When asked how long you can keep an open bottle of wine before it is no longer drinkable, you usually get one of two answers: "What, open bottles? You have to drink the bottle empty!" Or, "Yes, I've often wondered!" Here is a practical explanation for knowing how long you can keep an opened bottle of wine.
Still wines
John Belsham, an international consultant and founder/winemaker of Foxes Island in New Zealand, says:
"The final decisive factor is quality. The better the wine, the longer it stays good in an open bottle. This is regardless of the techniques used (gas or vacuum). The bottom line is that once you open the bottle, oxygen enters the bottle and is absorbed into the wine."
White wine
"If it is well made, the wine will not oxidize easily," says Belsham. "I would expect a quality bottle of Chardonnay, Riesling, Sémillon or Sauvignon Blanc to stay good for three to four days after opening. Even with a small loss of aroma, it will still be tasty. Mass-produced, simpler white wines and rosés are probably best drunk within two days."
Red wine
"A red opened wine will also stay good for three to four days," says Belsham. "The more robust the red wine, the more tannin it has to protect from oxygen. So, the denser the red wine is, the better it will present itself. For example, I would give elegant Beaujolais three to four days, but five to six days for a robust southern Rhone or Primitivo. "
Sparkling wines
Sparkling wines enjoy protection via their own carbon dioxide, but open bottles need proper sealing with clamps. Marcello Lunelli, co-owner of the Italian Cantine Ferrari in Trento, says, "It depends on how full the bottle is still. If only one glass is missing, a bottle with a new stopper will stay good for three to four days, as long as the stopper seals completely, the pressure stays. Keep the bottle absolutely closed. Every time you open it, you lose pressure. If the bottle is half full, two days is maximum. After that, you won't have the perfect mouse. That said, the wine will still be good, just with less bubbles. What remains when the bubbles are gone is still an excellent wine. If the wine has been open longer, it is perfect for making risotto. The acidity of the wine balances the sweetness of the rice."
Fortified wines
Sherry
George Sandeman, of Sherry and Port producer Sandeman, recommends keeping Fino and Manzanilla styles in the refrigerator and consuming them within a week. Amontillado and Oloroso styles will keep for up to eight weeks after opening. He notes that this applies to these two styles regardless of their sweetness level.
Port
Paul Symington, managing director at Symington Family Estates, the group behind Graham's, Dow's and Warre's, says quality and style make a difference. "Ruby Port and LBV (late bottled vintage) styles will keep well for up to a week after opening," he says. "After that, they will suffer from the normal oxidation process, which is common to all wines. Tawny Port is aged in oak barrels and therefore can stand up well to contact with air. Therefore, a fine 10- or 20-year-old Tawny will remain in excellent condition two to three weeks after opening, especially if stored in the refrigerator."
Rabelo Boat, Douro River, Porto
On the highlight of Port, Symington says, "Like all great wines in bottle, Vintage Port is completely insulated from the air for many years. The glorious elegance of this wine on opening is a real highlight, but its ethereal beauty will fade after a few days. It should therefore be consumed within three to four days of opening."
Madeira
Madeira has already been exposed to heat and is an oxidized wine. So what is oxygen doing to this provided wine? "Do you want to know the truth?" asks Chris Blandy, director of the Madeira Wine Company. "No one knows exactly, but my own experience is that at Christmas 2011, I drank half a bottle of 1976 vintage Madeira with my wife. A year later, at Christmas 2012, we drank the other half, and the bottle was perfect.
The wines are fortified and intentionally oxidized, so nature has little influence on them anymore. As long as you keep the bottle away from direct sunlight and upright, it can last a very long time ', says Blandy.
Wine preservation
Have you opened a wine bottle that you are not going to consume the same day? Then it is smart to make sure that the wine has a longer shelf life, otherwise you can most likely throw it away the next day.
Vacuum
Vacuuming wine is one of the proven methods of keeping an opened bottle of wine good for longer. The idea behind it is to remove the air inside the bottle so that the wine does not come into contact with oxygen and thus oxidizes less quickly.
The counterpart of vacuum: a layer of nitrogen on the wine
Another way of preserving the wine, instead of vacuuming, is to apply a layer of nitrogen to the wine, with the aim of preventing the wine from coming into contact with the oxygen in the air. It is often combined immediately with a tapping system, as the nitrogen is introduced into the bottle under pressure (see, for example, Vin au Verre 8.0 for professional use). There are pros and cons of this proven system, but it is certainly effective.
Vacuum tested independently
Researchers at Institut Universitaire de la Vigne et du Vin in Dijon led by Régis Gougeon conducted experiments for 8 months. The purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of the Wine Bar in preserving opened wine bottles. These experiments confirmed that the aging process is slowed down by the vacuum over wine in the bottle. The oxidation of the wine is slowed down without disturbing the flavors and aromas. "We also wanted to measure the effects of various inert gases on the amount of dissolved oxygen in the wines." explains Régis Gougeon. These experiments showed that nitrogen is as effective as argon and the vacuum principle as applied by the Wine Bar Bar achieves the same results without the application of inert gas. Read the entire study.
Source: Anne Krebiehl MW / @WineEnthusiast / Illustration by Monica Simon / Photos by Getty
