How much wine do you pour down the drain?

[John_Flanagan]

While I like to drink the wines my wife likes (Sauv Blanc, sparklers) they aren’t my go-to (Syrah, Pinot, aged cab), so in our house the whites get drunk quickly between the two of us, but the bottles of red are sometimes mine alone. While this shouldn’t be an issue; I like variety. So I find myself opening multiple bottles of stuff I like to drink, then dispensing into smaller bottles for storage for later. This works to a point, but without my wife’s help, there are too many little bottles that go bad after a while and end up down the drain. Or I find that I just don’t like a red that I opened and have no one else to pawn it off on, so it goes down the drain. I’m finding that at the end of the week there’s probably a good 1-2 bottles worth of wine being “wasted”. Anyone else pouring a lot of wine down the drain?

[JBrochu]

I never dump anything unless I really don’t like it or it’s flawed. So more than 1 percent and less than 3 percent.

[Ann_Brown]

Luckily my husband will drink anything.

[Robert.A.Jr]

Luckily my husband will drink anything.

That’s some funny sh*t right there

[Brian_S_t_o_t_t_e_r]

Maybe a glass worth at most for some reds if it’s been several days, since my wife doesn’t drink red. Riesling and other whites and rosé just evaporate.

[Anthony_C]

Almost nothing unless it’s really bad. I got a vinegar crock as a gift a few years back and we realized that we were always missing the essential ingredient: leftover wine. It holds our corks now.

[Rich_Brown]

Thanks to my Coravin and newly purchased QikVin (super happy with it and dig it more than the WineSquirell), essentially none. You should think about investing in both (Coravin is perfect for ‘newer’ bottles with corks 20 years old or less, and QikVin for all others). Shame to waste good wine.

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

Luckily my husband will drink anything.

That’s some funny sh*t right there

Awesome troll by your wife.

[R_Frankel]

Very little - nearly all bottles that are bad or flawed in some way. Otherwise they get drunk. I tend to open just one bottle at a time, and to share with others.

I like your idea of opening multiples to taste/compare and storing in little bottles. I bet if I did that I’d run into the same problem as you!

[John_Flanagan]

Very little - nearly all bottles that are bad or flawed in some way. Otherwise they get drunk. I tend to open just one bottle at a time, and to share with others.

I like your idea of opening multiples to taste/compare and storing in little bottles. I bet if I did that I’d run into the same problem as you!

I definitely think part of my problem is that I want variety, but then have too many bottles open (try not to drink on school nights, which doesn’t help). The Coravin and small bottles help to a point, but they aren’t perfect. And sometimes I just open a bottle I don’t like, so what to do? Wife won’t drink it, and we don’t often cook with wine, so down the drain!

[AndyK]

Very little - nearly all bottles that are bad or flawed in some way. Otherwise they get drunk. I tend to open just one bottle at a time, and to share with others.

I like your idea of opening multiples to taste/compare and storing in little bottles. I bet if I did that I’d run into the same problem as you!

I definitely think part of my problem is that I want variety, but then have too many bottles open (try not to drink on school nights, which doesn’t help). The Coravin and small bottles help to a point, but they aren’t perfect. And sometimes I just open a bottle I don’t like, so what to do? Wife won’t drink it, and we don’t often cook with wine, so down the drain!

Open better wine

[Lee_Short]

+1 on the vinegar making

[Markus_S]

Not much (unless it’s flawed). What is leftover and I no longer want to drink I cook with.

[John_Flanagan]

Very little - nearly all bottles that are bad or flawed in some way. Otherwise they get drunk. I tend to open just one bottle at a time, and to share with others.

I like your idea of opening multiples to taste/compare and storing in little bottles. I bet if I did that I’d run into the same problem as you!

I definitely think part of my problem is that I want variety, but then have too many bottles open (try not to drink on school nights, which doesn’t help). The Coravin and small bottles help to a point, but they aren’t perfect. And sometimes I just open a bottle I don’t like, so what to do? Wife won’t drink it, and we don’t often cook with wine, so down the drain!

