New to the sherry game and wanted to seek some basic storage advice from those wiser than I. I just opened a bottle of N.V. Rey Fernando de Castilla Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Fino “Antique” this evening and am only having a small glass. What’s the best way to store the remaining wine? I have vacuvins that I could use, but wasn’t sure that was necessary. Also, is storing in a wine fridge or a regular fridge optimal? Finally, how long should I anticipate this bottle will be drinkable?
TIA
Matt,
I’m no ‘expert’ but I’ve always kept Finos and Manzanillas in the fridge after opening. At least keep them in your wine fridge/room. I’ve always considered the Vacuvin a useless gimmick, resealing with the stopper cork and transferring to a half bottle once you hit that volume is probably best. I think a week to 10 days tops from opening is optimal for Fino.
I will look forward to others’ responses.
Brent is right. Both on the vacu-vin and the fridge and the 1/2 bottle.
Rule of thumb is to treat it like you’d treat a white wine. FWIW, I’ve found that whites in general seem to hold up better than reds when left open a day.
In any event, putting into a smaller container isn’t a bad idea. If you seal it immediately and put it in the fridge, you may get a lot more time out of it. It’s the temp more than anything that’s important however - you will incorporate oxygen by pouring out your glass so you want to slow down any reactions and the regular fridge is a lot colder than anything else, so put it in there.
Keep in mind too that finos are created in a reductive environment, so the closer you can keep to those conditions, the better. Although sometimes you’d be surprised. Some of them have a hint of oxidation in spite of the flor - thru the long lives in casks I imagine, and sometimes the little taste of air makes them come alive. You’ll have to find out for yourself, but having sold a lot of these, the best solution I’ve found to keeping them good for a few days is immediate chilling.
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Amontillados and the olorosos are a different matter. I leave them around for months sometimes without any particular damage and I don’t put them into smaller bottles either.
A Valdespino Innocente Fino I opened last night was just as good tonight after a day in the refrigerator.