I got into wine a few months ago and really enjoyed it. I started reading Kevin Zraly’s book and felt like I was on my way. But like many people who are the sole wine drinkers in their household, I got tired of the pressure to finish a bottle in about two days. Part of my interest in wine was the health benefits of moderate consumption, so I limited myself to two glasses a day. Some days I wanted just one, but felt obligated to drink a second just to keep on track to finish the bottle. I tried preserving my wine (usually a cab or blended red) by recorking it and keeping it in the fridge, but it usually started deteriorating by the second day. I read too many negative reviews of the vacuum and inert gas systems, and others have written that funneling the remaining wine into a smaller bottle oxygenates it too much during the pour. The writing on the wall seemed to say that a bottle of wine just wouldn’t last long enough for my needs, so I switched to whiskey. (While at the store asking for a whiskey recommendation, I mentioned only that I was switching from wine. The worker said, “yeah, I tried wine too, but got sick of having to drink it in two days.”) Whiskey is okay, but wine suits me more and I really miss that glass or two in the evening.
So did I give up wine too hastily, or is quick spoilage just an unavoidable fact of wine? Can something like an inexpensive inert gas system get me where I want to be?
Louis, another trick is when you open a 750ml bottle immediately transfer half to an empty 375ml bottle and close it up leaving little room for air and put it in the fridge. I’ve heard of people freezing it with good results but I’ve never tried that so I’m just passing that info on but can’t personally recommend it.
Just enjoy the wine over the three days. Some wines improve some wines fall apart. Some days I finish most of a bottle other times it might last three days. If you are drinking expensive wines look into a wine preservation system. If not, why worry.
Anders, nearly every bottle of wine I’ve had was fine the day after being opened (recorked and refrigerated), but deteriorated a lot by the following day. I’d be happy just to slow the oxygenation to that point.
Re-bottling into a 375ml seems to be the most often recommended low-tech method, so I’ll try that first.
I use a vacuum wine pump. I don’t know about the negative reviews but I have been doing it for about 5 years now. It works fine for me and I expect I will be using one for 5 more years. Most of my friends use one as well.
I have not had a good experience with such devices in blind trials, and there are many threads devoted to the science of them, but if they are working for you then surely there is no reason to stop using them!
Depending on your preferences, there are some wines that will last a lot longer after opening than others. Most Rieslings, for example (both sweet and dry) will survive very well, even improve, in the fridge for 2-3 days. Same with Chenin Blanc. We drink more white wine in our household than red, partly because we enjoy it, but also because bottles more easily last more than one evening if you can’t finish them.
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Am I just intemperate or am I the only one (besides one person) saying drink the whole thing in one night. You know you can space it out. Let it air out. Of course I am only half serious If I were not drinking the whole bottle in one night I would just use something to get the air out, put it in smaller bottle, or put it in the fridge and then bring it back to temp in a bucket of LUKEWARM water. Just like the ice and water way of chilling it. White wine will take less time obviously as it just needs to go up to 49-55 degrees and red down to room temp which is 62-68. Not sure on the timing. I just play around. Just pour a little in the glass–just enough and taste. That’s how I do it because I don’t have any fancy stuff. Would be nice. I used to take two days to drink a bottle when I was drinking every day but now that wine is more of a treat because of money it’s gone in a night when I have a bottle. I would say you need to drink it in two days. Two days should not do too much damage if you store it properly.
Of course you could always do boxed wine! My roommate used to do that. He would buy a box of Franzia at the supermarket. Of course I had a very ignorant palate back then but hey at least there was wine every night. Actually there are better boxed ones than Franzia. Some smaller boxes too when you need something convenient. Stuff you can take to a picnic. Black Box looks nice, though never had it. I’d buy it for some casual event or party where I had a bunch of people though.
I’m in same boat since my wife only drinks white wine. I pour a glass and immediately use Vacuvin and put bottle back in wine fridge. This works better with more tannic wines (bordeauxs) and poorly with cheaper wines. However, The 2009 Santa Rita Reserva Syrah for $8.49 at Costco has done well over several days. But it tastes young and tannic.