I receive lots of emails asking me how to keep a bottle of wine fresh for several days once it’s opened so I thought I would finally write it down and refer folks to this link when necessary. Hopefully this will help those of you who want to open a bottle of wine but prefer to have only one glass with dinner or are using it for cooking and want it to keep longer.
The most important aspect in keeping wine fresh is to store it in a cool place and keep its contact with air to a minimum. Refrigeration is a big plus here, as it will help slow down oxidation and curtail spoilage organisms from taking over in the bottle.
There are two products I recommend using when it comes to keeping wine tasting its best. One is Vacu Vin, a stainless steel vacuum wine saver that extracts air from opened wine bottles using a hand pump and a reusable rubber stopper. Once you have pumped out the optimum amount of air, you are alerted with a clicking sound as the bottle is resealed. I use this all the time and it works really well.
The second option is using inert gas with a product called, Private Preserve. The gas, usually a mix of nitrogen, argon and carbon dioxide, is heavier than air and sits on the wine’s surface acting as a protective buffer. After applying the vapor, just reseal the bottle with a stopper and that’s it.
Both these products reduce exposure to air and will give you several extra days to enjoy your white wines and even longer (maybe a week) for more robust reds.
If you are trying to preserve the bubbles in your sparkling wine, you will need to use a pressurized stopper made especially for effervescent wine.
However, if you are not into any of these more “technical options”, you could cut the air-to-wine ratio by transferring the wine from a bigger bottle into a smaller (375 ml wine half-bottle), clean bottle soon after opening it. Transfer the wine carefully as pouring it into the new vessel will expose it to air. Secure with a stopper when finished.
I hope this helps and don’t be afraid to have just one glass.
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