Keeping wine once opened.

[retrocannibal]

How long does red wine last after you have opened the bottle? Any special way of storing it once opened? How long will it last in a decanter? Should the decanter have a stopper? How about white wine? Thankful for any info on this matter.

[Innkeeper]

Hi Retro and welcome to the Wine Board. Keeping capabilities of wines vary more by producer than by grape variety. As a general rule of thumb, table wines (as opposed to sparkling or dessert [fortified or late harvest]wines) will last overnight if you just stick the cork back into the bottle, and put it in the fridge. They will last longer if you somehow more or less permanently remove all the air from the bottle. Air (oxygen) is what destroys wine. My preferred method is to have a half bottle standing by. When you open the full size bottle (750 ml) fill the half bottle up to the top. Set the half bottle on the floor and drive the cork from the full bottle into it with a rubber mallet. Then clean up the mess and enjoy the other half of the full bottle. Store the half bottle in the refrigerator for five days to a week.

In her book "Wine Buying Guide for Everyone", Andrea Immer not only evaluates more than 400 best selling, widely available wine; but also gives a "Fridge Survivor" rating for all whites, and "Kitchen Countertop Survivor" for all the reds in her book. If nothing else you can see how a wine will vary by producer. For example she gives Indigo Hills, California, Pinot Noir a rating of "average." She gives Kendall Jackson, Vinter's Reserve, California, Pinot Noir in the same price range, a rating of "A." "Average" means it is a "one day wine." "A" means that it has "a 3-4 day 'freshness window'." There are other pinot noirs in her book with ratings of average, B, B+, and A. So, you can see that not all wines of the same type have the same keeping ability.

[White Wine Lover]

Isn't there some type of device that pumps or sucks the air out of an open bottle of wine so that you can keep it longer? Does anyone know what this is, and if it is effective at all? And where you can get one?

WWL

[winoweenie]

Hi WWL. The device you're talking about is the Vacu-Vin and is almost worthless. The best unit to HELP keep wine is a cannister of inert gasses (N2, CO2,& Ar) called Private Preserve. Sells for around 10 bucks and will help for a day or two. WW