Shelf life of an open wine

How long does opened wine keep?

This is a question that probably every wine drinker has asked themselves at some point. Many are content to drink just one glass of wine in the evening, rather than the whole bottle at once.

But how long will an opened bottle of wine keep? The answer to this question is: It depends!

Does open wine go bad?

If bad means inedible, then the answer is "Yes!"

The reason for this is the greatest enemy of the noble drop: oxygen.

It causes the wine to oxidize. After the bottle is opened, the grape juice slowly begins to react with the oxygen in the air.

This reaction affects the color, taste, and aroma of the wine. Eventually, this leads to the wine becoming increasingly dull and beginning to taste flat, sour, or corked.

If wine has been in constant contact with oxygen for a very long time, it will eventually turn into vinegar. The acetic acid bacteria then cause a pungent, acidic smell to develop, which is quite stinging to the nose.

Should I store open wine in the refrigerator?

Luckily, there's a simple and practical tip to make wine last longer after opening. Once you've had your fill, it's time to put the bottle in the refrigerator. This is the safest place for your opened bottle, so remember:

Opened wine should always be stored in the refrigerator!

A fundamental law of chemistry states that chemical reactions proceed more slowly as the temperature decreases. For this reason, the best place for any wine, whether red or white, is the refrigerator. At temperatures between 3 and 7 degrees Celsius, oxidation is slowed down.

To ensure your wine stays fresh in the refrigerator for as long as possible, you need to keep a few more things in mind:

• Store wine bottles upright.
• Close the wine bottle tightly and as airtight as possible.
• Make sure that there is still about 1/4 of the contents in the bottle.

Store wine bottles upright in the refrigerator.

Different rules apply to opened wine bottles than to sealed ones.

That's why corked red wines should be stored upright in the refrigerator, not lying down. A lying bottle increases the wine's surface area, allowing it to come into contact with more oxygen. This means more air in the bottle can react with the wine, accelerating oxidation. So, to enjoy your fine wine for as long as possible, store the bottle upright to minimize its contact with the air.

Close the wine bottle tightly and as airtight as possible.

Just as important as properly placing the bottle is carefully sealing the wine. With a screw-top bottle, this is relatively easy. The bottle can be easily and airtightly resealed.

And that's a good thing, because a leaky seal would allow oxygen to continue entering the bottle and the wine would oxidize faster.

Make sure that there is still about ¼ of the contents in the bottle.

The less wine there is in your bottle, the more space it offers for oxygen! Conversely, this means: the fuller the bottle, the longer you can store it.

As a general rule, the 1/4 rule applies: With 1/4 of a bottle's contents, you can usually store red and rosé wines in the refrigerator for about 2 days. White wines spoil somewhat faster and will keep for about a day with 1/4 of a bottle's contents.

This is partly because the tannins in red wine act as an additional preservative.

If there is less than ¼ of the contents in your bottle, the wine will not have a great future.

How long will the wine keep in the refrigerator?

As you can see, there's no single answer to that. The rate at which your wine oxidizes depends on many different factors. However, to give you a rough guideline, here's a brief overview.