Red wine spills on carpets are a common callout for us at Bright and Fresh. It’s one of those mishaps that often throws the home owner into blind panic as to what has to be done first (blot? Detergent? white wine? Salt? search on the net?) So I have compiled an action list that may help in removing the stain before it has time to set but will not hamper a professional carpet cleaner later.
First a bit of information on why red wine stains and why some red wine stains are more difficult than others to remove. Tannin is the cause of the stain from red wine, the tannin comes from the skins, stems and seeds of the grape being left in contact with the grape juice (must) during the fermentation process. The longer the skins, stems and seeds are left in the must the higher the tannin content will be as this allows the tannin more time to dissolve into the must/alcohol. Further on the wine making journey wine is often aged in oak barrels the contact of the wine then releases more tannins from the oak that add another dimension to the end flavour of the wine and increase the tannins in the end product. The higher the tannin content of a wine the harder it will be to remove from a carpet.