How long can a open bottle of wine last?!


Question:

How long can a open bottle of wine last?

i just found half a bottle of wine in the cupboard. it was quite expensive, im not sure how long ago it was opened, 3-6 months approx. it still tastes good (ish). i have seen posts of people saying open wine will go bad. apart from vinegary, which it hasnt, what else could happen to it?
there is a light foam on it.(few bubbles around edge of glass). its an 04 merlot (red).
am i mad?

Additional Details

1 week ago
hmmm, changed my mind. what are the black bits in it?


Answers:
1 week ago
hmmm, changed my mind. what are the black bits in it?

There is no doubt that this bottle is going to be bad. Once you open it you are letting oxygen in the bottle. Being that the bottle was half full means that half the bottle had air in it that was exposed to the wine. What you have now is a bottle of oxidized wine. This will kill the fruit flavors and will leave the wine tasting stale, musty and moldy. Sorry, please don't drink it, pour it down the drain and run to the store for a new bottle that will be much better to drink.

Personally I wouldn't use it, the black bits could be some type of mould.

yes you are mad because a bottle of Merlot in my house only gets time to get to room temperature before i drink it
but seriously i would not drink it anything could be wrong with it and could make you ill i would throw it away

bin it. it sounds dangerous. open another bottle and drink it all this time.

How expensive can 2004 merlot be? It's bad. Just buy another one

=:-)

i wish i had skipped over this question, i feel queesy now

3/6 months after opening seems a bit long to sample
wine so I would take the safe option and pour it away
and buy another less expensive bottle and enjoy!!

Oh yuck! Dump it down the sink. Maybe if it had been in the fridge it would last a week or so but in the cupboard?!? YUCK. And the black bits are mold or sediment...if they were on the bottom they are sediment (normal), if they were floating on the top they are mold (YUCK)!

A wine can keep for awhile depending on the temperature it is kept in and its storing conditions. It sounds like you should just get rid of it. Next time you buy some wine, get a vacuvin pump. It comes with a stopper, you take the air out of the bottle and then you can lay it down in proper conditions. Red wines can last from 1 to 3 weeks depending on the wine.

Good lord... I wouldn't drink it after three to six days!

Isadora has it right - a week max (less for white wines) before it starts tasting 'off'. It takes longer for it to actually be a health hazard - but yours would qualify on that count too!

Are you really that desperate for a drink?

You say it was expensive but that it is an '04 merlot. What do you consider expensive? If it was so good in the first place why was any left to sit for several months?

Throw it out and buy a fresh bottle.

Good drain cleaner

For goodness sake - when you open a bottle of wine, drink it. You are as bad as my dear old mum who has a half full bottle of cream sherry from Christmas 2003 and she is convinced it will still be ok because the whisky, rum and spirits from the same period are still fine. It is sloshing about like sour milk in the bottle and stinks like weasel urine. This nation is culturally doomed.

Not very long with me i drink the lot........

dont care how much it cost i wouldnt drink an opened bottle of wine after 3 days.

you're mad for not pouring it down the drain immediately. after it's opened, wine can last only a few days, even with special caps to remove oxygen. i can't believe the wine has not become 100% vinegar, as that's what happens (eventually) when wine mixes with the air. which wine was it, btw?




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