Overnighters

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Mon May 15, 2006 10:47 pm

Evening All

Having just cracked a bottle of 2004 Shottesbrooke Shiraz on a schoolnight and wandered through half of it, I'm wondering what everyone does with their red if they're intending to drink the rest of it the following night.

I tend to re-seal (Stelvin in this case, but shove the cork back otherwise) and leave it somewhere dark at room temp. However recently I've been fridging it after reading some advice on the forum, which has certainly slowed up the oxidation of the wine somewhat.

What are everyone else's habits?

To re-seal or not to re-seal?

To fridge or not to fridge?

To not risk it and drink the rest of the bottle?

Cheers
Nick

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Mon May 15, 2006 11:17 pm

I very rarely have any wine left over :oops:

When I do, I reseal - usually with a sealer I got for my 21st because I don't trust corks and normally throw the cap away - and stick it in the fridge. I've had wine keep well for a couple of nights like that.

Daryl Douglas · Post by **Daryl Douglas** » Tue May 16, 2006 12:30 am

Usually just stick the cork back in and shove it in the fridge. Have recently had a couple of Zork-sealed Woop Woop Shiraz 05s and kept the seals but haven't used 'em yet. They'll probably be redundant anyway when just about all wines are stelvin-sealed :shock:

Gave up using those vacuvin things years ago. Do they scalp some of the flavour from the wine? I dunno - but the valve seals stop working properly after a year or two anyway.

daz

TORB · Post by **TORB** » Tue May 16, 2006 6:28 am

Hi Nick,

If I think I am only going to drink half, I decant off 375ml into a half bottle, seal it with a cork and place it in the fridge. Its fine for a couple of days.

If I wind up with a half a bottle at the end of the night, into the half bottle and fridge, but there is sometimes a little oxidation by the next night.

Generally it works very well.

Wayno · Post by **Wayno** » Tue May 16, 2006 8:16 am

Sometimes (not always), I find the wine is slightly better with a bit of oxidisation the next night. A day's exposure tends to soften it out a bit, depending on the wine.

I fridge occasionally though but usually if I expect to be drinking it a couple of days away.

GraemeG · Post by **GraemeG** » Tue May 16, 2006 8:49 am

Same technique as Ric for us. Judith only wants one glass, and is unimpressed with me drinking the remaining 680ml, so I fill the 375ml right at the start, then we drink the bottle from half down to empty.

I just stopper the 375 with an arty, wooden-topped, stainless-steel-with-rubber-seal gadget bought in Salamanca markets in Hobart.

When I finally drink a screwcapped 375ml wine, then it'll take over the job...

cheers,
Graeme

Baby Chickpea · Post by **Baby Chickpea** » Tue May 16, 2006 9:02 am

As for graeme but instead of 375ml bottles, I use two or three 187ml screwcapped bottles (good glass and a half in each bottle). Can leave them in fridge for a week (like a recent Greenock creek) and hardly changed!

Sharkey · Post by **Sharkey** » Tue May 16, 2006 9:31 am

I have used the vacuvin seals for years and find they work OK. It might be that I have a dozen or more of the seals so they don't wear out as quickly.

The more wine in the bottle the better they work so sometimes I blend a couple of leftovers into one bottle and then seal it.

A fair percentage of our leftover wine ends up in the cooking.

My father likes to have half a bottle most nights so I gave him a screw cap half bottle. This is perfect for him. He opens the new bottle and then fills the half and puts it aside for the next night.

If you want to find a screw cap half your best bet would be a dessert wine.

GRB · Post by **GRB** » Tue May 16, 2006 9:36 am

Vacuvin and then into the fridge in summer or just leave it on the bench in winter. We generally get through the second half the following night. If it is going to be around for longer I put it in the fridge. Depending on the wine it can still be OK, but different 3 or 4 nights later.

Glen

Finney · Post by **Finney** » Tue May 16, 2006 10:03 am

When Julie and I open a bottle, we tend to drink the lot, but if I am drinking and Julie isn't then I usually just try and select a young wine that will oxidise well. Have used the vacuum seal in the past and they seem to work ok. I don't usually fridge the wine just leave in a cool cupboard, seems to work ok but have made poor selections at times and find the wine becomes over oxidised and well, the sink gets the leftover!

As Julie had a lurgy yesterday and I felt I needed to drink something, I opened a 04 Saltram Mamre Brook Cab Sav - I drank the lot!!! Norti!!! :roll:

Finney (Craig)

Alex F · Post by **Alex F** » Tue May 16, 2006 12:28 pm

I do what Baby Chickpea does and use 187 ml bottles. My housemates keep chucking the empty bottles away though. The pain the pain! Those hard to replace bottles! Most of the time I really don't want to drink the wine within, but feel it is a waste to just pour it all out

Recently I've got a few 375 ml bottles so I can decant into a half bottle as suggested by others, but my last one got chucked out by my mom

Whites I refridgerate, the reds I drink tend to open up in the next day or two before declining but still good nonetheless, so if I am lazy or if there aint fridge space I put it on the sideboard.

I have a problem with not being able to drink the entire bottle... 1/2 a bottle is usually my max over the course of a 2-3 hour dinner.

bleck · Post by **bleck** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:44 pm

there is a new product avaliable for this purpose.
no chemicals, no gas, no pump.
im not going to tell you where they are avaliable though because i work for a retailer and the admins will get upset.

called a wine preserva and it is a small inert plastic which is pushed into the bottle and just floats on top of the wine preventing contact with air/oxygen.
seems to work ok

Winelover · Post by **Winelover** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 7:00 pm

Try a Vacuum Wine Saver. That's what I use and I see them around the wineries too.

griff · Post by **griff** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 8:31 pm

bleck wrote:there is a new product avaliable for this purpose.
no chemicals, no gas, no pump.
im not going to tell you where they are avaliable though because i work for a retailer and the admins will get upset.

called a wine preserva and it is a small inert plastic which is pushed into the bottle and just floats on top of the wine preventing contact with air/oxygen.
seems to work ok

Gratuitous :evil:

Wycroft · Post by **Wycroft** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 10:13 pm

Straight onto the bench, sometimes without a cork. It's a great test of what sort of spine the wine's got - and results in some surprising longevity, quite frequently too.

JamieBahrain · Post by **JamieBahrain** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 3:53 am

A most inexact science. So my solution has been- 375ml.

This week I have had- Guigal 01 CNP, Katnook Cab 01 , Chateau Pibram 02 and a damn fine 1997 Grunhauser Auslese.

School night drinking yes. But every evening i look forward to winding down over a half bottle.

I am going to start getting more 375ml. Cellar over the mid term. And enjoy!

Bick · Post by **Bick** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 9:32 am

I take the 375 ml bottle approach on occasion, using a stelvin bottle I keep to hand.

I'm not sure if it was clear from the other posts regarding this approach, but I fill the bottle to the absolute brim (positive meniscus!). Then when I firmly seal the bottle there is no air in it at all. Bob Campbell did a test of this method versus various other methods and thought it was the best way to keep wine for more than one night, with most wines still good (not noticeably oxidised) after as long as a week.