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- Open bottle storage...?
Kind of a noob here - trying to develop my taste in wine a bit better and I have a question. In your opinion, how should red and white wines be stored once they are opened (until I can finish it, which won't be too long). So I'm talking very short term storage here (probably 5 or 6 days tops), but would like to make sure I do not damage the flavor/aroma of the wines at all.
thanks for any advice
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0392 - Reply by GregT, Jun 5.
You can't do it perfectly. However, buy a 1/2 bottle of something. Drink it. Save the bottle.
Then next time you want to save something, open it an immediately pour into the 1/2 bottle, fill almost to the top and cork immediately. Put the 1/2 bottle into the fridge right away. It will hold for a while like that. Take it out a little before you're ready to serve it so it won't be so cold. In some cases, depending on the wine, a little air will help. But for cheaper wines, it won't so protect from air as much as possible.
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1147 - Reply by dmcker, Jun 6.
As a lesser choice you can try the vacuuvin, or whatever that airpump is with rubber stoppers. You'll be retaining the original bottles, and pulling out the air above the wine in it. While it does a decent job, especially when combined with refrigeration (standing, not on its side!), in keeping an open bottle of wine fresh for a few days, you also may be vacuuming out some of the subtleties of its aroma when you use it. Finally there's a system, whose name escapes me at the moment (haven't had my morning coffee yet), that allows you to inject inert gas into the bottle to replace the oxygen. Probably similar results as for the vacuuvin system, though I personally haven't tried it.
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43 - Reply by Robert Johnston, Jun 7.
I've got one of the inert gas thingies -- it seems to work quite well; definitely an improvement on just putting the cork back in. If the vacuvin works I'd probably stick with that though. I haven't tried one, but with my device (which was bought as a gift for me) you have to buy new gas canisters quite often, which is pricey and a bit of a pain.
Does storing in the fridge really help? I've never tried, and I've always presumed that one of the worst things you can do to wine is expose it to big changes in temperature ...
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- Reply by cabulous, Jun 7.
Thanks for the advice - I actually liked the idea of just using a half bottle and went out and bought one for red and one for white. I think I may have accidentally found a new favorite red wine blend by doing this too - so there you go. But I should put back in the wine fridge and not my regular fridge, right? I agree with the last poster that severe changes in temp should be avoided. So this would also mean not leaving the reds out on the counter, like some suggest?
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- Reply by Robert Johnston, Jun 7.
I just re-read your original post and I should clarify that my worries about fridge storage are regarding red wines -- of course it's fine to keep white in the fridge. Mine last a week or so with no problems.
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1147
- Reply by dmcker, Jun 7.
If you're going to keep it out of the fridge it'll be OK for maybe a day (or less), depending on the wine. Then it heads downslope with increasing speed. Enervation/fatigue of the wine is speedier at higher temperatures, even when effectively stoppered, or so I've found over decades of wine drinking and vacuuvin, etc. use. Definitely back in the fridge, standing up if you're using the rubber vacuuvin stopper. Temperature fluctuations aren't as big an issue once or twice within a short period of time as they are over a longer storage life for the wine.
And, of course, when using spare half-bottles, be sure to clean, rinse and dry them as well as you can between uses...
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56 - Reply by hhotdog, Jun 7.
i use the "pump" often( if you are like me ...it will be gone soon!)) then the wine will last only a day or two after pumping and stopping it will keep well. the wine will lose little or minimal within a day or two in my expirience. i tend to finish most so if you have to pumping up and stop with rubber stoppers(just about $10-$15 cost) helps keep a nice wine last a day or two well, it's a no brainer!!!!
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01 - Reply by fisty, Jun 8.
I just have one of those wine stopper things that I put in the top of the bottle. I typically finish a bottle within a few hours so it works well for me.
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08 - Reply by jamesnash, Jun 8.
Let me share with you a way to preserve open wine I have found that forever changed the way I drink wine. Since my wife hardly drinks, my new system allows me to drink 1 to 2 glasses every night, and never have to throw out wine gone bad.
You can buy cans of inert gas at my local wine merchant for a few bucks, and it's good for 100 uses! It's called Private Preserve, but there are other brands I think. Just spray it for a few seconds in the bottle and re cork. It's better than the vaccu vin, because that still leaves some air in the bottle, this coats the wine with a gas heavier than air. It's good for a week or so, and can be used on port, single malt scotch, whatever.
I disagree on refrigerating wine, if the fridge is colder than 45F it will kill the flavor of the wine, even a white one, after a few days. Try this test. Refrigerate one bottle of white for 7 days and then refrigerate the same wine but a different bottle for 3 hours. Open both botttles and compare. I think you will find the one that's been in there for a a week has lost a lot of its flavor.
Refrigeration hurts after only 1 or 2 days, in my opinion. I put my reds in my cellar, at 63F and they like that. The whites I have opened I try to drink quickly.
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1147
- Reply by dmcker, Jun 8.
Thanks, James, for the reminder about the inert gas system whose name I couldn't remember. Seven days is way too long to keep a wine open, with either vacuuvin or the Private Preserve system, in my opinion. I always try to drink everything up within 3 days max, preferably less. Three hours up to a max of a day will always beat 3-7 (or more) days, no matter what the temperature.
For your next experiment why don't you try two or three days in and out of the fridge, assuming we're talking warm weather? I think you'll find the fridge helps a bit.
