Why opened wine goes off
The moment you pull the cork, air gets in. Oxygen slowly flattens the fruit in a wine, a little more every day. First the fresh, fruity smell fades, then the wine starts to taste dull, and eventually it turns nutty, sherry-like or sharp. That is oxidation, and the warmer the wine is, the faster it happens.
You can't stop it, but you can slow it right down. Two things do almost all the work: closing the bottle and keeping it cold.
How to store an open bottle
- Put the cork or cap back in as soon as you have poured. Less air, slower decline.
- Put the bottle in the fridge, red wine included. The cold slows the whole process down. It feels wrong for a red, but it is the single most useful thing you can do.
- Take a red out a little before you pour so it can warm up a bit. Twenty minutes or so on the counter is plenty.
That's it. Pumps, gas sprays and special stoppers can buy a little more time, but recork-and-chill is what gets you most of the way.
How long each type keeps
A rough guide, recorked and chilled:
| Wine | Keeps for about |
|---|---|
| Light white and rosé | 3 to 5 days, sometimes a little longer |
| Full or oaked white | 3 to 5 days |
| Red | 3 to 5 days (lighter reds like Pinot Noir can fade sooner) |
| Sparkling, with a proper stopper | 1 to 3 days |
| Tawny or ruby port | Weeks |
These are ranges, not deadlines. A wine on day six isn't dangerous, it is just less good. Your nose is the real test.
Does a spoon keep Champagne fizzy?
It's the most famous trick there is: hang a teaspoon in the neck of an open bottle of fizz and the bubbles stay. Sadly, tests have found that a spoon does about as much as leaving the bottle open in the fridge. The cold is doing the work, not the spoon.
What actually helps is a proper sparkling-wine stopper, the kind that clamps onto the neck, plus the fridge. Left open, sparkling wine loses most of its fizz by the next day.
How to tell if an open wine has gone off
Sniff it before you pour. A wine past its best usually smells:
- Flat: the fruit is gone and it smells of very little.
- Nutty or sherry-like: it has oxidised.
- Vinegary or sharp: it is turning into vinegar.
None of these will hurt you, but they won't be pleasant in a glass. A flat or slightly sherry-like wine is still great in a stew, a sauce or a risotto. Wine that is truly sour is effectively vinegar, though, and can spoil a dish, so that one goes down the sink.
Questions people ask
Can you drink wine that has been open for a week?
Usually yes, it's safe, but most still wines will taste flat or tired by then. Smell it first. If it's still pleasant, drink it; if it smells flat, sherry-like or sour, use it for cooking or pour it away.
Should you refrigerate red wine after opening?
Yes. Cold slows the oxidation that flattens the fruit, so a recorked red keeps far better in the fridge than on the counter. Take it out about 20 minutes before you want to drink it.
Does wine go bad if you don't recork it?
It declines faster, especially if it's warm. An open bottle left on the counter overnight is often noticeably flatter the next day, while a recorked, chilled one can still taste good several days later.
