How long does open wine stay good for?!
How long does open wine stay good for?
Answers:
There is no simple answer. It is just impossible to say "1 day" or "1 week".
It depends on what wine it is.
Wine starts to change and deteriorate the moment it is exposed to air.
Wines which have higher levels of alcohol or sugar - because they are preservatives - keep longer. A bottle of Port or Sherry (both are fortified) or a sweet dessert wine lasts a lot longer than an ordinary table wine.
A red wine with high levels of tannin might actually improve left open for a day as the air accelerates the aging process and helps to soften the tannins.
If you want to keep an ordinary table wine, put the cork back in as soon as possible (to reduce oxygen exposure) and put the bottle in the fridge door (keeping it cool helps prolong it).
I personally wouldn't want to drink wines that had been opened much more than a day. By the way, this is why so many wines by the glass in bars are so unappealing -- they've been open too long.
If you intend regularly opening wines to finish later, see if you can find some smaller bottles -- those quarter sized screwcap bottles are ideal -- and pour the unused wine into the smaller bottle and close it, thus there is less oxygen in the bottle.
Alternatively, why not freeze the remainder? Stcik the cork back in teh neck and put the bottle in the freezer. When thedays comes you are ready to drink it, thaw the bottle in the fridge. The wine will taste about the same as if you'd kept it opened for a day, and white wines may have some harmless white deposits at the bottom.
But why not look for wine in half or quarter bottles?
There are some devices that pump out the air -- but they are not very effective (waste of money in my opinion), and some devices that pump nitrogen into the bottle to exclude oxygen, but these are expensive and still a bit iffy.
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The second day it's not as good. But if you just want the effect of the alcohol, it will be drinkable for about a week if kept in the fridge with a rubber stopper to keep the air out.
This is, by the way, why fine wines are often available in half bottles.
The taste of wine begins to change as soon as it is opened and exposed to the air. Some of those changes are good (which is why some red wines neeed to 'breath' before serving). But over time the changes become less desireable. It is drinkable until it turns to vinegar (maybe a week or more?) but that doen's mean it is as good as that first day. The chemical reactions changing the flavor are primarily oxidation (reactions with oxygen in the air) which you can slow down with refrigerartion and minimize by using commercially available products. There are two main categories: hand operated vacuum pumps (like Vacu Vin) that remove much of the oxygen from the bottle and seal the top until you need it again and inert gas sprays that replace the air in the top of the bottle with an inert gas (like Private Preserve).
Bottom line: if you recork the bottle and put it in the fridge two or three days is no problem. If you use the vacuum pump a week or two is reasonable and if you use the inert gas, weeks or months are possible (though I wouldn't recommend waiting that long!).
It depends if the wine is dry, sweet, white or red. Also, the original quality of the wine. Take a little sip, and if it is vinegary, dump it down the drain.
PS. If you have a red wine that you refrigerate to keep fresh, PLEASE let it stand and return to room temperature before drinking or serving it.
I have a large collection of wines, and I always use a vacuum pump to take out the air with a rubber stopper, and store it in a wine cooler. A fridge is just as good, but a wine cooler regulates the temperature better, about 45 degrees is best. I have re-opened the bottles after a few weeks, and it is still very good. I don't ever notice any loss of flavor.
For your typical red or white, a rule of thumb is 2-3 days tops, and that’s with a special cap to remove the oxygen. After three days the wine will be noticeably more acidic and will have lost its potential to bring pleasure.
When I don't finish a bottle the day I've opened it, I pour the remainder into an ice cube tray, freeze it, pop the cubes into a freezer bag, and use them for cooking.
not long but a day or two will be ok put the cork back in the bottle
korkie