I know this doesn't happen often, but sometimes, I have wine left after dinner. Storing opened wine is an important thing to know in such circumstances. I have found that the following ways all work:
-Put the cork back in and store it in a cupboard or the refrigerator
-Get a Vacuvin
-Inert Gases
-Champagne or Sparkling Wine Cork
Cupboard:
Putting the cork back in and storing open wine bottles in a cupboard will work for a day, in my opinion. Normally, I will drink it the next day so it doesn't really matter. If I don't drink it by then, I will use it for cooking.
Putting the cork back in and storing open wine bottles in the refrigerator can work for up to 5 days for a red, maybe a week with whites. It will last longer, if there is more wine in the bottle. The more wine in the bottle. The less air. The less chance of the wine oxidizing.
Vacuvin:
My friend Debra and I, show you how to use a Vacuvin in this video:
These are a great tool and if you are drinking older more expensive bottles, I would recommend getting one. It is a plastic cap with a pump and you pump it to suction the air out of the bottle. For older bottles, this is good because they may take a couple of hours to breathe. The end result is a lot of oxidation and removing as much air as possible is a good thing.
Inert Gases:
I used to use this all of the time, before I learned about the Vacuvin. It saved some good bottles of wine. I used it when I first started drinking wine though and none of my wine was more than 7 years. None of these wines were Bordeauxs either. According to critics, nitrogen changes the taste of these more elegant wines, that have had time to develop. I didn't have that experience, but I don't want anyone getting mad at me. Besides, the Vacuvin is a one time purchase, you have to keep buying nitrogen. I don't like waste. Consider this the less green option. Just my opinion of course and others disagree with me, often.
Champagne or Sparkling Wine Corks:
My champagne never lasts this long, but there are corks designed to maintain the CO2 in sparkling wines. I hear that they pop when removed, so they must be doing their job.
So that is how to store open wine. In case you're wondering, here are a couple of ways that don't work when storing opened wine:
-Leaving the wine out on the counter without a cork: Yes it is bad. That is what that vinegar smell means.
-Leaving the wine in a hot place with the cork in: Again, yes it is bad. Don't drink it. If it smells like vinegar, run don't walk and pour it in some bushes. Although, I did see a recent Gary Vaynerchuk video where he said heating a wine up helped it gain a little age. Who knew?
(Note: I am not and never will advise someone to heat up wine unless they are mulling it with spices in the middle of winter. Then it had better be an inexpensive fruity wine.)