Open better wine

I’ll assume that comment is made in jest and not ignorance…”better” is subjective. I have ~1000 bottle cellar, made up of wines from all price points from various regions. Which just reinforces my question about what you do with with a $500 bottle that just isn’t ringing your bell when you open it. I’ll give it a day or two, but then it goes down the drain. You?

[JBrochu]

I definitely think part of my problem is that I want variety, but then have too many bottles open (try not to drink on school nights, which doesn’t help). The Coravin and small bottles help to a point, but they aren’t perfect. And sometimes I just open a bottle I don’t like, so what to do? Wife won’t drink it, and we don’t often cook with wine, so down the drain!

Open better wine

I’ll assume that comment is made in jest and not ignorance…”better” is subjective. I have ~1000 bottle cellar, made up of wines from all price points from various regions. Which just reinforces my question about what you do with with a $500 bottle that just isn’t ringing your bell when you open it. I’ll give it a day or two, but then it goes down the drain. You?

Unless it’s flawed, I drink it and try to learn from it.

[TimF]

At this point in my life I’m pretty good at knowing which bottles we’ll like and that’s what we usually drink. Between my wife and I we almost always finish a bottle in an evening. Once in a while we misfire and I’ll seal the bottle and cook with it but that’s pretty rare. Almost never drain pour anything. Can’t even remember the last time I did.

[TimF]

I definitely think part of my problem is that I want variety, but then have too many bottles open (try not to drink on school nights, which doesn’t help). The Coravin and small bottles help to a point, but they aren’t perfect. And sometimes I just open a bottle I don’t like, so what to do? Wife won’t drink it, and we don’t often cook with wine, so down the drain!

Open better wine

I’ll assume that comment is made in jest and not ignorance…”better” is subjective. I have ~1000 bottle cellar, made up of wines from all price points from various regions. Which just reinforces my question about what you do with with a $500 bottle that just isn’t ringing your bell when you open it. I’ll give it a day or two, but then it goes down the drain. You?

I’ve never even had a $100 bottle that I didn’t at least somewhat enjoy. If it’s flawed that’s one thing but I’m not taking a flyer on three digit bottle. Usually I know exactly what I’m getting myself into.

[J_a_y_H_a_c_k]

Very little goes down the drain. Stew, Coq au Vin, anything with red sauce, even Ma Po Tofu with white wine. A little flavor goes a long way. I won’t cook with corked wine, but that seems to be more of a problem with European wines . I have a lesser problem with that because my cellar is tilted to New World.

If all else fails, I take leftover wines that are getting long in the tooth, put them in a vacuum-sealable container with chunks of hardwood, suck out the air and let the wood infuse with the wine for my smoker. Waste not, want not.

[Larry_Link]

While I like to drink the wines my wife likes (Sauv Blanc, sparklers) they aren’t my go-to (Syrah, Pinot, aged cab), so in our house the whites get drunk quickly between the two of us, but the bottles of red are sometimes mine alone. While this shouldn’t be an issue; I like variety. So I find myself opening multiple bottles of stuff I like to drink, then dispensing into smaller bottles for storage for later. This works to a point, but without my wife’s help, there are too many little bottles that go bad after a while and end up down the drain. Or I find that I just don’t like a red that I opened and have no one else to pawn it off on, so it goes down the drain. I’m finding that at the end of the week there’s probably a good 1-2 bottles worth of wine being “wasted”. Anyone else pouring a lot of wine down the drain?

Too much. Mostly premoxed white burgundy, but also a few corked bottles.

[Rodrigo_B]

I live by myself and also enjoy variety so I also struggle with leftover wine, I’ve found Repour to be quite useful in keeping bottles fresh over longer time periods.

It might also be worth looking into half bottles for some of the wines you enjoy, that will probably help as well.