Holding onto an open bottle of wine

The majority of the population drinks some form of alcohol.

Whether its wine, beer or hard liquor, we have all consumed some form of liquor at one point in our lives or another. Drinking is one of the guilt free pleasures of being an adult. It helps us to relax and shift gears. We can go from working in an uptight office to lounging in one the most relaxed lounges with just one glass of wine.

No one should be ashamed of going home and uncorking a new bottle of wine and drinking it alone. The only problem that comes with opening a bottle of wine alone is the amount of wine that remains in the bottle. When you open a bottle of wine for a group of two or four people the bottle can easily be demolished between you.

It’s different when you drink alone. You may have one or two glasses of wine at the most. What do you do with the remaining wine? How long can you hold onto it before it goes bad? (Editor's Note: The industry is aware of this issue, which can be similiar to one spouse enjoying a glass of wine, while the other simply doesn't, can't drink, or prefers a beer, cider etc.  That's why Corvain and other special openers are flooding the market)

Unopened bottles of wine can be stored for months and some can even be stored for several years. Unfortunately the storage life of the wine is drastically reduced once the bottle is uncorked. Wines do not last long once they have been opened and exposed to air. The amount of time that you can hold onto an open bottle of wine will vary depending upon the type of wine.

Generally speaking an open bottle of wine can last anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks. This depends on whether the wine is a red or a white. White wines naturally have a shorter shelf than red wines when they are corked. So once the white wine is uncorked you could imagine that it will not last long. A white wine should be consumed within three days after opening it. Red wines are higher in tannins and thus their shelf life surpasses that of white wines. Once a red wine is opened, the remaining wine should be consumed within two weeks. Red wines will taste different after a few days. (Editor's Note: Personally speaking, I pump air out at home and fnd that a typical bottle of red is good for an extra day, or two….maybe I'm more peculiar than most…then again maybe it's because I have wine of the month club samples sitting around the office and house)

If you want to maximize the amount of time that you can hold onto an open bottle of wine, then there are a few things that you need to be sure to do. The first thing is to re-cork the wine. Once you have poured a glass for yourself and whoever else you are serving place the cork back into the bottle. Be sure to replace the cork with the stained side down. This will prevent your reaming wine from being contaminated from anything that the outer part of the cork came into contact with. You should also refrigerate all open bottles of wine. It doesn’t matter if it’s a white or a red, once opened you should put the bottle in the refrigerator. Placing the open bottle in the refrigerator will cause the wine to breakdown slower than if left out on a tabletop.