cork lost...

[bridgehorse]

i was wondering if i leave the cork off the bottle of red wine will it lose any of its strength??? i always seem to mis-place the cork and wind up leaving the unfinished bottle for another time without a cork..

[Innkeeper]

Depends on what you mean by strength. Since we are on the Wine & Health thread, do you mean health benefits? If so, the answer is no. What happens when air gets into the bottle is the wine gets oxydized. This affects the taste of the wine primarily, not the structure of it.

The best way to handle leftover wine is to keep air from it. I use an old half bottle (375 ml) and stopper. When I just want a half bottle, I open a full one (750 ml) and pour it into the half bottle up to the top. Holding it over the sink, I put in the stopper, and then the half bottle goes into the fridge until I need it.