Opened Wine

[JHE]

How long will an opened bottle of wine (refrigerated)stay good?

[Innkeeper]

Hi JHE, and welcome to the Wine Board. If you put the cork back in, maybe a day. Talking about table wine here, fortified wines such as Sherry and Port will last longer (maybe a week). The enemy is air, or more precisely oxygen. The more you can keep oxygen away from wine, the longer you can preserve it.

One trick is to buy a half bottle (375 ml) of wine, and keep the bottle after drinking the wine. Next time you just want to drink a half bottle of a regular size (750 ml), go through this drill. Open the new wine. Fill the clean, sterilized, half bottle up almost to the top. Place it on the floor, on a towel. Drive the cork from the new bottle into the half bottle with a rubber mallet. If it doesn't slosh all over the place, you didn't fill the half bottle enough. Enjoy the remaining wine in the open bottle, and put the recorked half bottle in the fridge. White wine will last up to three days this way, and red wine four or five.

[JHE]

Innkeeper,

Thank you for the info on the storage of wine. It will be very helpful in the future.
My wife and I are new to the enjoyment of wine.
My wife tends to lean towards the white wines, and I toward the reds.

Thanks again

[leatherman]

Innkeeper... You said that red lasted longer than white. Im surprised since I found the opposite. I find that the reds turn bitter faster than the whites. I do like your mallet idea Im just I will smash the bottle to pieces!

[Innkeeper]

Hey Cowhideman, you could be right, but maybe for other reasons. See: http://www.esquire.com/foodanddrink/wine/020501_mdr_survive.html

[mrdutton]

Infrequently I place a bottle in the frige for overnight storage.

The leftover wine never makes it past the 24 hour mark with me as the consumer.

So, in my limited experiance, I'd say that keeping wine overnight for consumption during the next day is acceptable.

I've never been able to carry storage of an open bottle further than that.......

Usually the bottle gets drunk shortly after it has been opened and there is none left for further storage.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away; a bottle a day keeps me happy, I'd say!

[This message has been edited by mrdutton (edited 05-06-2002).]

[Bucko]

I receive a ton of samples, more than I could ever hope to drink, even if I adopted WW. I pour a 2-ounce serving to do tasting notes then I spray the bottle with Private Preserve, slam in the cork, give the wines to the neighbors, and they enjoy them over a 1-2 week period without any appreciable degradation. I strongly recommend gassing wines (in distinction to being gassed like half of the board members). [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]

[Drew]

I resemble that remark Bucko, the only time I get gas is when I read your posts. [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]

[vinman]

Just think it is best to drink it...within a day or two. 'Course can cook a bit with it too! Such a fuss!

[JHE]

Thanks so much for all your replies! I will endever to make it my never ending strugle to learn the finer points of wine!
So many wines and so little time!!!