Half consumed bottle of red

[mrvegas]

We opened a large bottle of red last night and only finish half of it. What's the best way to keep it? Now that I'm asking, how about a white? Same answer?

Thanks!

[Innkeeper]

Hi Mrvegas, and welcome to the Wine Board. You can spend a lot of money on preservation systems with varying degrees of success. The idea is to keep the wine away from air in order to avoid oxidation. The simplest and most effective system is to save one or two half bottles (375 ml), preferably ones with synthetic corks that have been cleaned thoroughly. Typically these bottles come with dessert wines.

When you decide you only want a half bottle of wine of any color, uncork the wine, fill the half bottle up to the top, and recork the half bottle with the synthetic cork. If some wine squirts out the top, so much the better. Enjoy your remaining half bottle. Refigerate the half bottle for a day or two. Here color counts. White wine will fade faster than red wine. Fortified wines such as port or sherry will last the longest.

[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 06-11-2001).]