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- A tip for storing leftover wine
If you're like me and are the sole drinker of your household, you hardly want to polish off a whole bottle by yourself each night. Here's a way to store your leftovers
Step 1: Buy and drink a Half-Bottle wine, like a dessert wine of some kind. They're typically 375 ml, and are better for storing opened wine because there is less room for oxygen contact in a smaller bottle.
Step 2: Thoroughly rinse out the bottle, and soak it in soapy water for half an hour to remove the label cleanly. Let it dry.
Step 3: Cut a piece of white printer paper to size and wrap it around the bottle, scotch taping it into place. Wrap celophane around the bottle, on top of the white paper.
Step 4: Immediately after opening your fill sized bottle of wine, pour half of it into the half-bottle, using a funnel so as not to spill. With a dry erase marker, write the name or type of wine on the bottle, and the date you opened it so you'll remember to drink it before it goes bad. When you're done with the wine inside, simply wipe off the dry erase marker and do it all over again.
Keep in mind that low temperatures slow any biological process, so you can store the half-bottle in the refridgerator until about a half hour before you're ready to drink it. Some people don't like the fridge idea, so do what you think is best for your wine.
This process should add a day or two to your opened wine's life span, before it goes bad.
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41 - Reply by schellbe, Sep 6.
Another alternative to to buy dry wines in half-bottles. Dry wines, as well as dessert wines, are available in half-bottles, but you have to look for them, and find some you like. Bug your merchant about this, or find one who carries a good selection of half-bottles.
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1738 - Reply by Gregory Dal Piaz, Sep 6.
Excellent tip Jared,
This has been my MO for years. I think I have three halves in the fridge right now.
In my experience I have had no problem keeping these wines for weeks without any apparent development of the wine.
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35 - Reply by lingprof, Sep 7.
Hey there, GDP. I saw your original post on this, and have a quick question. Is the idea that you fill it up to the very top edge so there's no air? And what type of closure do you use? Do you think a screwcap would be better than a cork-type top? Thanks!!
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1139 - Reply by dmcker, Sep 7.
A cork you know to be clean would be better than a screw top, or rubber stopper, *especially* if the bottle will end up on its side at any point. The jury is still out on how coatings on screwcaps affect wine, and rubber is, of course, a no-no for wine contact. Problem with corks is that if you store the bottle standing in the fridge they may dry out relatively quickly, thus shortening the length of time your wine remains healthy. Moral of the story is to drink up the 'remainders' as quickly as possible, I suppose. Personally, I will store the bottles standing if I know I'll be drinking them in a day or two. Otherwise on their side, but even then I won't want to keep them as long as Greg, but would think a week or less. Longer than that and I've noticed definite dropoffs in aromatics and flavor.
I've used the technique described here, a vacuuvin pump, and inert gas. All of them have roughly the same time window in my experience. Certainly best of all is to finish the bottle at the sitting that it's opened for, or within a few hours after...
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331 - Reply by Eric Guido, Sep 7.
Hey dmcker, I've been using apothecary bottles for this which have rubber closures and I never thought about it. I'm wondering, does anyone know of any problem with having a layer of plastic wrap between the rubber and the wine? I'd hate to throw out these bottles because they are the perfect size for leftover wine.
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1139
- Reply by dmcker, Sep 7.
Just keep them standing, Eric, and drinkup quick.
I don't know of any published research about interaction between saran/plastic wrap and wine, but my gut feeling says there is something not-so-good going on with that as well as the rubber underneath--and other forms of plastic containment, as well. There's lot of buzz from 'greener' sources about problems with plastic, and my guess is that we will see some research at a later date that explains why, though don't hold your breath in the short term. Think about it, though. Why is it that even water tastes different in plastic containers? As I've mentioned elsewhere, I no longer microwave (which I rarely do, anyway) anything in plastic containers or plastic wrap.
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232 - Reply by fibo86, Sep 7.
I too don't drink that much and i find that the screw cap does do a good job imo as I've done the cork thing and find that if it get's knocked cause someone isn't paying attention your fridge may start bleeding (red or white) and that's no fun.
I'm curious as to what chemicals you are referring to dmcker?
On your plastic wrap and microwave plastic thing I agree.....shame it's not a household thing here.
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35
- Reply by lingprof, Sep 7.
Thanks, dmcker! Vacuuvin is my 'normal' method but I just don't feel like I get good results after a day or two, so I'm looking forward to trying this new system.
Oh, and do you fill the bottle to the very top, then, or leave air? hmmmm..... the researcher in me is thinking I might try a controlled experiment on that one. ;-)
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1139
- Reply by dmcker, Sep 8.
Lingprof, the idea is to keep as little air as possible between the wine and the stopper. Though depending on the stopper (such as the soft rubber one with the vacuuvin), you definitely don't want actual contact with the wine. Definitely no laying on their sides for bottles using vacuuvin.
I've used that technique for a couple of decades, but less so these days. Sucking out the air sucks out some of the aromatics, and the seal isn't always perfect, so I definitely try to drink the remainders up within a day or two at the most. Inert gas systems aren't much different, and I nowadays prefer to use a cork in a half-bottle, like Jerad describes here and GregDP has mentioned several times in other threads, though even with it I don't want to keep the remainders much longer before drinking.
It perhaps goes without saying, but I prefer to use all of these techniques on everyday wines. I wouldn't want to forcibly decant an older wine into the half bottle, or potentially miss the best drinking window for even younger fine wines. Those I definitely drink up within less than 24 hours (often much less ;-) ), either alone or with others...
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92 - Reply by penguinoid, Sep 8.
Normally I decant half empty open bottles into half bottles. I have one for red wines and another for whites, though since I wash them out with hot water after use this is probably not needed. It does seem to work.
Interestingly, one wine which I did not do this for was Two Paddocks 2007 Picnic Pinot Noir (Otago, NZ). I forgot, and left the remainder of the wine in the bottle over night. For this particular wine, it improved the (already very good) wine quite a bit -- the tannins softened beautifully, and it developed a beautiful candied smell. I was interested to note this on the producers website:
"Footnote:
"We found , no surprise, that the bottle of Two Paddocks not finished drank even better the next day . Well of course it would. It is a matter of deep regret to wine makers all over the world that 99.9 % of wines are drunk within an hour of opening, thus never allowing the wine to open up to its full glory.
"So here’s our suggestion; Open your lovely bottle of Two Paddocks or Picnic, drink half a glass, then put the top back on. Then turn to the bottle of Two Paddocks you opened YESTERDAY, and drink that , keeping the one you just opened for tomorrow. Repeat the next day.
"You know it makes sense... "
http://twopaddocks.com/news.shtml
Not something I've heard before, but it certainly was good advice for this wine. Even if I only found out it was a good idea after I'd already done it ;-)
