Storing an open red

[tonym]

Hi all, I am new here and new to the world of wine so I know very little but I do know I like the reds. I would like to know if its ok to have a glass and reseal the bottle, either with the screw cap that comes on the bottle or in the case of a cork sealed bottle one of the rubber stoppers that you can buy at most bottle shops? Do you refrigerate an opened red or leave it in a cool darkend place? How long will it last once opened? Thanks for any help

[markg]

Personally, IF there is any left (thats the main issue ) - I stick a cork in it and put it in the fridge. Take it out the next night and bring to room temp and its fine.

The less air the better so keep clean half bottles around the house and pour the remainder in to those.

A few winemakers have told me that storing an open bottle in the fridge is the equivilent of ageing the wine 1 year for each night in the fridge. Not sure how accurate that is as any left wine in the house rarely gets to last past a 2nd night.

[rens]

I'm a 375 ml bottle kind of guy. I poor the wine from the bottle into a 375 (fill it right to the top) and seal it immediately with the screwcap.It then sits on the bench. Most wine will last about a week, depending on the age of the wine (older wines will sometimes only go another night or two).
This method does mean you have to drink half a bottle at a time.

[Bradgc]

Yea you'll find that most reds actually get better on the 2nd or 3rd day of being open. The aeration improves the whine which is why red wine decanters have a very wide flat base to maximise surface area.
I've never put my reds in the fridge and they easily last up to a week, and if they seem to be stale, i'll still cook with them.
Most wines have some preservatives in them, but mainly they have no reason to go off as the yeast has already eaten the sugar, and things only go off in when there's actual food for the mould or yeast to eat. (wine is pretty much already "off" grape juice, so it cant exactly go off again, but it can however get stale after a long time or turn acidic)

[griff]

Yea you'll find that most reds actually get better on the 2nd or 3rd day of being open. The aeration improves the whine which is why red wine decanters have a very wide flat base to maximise surface area.
I've never put my reds in the fridge and they easily last up to a week, and if they seem to be stale, i'll still cook with them.
Most wines have some preservatives in them, but mainly they have no reason to go off as the yeast has already eaten the sugar, and things only go off in when there's actual food for the mould or yeast to eat. (wine is pretty much already "off" grape juice, so it cant exactly go off again, but it can however get stale after a long time or turn acidic)

Bradgc, the ethanol is turned into acetic acid by acinetobacter.

cheers

Carl

[Mahmoud Ali]

With two in the household there is rarley any wine leftover. If a second bottle is opened I usually just stopper it with the cork and leave it at the table for the next evening. A good young wine should last a full day without any difficulty. If it doesn't you can probably assume that it is not a wine that will cellar.

As an abstract exercise, if you want to keep leftover wine for a few or more days then sealed and refrigerated is the way to go. again, as mentioned above the more air in the bottle the faster it will go off.

Carl is correct about bacteria affecting the wine, turning the alcohol into acetic acid, the main component of vinegar.

Cheers..................Mahmoud.

[rooman]

this is one of the best investments any wine freak should own. http://www.petersofkensington.com.au/Pu ... White.aspx

[Bradgc]

Bradgc, the ethanol is turned into acetic acid by acinetobacter.

cheers

Carl

No Acinetobacter is a bacteria that's found in soil and causes hospital infections and bed sores.

Acetobacter probably what you meant, it is one of the many AAB bacteria's that can turn alcohol into vinegar, but it would take several weeks to turn it into vinegar.
So to answer tonym's question, it is still fine to drink after a few days and refrigeration will slow the bacteria down but if you're only going to drink it over 2 - 3 days then it not really worth the hassle of refrigerating it then bringing it back up to temp.

There are also all the wine pumps and Ardea seals but I've never seen them to be necessary. I'm pretty sure most sommelier's and wine critics couldn't taste the difference on a bottle that has been screwcapped over night or vacuum pumped.

[Mike Hawkins]

MarkG's approach is the one I use. Apparently a wine will experience the effects of oxygenation less quickly if the temperature is lowered....

Cheers


Mike

[Bradgc]

Apparently a wine will experience the effects of oxygenation less quickly if the temperature is lowered....

yea but as a red, it'll usually get better when aired a bit.. idieally if you have a really good old vintage you double decant it back to the bottle about an hour or 2 before drinking, but even the next day it'll be better still

[Mike Hawkins]

Apparently a wine will experience the effects of oxygenation less quickly if the temperature is lowered....

yea but as a red, it'll usually get better when aired a bit.. idieally if you have a really good old vintage you double decant it back to the bottle about an hour or 2 before drinking, but even the next day it'll be better still

I Disagree. Old reds will generally fall apart after 2 hours, let alone the next day. If they're only say 15 years of age, then maybe.

Cheers Mike

[Bradgc]

. I Disagree. Old reds will generally fall apart after 2 hours, let alone the next day. If they're only say 15 years of age, then maybe.

Yea, in the question it states that they're new to wines so I was just assuming that they're not drinking a 15 year old vintage every couple of days.
When I was new to wines I didn't know the difference in taste from a 2 year old to a 15 year old.

