Simple Question for some.

[JONZIE]

How long does a bottle of Red last once opened?

The reason I ask I opened a bottle on thursday and had a glass and put the cork back in it. Got called away for the weekend and have just got back to it. I'm sure different things have to be taken into account so I'll give you the bottle as an Example.

02 Rosemount GSM.
the nose still had the aroma of fruit but really lacked what it had on the palate four days ago.

[Alex F]

it depends on the bottle and how much is left in bottle... but I think 4 days is quite a long time.

[Red Bigot]

It's not really a simple answer though, it depends on the wine, how much is left in the bottle and the ambient temperature.

I find most reds will tend to fade and/or develop vinegary characters after about 2 days in the conditions you describe, certainly happens if there is more than one glass removed from the bottle. At lower ambient temperatures or in the fridge things happen a bit slower. Some reds will be almost undrinkable the next day under the same conditions. Older reds tend to fade quicker than robust young reds.

There are some reds that seem not to fade or turn vinegary for 3-4 days under the same conditions.

Vacu-vin type devices seem to have little effect on this process.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that nicely balanced reds that don't fade quickly when left half-drunk in the bottle will cellar well, I support this to some extent, although I've had some turn out not to cellar well although they were in good condition 2 days after being left in a half-bottle on the bench.

If we are only going to drink half a bottle of red I tend to pour off half into a 375 ml bottle and recork it straight after opening.

Hope that helps, but after 40 years or so, I find it still somewhat unpredictable as to what a particular wine will do.

[Michael McNally]

It's not really a simple answer though, it depends on the wine, how much is left in the bottle and the ambient temperature....If we are only going to drink half a bottle of red I tend to pour off half into a 375 ml bottle and recork it straight after opening.

This is particularly so with older bottles. Had a 96 Tollana TR222 Cab Sav on Saturday night. Decanted it then poured off half into a 375ml bottle and stoppered that with little headspace. There was a little left in the decanter last night, which I tried next to the wine that had been poured off and capped. The former was virtually vinegar. The latter was still as it had been the night before (perhaps past its prime but enjoyable).

[JONZIE]

Thanks for your replys. I have never left a Bottle for more than two days once opened and won't in the future as in this case the fruit has dissapeared.
Those Vacuum tools do look like a good idea for keeping the wine fresh once opened.

Cheers.

[Craig(NZ)]

i tend to try to keep to the rule dont open a bottle unless you plan to empty it on the night - especially with flash bottles

doesnt always work out that way, but its a good rule to try to live by

[Red Bigot]

Those Vacuum tools do look like a good idea for keeping the wine fresh once opened.

Cheers.

I think there was a formal test done on the vacuum pumps for wine and it found they were ineffective. I don't remember the details, but that agrees with my experience, I threw my vacu-vin away years ago.

A much better way would be to get a nitrogen or CO2 dispenser to flush out the air if you intend to often have half-empty bottles lying around, or more cheaply, save a few half-bottles with screwcaps and/or beer bottles with the swing top.

[Davo]

Those Vacuum tools do look like a good idea for keeping the wine fresh once opened.

Cheers.

I think there was a formal test done on the vacuum pumps for wine and it found they were ineffective. I don't remember the details, but that agress with my experience, I through my vacu-vin away years ago.

Yep, but even worse than ineffective as the creation of the vacuum strips the volatiles from the wine resulting in a reduction in bouquet and flavour.

[JONZIE]

Really looked forward to this wine as friends have said good things about it, If I drank it all on the first night I would have as the first glass was good. As I said in the previous post it lacked in fruit the second time round and then within an hour it really fell apart, In two hours it was like vineger.
I'm a bit of a newbe to wine and won't leave the next one open that long. What a waste of maybe a good wine.
Anyone have Tasting note's or opinions on this wine that I can use to Compare.

[Daryl Douglas]

Those Vacuum tools do look like a good idea for keeping the wine fresh once opened.

Cheers.

I think there was a formal test done on the vacuum pumps for wine and it found they were ineffective. I don't remember the details, but that agrees with my experience, I threw my vacu-vin away years ago.

A much better way would be to get a nitrogen or CO2 dispenser to flush out the air if you intend to often have half-empty bottles lying around, or more cheaply, save a few half-bottles with screwcaps and/or beer bottles with the swing top.

I gave up on the vacu-vin years ago too, finding that just reversing and putting the cork back in or using a zork stopper if the cork's too damaged then keeping the bottle in the fridge is just as effective in keeping the wine for a day or two.

