Often we open a bottle of wine, only to pour one glass and leave the remainder in the fridge. But how long do you have before that half full bottle actually goes off?
According to wine educator Collin Lilly, you should really be drinking a bottle of wine within four to six hours of opening it, as it won’t taste very nice after 24 hours.
Speaking to PopSugar, he said: ‘I believe that when you are grabbing a bottle of wine, you’re making a personal investment and you need to drink that entire bottle that night.
‘Because one thing that is happening with wine when you’ve consumed half the bottle or more, there’s now a gap of air that’s filling the bottle. Over time, when [the wine is] exposed to too much air, the phenols (or components that affect the wine’s taste) will dissipate and become negative flavours.’
With that in mind, we spoke to Joe Fattorini, wine expert and host of ITV’s The Wine Show, to see if we can get away with keeping that bottle in the fridge for a few days longer.
And we were pretty happy with his answer…
‘Treat red and white wine just as you would a pint of milk,’ Joe told Good Housekeeping. ‘It’s usually at its best on day one, but still good for up to four days or so.’
And to keep it at its best, both red and white is best in the fridge – but remember to take the red out about half an hour before serving.
‘People are surprised about reds, but just take it out [of the fridge] and in half an hour or so, you’ll find it’s a pleasant cellar temperature,’ Joe told us. ‘We drink reds too warm anyway.’
Joe also recommends investing in a Vacu Vin. The product creates a vacuum which helps to preserve wine for longer.
‘It’s the air that is gradually oxidising your wine,’ he says. ‘This is a great value vacuum pump that draws that air out.’
So how do you know if your wine really has gone off? Well, you’re looking for two key things:
It will start to turn ‘maderised’ – meaning, it will take on that nutty, smell of Madeira and lose the bright fragrance and fruit it used to have.
If it has been left for a while, you’ll start to notice it smells a bit vinegary.
So no fear. If you have a couple of open bottles in your fridge they’ll be alright for a few days. Just maybe give them a sniff before pouring yourself a glass.
