter.

http://www.thewinedoctor.com/advisory/openservedecanting.shtml

[Marcin]

I am fairly certain the verb is "to decant" ;) I am assuming by the use of quotes in Sol Invictus' post that there is another, inside-joke related meaning.

[marxeil]

Personally I wouldn't touch it, but I voted 'to drink' hoping for entertaining updates.

[tiohn]

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7056/01015em9.png
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8448/01016ep1.png
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/7802/01017ut6.png
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/4299/01018bg0.png

[tiohn]

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/4673/01019jf7.png

[Sol Invictus]

http://img.printfection.com/14/97728/yZWyX.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/2m32ruh.jpg

[Idar Thorvaldsen]

Madeira wines supposedly keep for a long time; they should last for at least a year.

Importantly, because Madeira is exposed to oxygen and heat through its development, it’s pretty much bombproof and an open bottle will keep in good condition for years.

[Sol Invictus]

Sounds like the kind of wine I'd drink. Cause I don't drink much and I'd much rather keep it for the times when I do feel like drinking it. Thanks Idar!

[Chris Nahr]

Then you should get some port. That will keep for centuries.

[Pogo]

Holy shit that comic is great. Was that the actual text?

[Machfive]

Sadly, yes.

And port is fucking delicious. My favorite to this day is still the cheap-ass Benjamin Tawny stuff that I can grab on sale for $8.99 per 750ml.

[Lazy Shiftless Bastard]

Curiousity is killing me! Marcin, did you drink it? Or is that maybe why you haven't posted again?

[Hanacker]

Sadly, yes.

And port is fucking delicious. My favorite to this day is still the cheap-ass Benjamin Tawny stuff that I can grab on sale for $8.99 per 750ml.

My grandma drinks a glass of $6.50 port every night and is still relatively healthy at 99. Coincidence?

[ElGuapo]

$6.50 a glass, or for the whole bottle?

[Tom Ohle]

Sadly, yes.

And port is fucking delicious. My favorite to this day is still the cheap-ass Benjamin Tawny stuff that I can grab on sale for $8.99 per 750ml.

You crazy bastard. 30-year Taylor's please.

[Machfive]

I like having cheap tastes, it means I can actually afford to drink it more than once a year.

I did have a 10 or 12-year tawny once that was really good, but one bottle wasn't enough to figure if I liked it more or not.

I wish I'd kept better track of the ones I didn't like, which are legion. I've never had port in a restaurant that I really enjoyed, but damned if I can remember what they were so I can avoid them.

[Chris Nahr]

The great thing about port is that there's no such thing as bad port, really. The cheap ones lack personality but they're still perfectly enjoyable. The good ones are very expensive, though.