Best ways to preserve open bottles of wine.
Why does open wine go bad in the first place?
An open bottle of wine won’t spoil and grow mold, but it will get stale and simply not taste good anymore. Exposure to oxygen is the enemy that causes this. When considering how to preserve wine, it’s key to make sure that your wine is protected from exposure to the air as much as possible.
1. Store opened wine bottles in an upright position to reduce the surface area exposed to oxygen.
2. Keep your wine in the fridge since the cooler temperature will slow oxidation.
A re-closed bottle of red or white wine in the fridge can stay relatively fresh for one to five days, depending on its delicacy or boldness. Because they’re usually best enjoyed chilled, putting opened white wines in the fridge feels instinctive. When it comes to red wine, any form of chilling might seem like a faux pas, but it’s for the best. Just allow the red to warm up a bit prior to serving it again.
3. Use a wine preservation system.
These investments can help you keep your wine fresh for even longer.
This hand pump and specialized rubber stoppers pull the air with its damaging oxygen from the bottle. Buy this once, and continue to use it indefinitely. Store the vacuumed wine upright in the fridge.
Private Preserve (click to view)
A squirt of this canned inert gas blankets the wine’s surface with a protective layer of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and argon that is heavier than air. This works well for a week and makes a noticeable difference on delicate wines such as Pinot Noir. Keep the gassed bottle upright in the fridge. The can is not expensive and contains about 100 uses. This product will save you money in the end.
Coravin’s wine preservation system allows you to pour a glass of wine without removing the cork. It displaces the wine in the bottle with argon gas and preserves the remaining wine for a month or more. Coravin is our go-to for the finer wines in our collections. Store the wine on its side to keep the natural cork moist and in a cool, dark place.
If their original model is too over-the-top for you, Coravin’s newer Pivot model is a simpler contraption without an intimidating sharp needle, and with a more approachable price tag. Pivot is super for giving you the option of having a few bottles on tap at your house for up to 2 weeks, ensuring a fresh-tasting glass when you are ready for it. This enables you to match your wine to your mood, dinner courses, or the weather.
Click here to view all wine preservation products currently available.
4. You can do a few things at no cost:
Transfer your leftover wine into a smaller sealed bottle with no air space.
Freeze open bottles of leftover wine.
Yes, you can freeze wine! Wine is low enough in alcohol that it will freeze solid, so make sure you’ve enjoyed a glass of it so the liquid has room to expand. Otherwise, you’ll be in for quite a mess to clean up. Allow the wine to slowly thaw early in the day you wish to enjoy it. The cold temperature will not alter the taste of the wine, but it will cause additional sediment and tartrate crystals to precipitate out of the solution. Don’t be alarmed by the additional sediment, just decant the clear wine off of it. This method is a good resort for when you’ve thrown a tasting party and have more leftover than you can drink in a week, or if you’re about to leave town for awhile.
And if a bottle of wine has been open for too long and doesn’t taste as good, you can absolutely use it to cook with.
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Wine Wednesday
March 27, 5-7pm
Stop by the shop for a complimentary tasting of 4 of March’s featured wines.
1. Fritz Sauvignon Blanc 2022, California $13.99
2. Domaine Dupeuble Rosé 2022, Beaujolais $14.99
3. Luigi Pira Dolcetto d’Alba 2022, Piedmont, Italy $18.99
4. Kermit Lynch 2021 “Cypress Cuvée” Côtes-du-Rhône, France $17.99