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+--- Thread: How long can you keep a opened bottle of wine? (/thread-17985.html)
- raw - 02-17-2004
I have a bottle of a merlot that i opened and never finished how long is it good for and how do i store it?
- winoweenie - 02-17-2004
Hi raw and welcome to the board. It's probably already gone. 12 to 36 hours in the fridge is about it. WW
- Tastevin - 02-18-2004
Hellow Raw.
You didn't finish a bottle of Merlot on the day it was opened! You've got to do better than that. Sounds like more practice is needed - try harder. [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]
T.
- Innkeeper - 02-18-2004
Whether you are a new or experianced wine drinker, it is difficult to determine how long a wine will last after opening. This is because different brands of the same wine have different lasting qualities. Recommend you spend $12.95 or less at discounters, for Andrea Immer's "2004 Wine Buying Guide." She reviews 600 wines of every category that are widely availiable. Of particular interest to you is the feature where she assigns a "survivor" rating for each wine. This will tell you how long a once opened bottle will last in the fridge if white, and on the counter if red. She has merlots at the same price rated from "Average" (one-day wines) to "A" (3 - 4 day freshness window).
- curious - 02-19-2004
I'm no expert, but as hubby and I don't drink wine fast, we have leftover wine.
We have found that it varies from whites to reds. One thing that we do is put the cork back in (naturally) and then wrap it in foil, that seems to help it last longer. We also incline the bottle, not totally flat, just enough so that the cork can get some wine on it.
Hope that helps, others here are much more knowledgeable than I am.
Janette
- PinotEnvy - 02-19-2004
I have a couple 175ml bottles that I fill up with my leftover wine. This way there is not so much air in a big bottle. I have seen also these bottle vacuume tools to suck the air out of a bottle.
As a side issue, there is also the boxed wines. I am not sure if they are good or not... any comments here? The thing is, they do not get opened up to the air, so it will last a while. Plus, you will get more wine for the money since they can put more in with less packaging.
- winoweenie - 02-19-2004
PE the 175 or 375 ml bottles are great but the Vac-U-Vin is worthless. The only thing that'll work is a product called Private Preserve. Costs 9.95 and will seal 120 bottles per can for a day or two. WW ( The boxed wines are guzzlers that place quantity over quality.)
[This message has been edited by winoweenie (edited 02-20-2004).]
- Kcwhippet - 02-19-2004
WW - Everything you said - or typed - or tried to type - AMEN.
- White Wine Lover - 02-19-2004
I know WW does not care for the Vac-U-Vin and he is VASTLY more experienced than I, a humble novice, but I want to say (at the risk of getting flamed), that I have had good luck with the Vac-U-Vin. It comes with rubberized stoppers and a gadget that fits on top of the stopper, then you pump the air out of the bottle. Now, maybe it's because I'm a novice & thus my taste is not fully developed, but it seems to keep my leftover wine tasting just fine with little change, for a couple of days. Perhaps the variety makes a difference? I like to sip Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, or Savignon Blanc.
- Kcwhippet - 02-20-2004
WWL, First off, this is NOT a flame, just some info from stuff I've learned ITB. OK, the Vacu-Vin is strictly a marketing success, and the claims made for it's ability to prolong the life of an opened bottle of wine are right on the edge of credulity. The ONLY way for the Vacu-Vin to be truly effective is for it to pull a perfect vacuum and take out ALL the oxygen. It doesn't do that, and it can't do that no matter how many times you pump it. You should also know that while you're pumping out some of the air in the bottle, you're also pumping out a lot of the volatile esters. Besides not opening the bottle at all, the best way to keep the oxygen to a minimum is to very gently decant about as much of the wine you think you're not going to dring all the way to the top of some smaller screw top bottles (like the 4-pack bottles of Sutter Home White Zinfandel) and putting the bottles in the fridge. Next best is Private Preserve.
[This message has been edited by Kcwhippet (edited 02-20-2004).]
- Thomas - 02-20-2004
I agree fully with KC and ww on this one. The best way to prove the point about the pump's inability to deliver what it promises is to compare a wine you opened and saved for a day or two via the pump to the same wine and vintage that you open right away. Drink them side-by-side and you will see that the pump did not do the wine justice.
- hotwine - 02-20-2004
You guys may be right about the pump..... but I still use it on those rare occasions when I have to leave a bottle unfinished, like last night when I had to run off for a men's group meeting at church. It won't help beyond 24 hours, but I find it useful for that period. But then, I still mount a horse or tractor only from the left side, put on my left boot before the right, etc.
- Thomas - 02-20-2004
Hotwine, be glad you can still mount a horse or tractor at all...
A couple of years ago I did my left side mount onto the tractor, slipped and put the full weight of my body onto a twisting ankle as I dropped to the ground. The sucker blew up almost instantly, and as I was alone at the time, I had to crawl to the house, too late to halt the swelling with ice. Since then, I slowly mount the tractor and I keep a firm grip on the steering wheel as I climb up. And I also do not use the vacu-vin!!!
- hotwine - 02-20-2004
Ouch, Foodster, that hurts thinking about it! I did that to an ankle on the confidence course in OCS, on my third trip in quick succession up & down the inclined plane. Damn that tac officer, anyway. But crawling to the house, nobody home.... ouch. The only thing more ornery than an old tractor is a broom-tailed nag.
- winoweenie - 02-20-2004
WHAS' YOU TALKIN' 'BOUT THERE KC?????? [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]
- Kcwhippet - 02-20-2004
Huh?