Refrigerate or not?

[MAB]

If a bottle of red wine is opened and not completely consumed, does it need to be refrigerated or can it just be corked, left out at room temperature and saved for later consumption? How long will the remaining wine in the bottle last? Thanks.

[winoweenie]

Hi MAB and welcome to the board. Consumed how much later? 1 hr, 1 day, 1 week. If you are going to drink the bottle the same day it doesn`t matter. Can`t say from personal experience, as I`ve never had the problem, but some of my wimpier collegues tell me that refrigeration does tend to help preserve the wine. You are talking about a magnum aren`t you? Winoweenie

[MAB]

Thanks for the reply answer. To clarify my question, I'm talking about drinking half a bottle with dinner one night and then finishing it the next night. I've heard one should refrigerate the bottle overnight, but I've also heard to leave it out (corked) at room temperature.

[hotwine]

We usually drink half a bottle each evening, and yes, it does help to refrigerate the remainder overnight. We replace the cork with a Vacuvin stopper, pumped several times, and that works fine for preserving the wine until the next evening.
I had been in the habit of simply leaving the re-corked bottle overnight on the kitchen counter, until reprimanded for doing that a few weeks ago by at least one board member; we now enjoy the "leftovers" much more than before.

[MAB]

Dear Hotwine--Thanks for the answer. Sounds like we've been doing the right thing.

[Bucko]

Hotwine, a half a bottle a night? Son...... I thought that you were a REAL Texas stud. Of the shame of it all..... [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

Bucko

[winoweenie]

Good Gracious Bucko, I`ve been know to spill that much in a nite. Half-Indeed! Winoweenie

[hotwine]

Moderation in all things, guys. Especially on weeknights. We were talking weeknights, weren't we? Now, on weekends it's another matter. And I just happened to have caught a sale on Tommasi Pinot Grigio today, at $9.99. Kind of wish I had bought more than a single case.

[tomstevenson]

Just swung by here, a bit late in the exchange, sorry. Hotwine is right about refrigerating any leftovers, red, white or tartan, but forget the Vacuvin! That device merely sucks out all the most volatile compounds in a wine, and they create the bouquet, nose or whatever you like to call it, so you're ruining it. And if it's a white, it also sucks out the CO2, which is present in even a still wine, giving it crispness and freshness - unless you've Vacuvin'd it that is. Vacuvin sucks, literally. Hotwine: try it by splitting a bottle and Vacuvining one, but not the other.
Cheers
Tom

[hotwine]

OK, Tom, thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try this weekend.
Gil