There are a couple of half-bottles in the cupboard that I've never used as intended. Simply pouring from one bottle to the other introduces the wine to more air and an open bottle rarely sits in the fridge for as long as two days anyway.

daz

[Daryl Douglas]

Just had a thought If half of a bottle of leftover wine is to be kept for more than a couple of days, rather than relying on a swingtop beer bottle (aren't the Grolsch ones 500ml?), why not use, say, an MSB James Squire bottle, fill it to the brim and crown-seal it as in home brewing?

Of course care would need to be used in removing the cap so as not to spill too much of the wine!

Cheers

[Red Bigot]

Just had a thought If half of a bottle of leftover wine is to be kept for more than a couple of days, rather than relying on a swingtop beer bottle (aren't the Grolsch ones 500ml?), why not use, say, an MSB James Squire bottle, fill it to the brim and crown-seal it as in home brewing?

Of course care would need to be used in removing the cap so as not to spill too much of the wine!

Cheers

Daz, Grolsch are 440ml I think, but yes, obviously more than half a bottle unless you've opened a litre bottle.

With the twist-top beer bottles you may even be able to re-seal without a crown seal capper, but I still find a screwcapped half wine bottle the easiest to use (and looks better).

[KMP]

Those Vacuum tools do look like a good idea for keeping the wine fresh once opened.

Cheers.

I think there was a formal test done on the vacuum pumps for wine and it found they were ineffective. I don't remember the details, but that agress with my experience, I through my vacu-vin away years ago.

Yep, but even worse than ineffective as the creation of the vacuum strips the volatiles from the wine resulting in a reduction in bouquet and flavour.

This is an interesting comment, and so I'd love to see the data. Must be a hell of a vacuum to strip the volatiles out of a half bottle of wine. I'm not a chemist or a physist, but I would have thought that it would have sucked the wine out of the bottle before the volatiles would have come out of the wine

I do use a vacuum type gadget on most of the bottles we drink because if Miranda and I are the only ones drinking we will only have a half bottle with dinner. If the vacuum remains intact (sometimes it does not), most of the wines appear to be little changed from the previous day. Very few make it to day three so I can’t comment there. In some cases (Aussie Shiraz in particular) there will be an increase in toasted oak aromas, and you can usually tell if a wine will do that (after opening) by leaving a small amount (5-10 ml) in a glass for 30-60 minutes or more, swirling occasionally, and then nosing it. Others will be pushed more towards greater acidity, which should not be a surprise as once a sound cork or screwcap is removed an essentially irreversible process has begun. Hastened, of course, by pouring the wine from bottle to any other vessel.

Mike

[Davo]

Those Vacuum tools do look like a good idea for keeping the wine fresh once opened.

Cheers.

I think there was a formal test done on the vacuum pumps for wine and it found they were ineffective. I don't remember the details, but that agress with my experience, I through my vacu-vin away years ago.

Yep, but even worse than ineffective as the creation of the vacuum strips the volatiles from the wine resulting in a reduction in bouquet and flavour.

This is an interesting comment, and so I'd love to see the data. Must be a hell of a vacuum to strip the volatiles out of a half bottle of wine. I'm not a chemist or a physist, but I would have thought that it would have sucked the wine out of the bottle before the volatiles would have come out of the wine

Stripped (as you have chosen to take it at its most extreme ) may have been a bit strong, perhaps I should have said "reduces the volatiles".

Can't for the life of me remember if it follows Boyle's or Charles' Law. All to do with pressure, volume, and temperature. I can't be bothered going back to my physics books, why don't you research it for me

[Daryl Douglas]

Daz, Grolsch are 440ml I think, but yes, obviously more than half a bottle unless you've opened a litre bottle.

With the twist-top beer bottles you may even be able to re-seal without a crown seal capper, but I still find a screwcapped half wine bottle the easiest to use (and looks better).

Fair enough. The couple of half-bottles I have were cork-sealed.

Twist-cap beer bottles can be resealed with a capper. My brother used to home-brew but stopped pending construction of a retirement villa. I doubt he'll start again after having had his left kidney removed a couple of months ago due to a malignant cyst.

daz

[Mark S]

Been using 'Wine Saver' gas dispensers - about the size of a wine bottle, pressurized food-grade nitrogen & carbon dioxide (12 litres). Light-weight, good about 50 times - you just press into the neck of your partially emptied wine bottle for a couple of seconds, the gas released is heavier than air, so it settles forming a cushion over the surface of the wine, theoretically preventing the wine from oxidizing.

Not sure what they retail for, got mine in a bulk lot cheap at auction. Seems to double the life of the wine, many of mine have been good 3 or 4 days later.