Cheers

Brad

[newworld]

I've got a vinovac, but have stopped using it as just putting the screwcap back on and storing the wine in the fridge is usually enough for at least 3-4 nights (apart from aged/badly stored wines that can be losing it on the second night in the fridge.

Most newer wines under stelvin actually seem to improve after the 2nd or 3rd night in my experience.

[tonym]

Thanks all for the replies, I am new to wine and generally try to buy a mixed variety of styles and ages, my ususal shopping haunt is Dans and try to buy wines from their cellar program. The reason I asked the original question is because there is two of us in the house and the Mrs generally only likes a small glass of red occasionally and sometimes a bottle is a bit much for me alone so I like to have a couple of glasses one night and a couple the next night. So far I dont have a decanter but will get one this week and probably one of those aerators also

[ticklenow1]

I am finding Winesave works really well. Better than the vacuum devices for me. But I suppose it is personal.

Cheers
Ian

[hungus]

Down my throat or in a 375ml bottle in the fridge

[dan_smee]

Problem with re-corking/capping and putting them on the shelf or in the fridge is that the oxygen inside starts to spoil the wine. Sure, reds to improve with a bit of air, but it soon starts to depreciate the quality, diluting the fruit etc.

I recently started using the V1 decanter (anyone here have any experiences)? Basically, pour the whole bottle in and decant as usual, then when you have poured the wine into glasses form the decanter, place the seal on top, and use the pump to suck the air out. Without the oxygen in the decanter left to spoil the wine, it keeps probably 2-3 days longer than bottles that have the closures replaced and put back in the fridge.

Usually, I wouldn't go more than 2 days, 3 at the outside on an open bottle, but the V1 I would probably stretch it easily to 5 days (haven't had any last a full week yet though).

http://www.petersofkensington.com.au/Pu ... ?ec=550160

http://www.metrokane.com/product/46/v-1 ... anter.aspx

[odyssey]

With the exception of dirt cheap wines, I've had a lot of luck with gassing good wines with WineSave and putting it in the fridge - in fact I have had many good quality ageable wines vastly improve over 2-3 nights like that, everything from young NZ pinot to 15 year old Bordeaux to sparkling Cremant de Jura. The Bordeaux lasted over a week without any deterioration.

I expect it is like a very gradual controlled decant. A very very slow oxidation rate, from the slightly extra oxygen exposure, at very cold temperatures, leads to a very delayed chemical reaction - which in some schools of thought is considered better for wine than a big burst of swished up air from a vinturi type device - if you have the time to wait.

[ticklenow1]

Problem with re-corking/capping and putting them on the shelf or in the fridge is that the oxygen inside starts to spoil the wine. Sure, reds to improve with a bit of air, but it soon starts to depreciate the quality, diluting the fruit etc.

I recently started using the V1 decanter (anyone here have any experiences)? Basically, pour the whole bottle in and decant as usual, then when you have poured the wine into glasses form the decanter, place the seal on top, and use the pump to suck the air out. Without the oxygen in the decanter left to spoil the wine, it keeps probably 2-3 days longer than bottles that have the closures replaced and put back in the fridge.

Usually, I wouldn't go more than 2 days, 3 at the outside on an open bottle, but the V1 I would probably stretch it easily to 5 days (haven't had any last a full week yet though).

http://www.petersofkensington.com.au/Pu ... ?ec=550160
http://www.metrokane.com/product/46/v-1 ... anter.aspx

I bought one of these and to be honest, I don't find them that great. I would recommend using them for no more than 2 nights at the most.

I agree with Odyssey, the Wine Save is the way to go. In my experience, wine is still OK after 3 -5 nights. I pour any wine left over back into a screwcap bottle, give it a squirt, reseal it and then put it back in the cellar. Haven't had a problem yet.

Cheers
Ian

[TiggerK]

No real harm in the idea, but it'll hardly be a 100% vacuum, so oxygen will still be present anyway. So recork/rescrew, put into the fridge at 4C, will be good for days or more depending on the wine. Cheaper and simpler too!

Haven't used winesave, but displacing the oxygen with a heavier gas makes a lot more sense than a vague attempt at vacuum sealing.

Cheers
Tim

[Sean]

deleted

[griff]

Bradgc, the ethanol is turned into acetic acid by acinetobacter.

cheers

Carl

No Acinetobacter is a bacteria that's found in soil and causes hospital infections and bed sores.

Acetobacter probably what you meant, it is one of the many AAB bacteria's that can turn alcohol into vinegar, but it would take several weeks to turn it into vinegar.
So to answer tonym's question, it is still fine to drink after a few days and refrigeration will slow the bacteria down but if you're only going to drink it over 2 - 3 days then it not really worth the hassle of refrigerating it then bringing it back up to temp.

There are also all the wine pumps and Ardea seals but I've never seen them to be necessary. I'm pretty sure most sommelier's and wine critics couldn't taste the difference on a bottle that has been screwcapped over night or vacuum pumped.

Yep that is the one. Considering the OP asked how long he can leave wine when open it is a valid concern. Wine doesn't need to turn into vinegar completely. It only needs a little to become less palatable, which certainly occurs in less than "several weeks"