🍷 Light strike

Light strike is spoilage of wine caused by bright light, which gives it an unpleasant smell. Light spoils wine. Bright sunlight or lamplight, especially ultraviolet, triggers chemical reactions in wine. Substances in the wine break down, and an unpleasant smell of cooked cabbage, onion or wet wool appears. This is called light strike.

Pale and sparkling wines suffer most, because they are often bottled in clear glass. Red wines are affected too, but a dark bottle protects them better.

This is why wine bottles are made of dark green or brown glass, which blocks part of the rays. Wine is best kept in a dark place, in a cellar, cupboard or box, and not on a sunny windowsill. Wine in shop windows can sometimes fade for this very reason.

Bottle glass protects wine from light, and this is one reason wine came to be sold in dark bottles. If a wine smells of cabbage, light may be the cause rather than the cork.