Q&A: To Drink or Not to Drink.......

Julia Jayes asks:

"How long can an opened bottle of wine (re-corked) be left unrefrigerated?"

I found several reliable sources with answers to this question and all of them agreed pretty closely. 

Cellar Notes offers the following:

"Around here, we keep wines up to 3 days after the bottle has been opened. Once a bottle of wine is opened, the oxygen in the air starts a process that initially softens the flavors and opens up the aromas of the wine. As this process (oxidation) continues over many hours and days, the wine is ultimately made undrinkable. The trick is to use the wine before it becomes unpalatable or to pour it out before bad wine is served to guests."

Girl Meets Grape, a Yahoo Food site, says:

"The fridge is your friend, so use it. This goes for red wine, too, y'all. Keep all opened bottles in your fridge, and the wine's life will be extended by 2 to 3 days if you're lucky."

Wiki Answers offers:

"I recommend that you shouldn't hold onto a bottle of wine for more than a day or two."

All recommend using those devices that either pump air out or put nitrogen into the bottle before recorking.  The goal is to remove oxygen, the major culprit in wine spoilage.  Refrigeration is recommended for all wines, red or white, to reduce the effects of spoilage.

Better yet, Steve recommends getting some friends together and just finishing the bottle at one sitting.  That way you don't need to worry about whether the darn stuff will keep or not. 

Comments

[Julia]

Those new, upscale boxed wines are nice, too. They never let air into the plastic bladder so you can drink it one glass at a time without refrigerating.