Light and heat are some of the enemies of wine. However, extended exposure to oxygen is the greatest of them all. Oxygen turns wine into vinegar. So, when considering extending the life of your wine bottle, make sure that your wine is protected from air exposure as much as possible. A good start is remembering to close the bottle after each pour, but this doesn’t go far enough.
It takes a special kind of person to consume an entire bottle of older Sauterne in one sitting. As a result, it’s only normal to keep whatever remains in the bottle. You’ll be wasting a lot of wine if you don’t. True wine lovers will never suggest the option of just drinking and enjoying wine when they have company.
As a result, you’ll need some practical advice to help you keep your wine’s scent for a long time.
5 Effective Tips For Saving And Preserving Open Wine
Wine can be saved and preserved in a variety of ways. First, don’t let the half-empty bottle of wine spoil. Second, when you open a bottle of wine, the oxygen in the air reacts with it. At first, this is a positive thing because the oxygen helps the wine’s aromas to emerge. However, over time, it transforms into a foe. If you can’t finish your bottle of wine, follow these helpful hints to prolong the life of your wine.
Placing In Cool Area
If you don’t have a half-bottle or small tub on hand, putting your wine in wine cabinet cooling units is a perfect way to ensure it lasts at least another day. Because of the cold temperature inside your cooling cabinet, oxygen cannot do as much harm as it might if you left the bottle out on your table.
Replace the cork or screw the cap and place the bottle in the cooling units to ensure the wine will taste great tomorrow. Then, the next night, your wine should be just as good, ready to be consumed when you get home from work.
Recork Open Wine Bottle Always
If you know you won’t finish a bottle, don’t leave it on the counter or in the fridge without a stopper. As soon as you’ve finished pouring your bottle, replace the screw cap or insert the cork.
Similarly, don’t decant a bottle of wine if you’re not going to finish it in one sitting. Instead, allow the wine to breathe in the bottle. Then, pour the single-serving back and forth into a second glass to reach the optimal degree of aeration if you need to “decant” or oxygenate a single glass.
Use a Pump To Remove Oxygen From The Bottle
A vacuum pump extracts air from a bottle of wine and is one of the most cost-effective ways to preserve wine. Stoppers are often used in pump systems. To extract oxygen from the container, insert the stopper into the bottle and then mount the pump to the stopper.
Vacuum pumps, according to some wine connoisseurs, have a detrimental impact on fragrance and taste. Although you might want to finish with a glass of aged, expensive wine, pumping an ordinary bottle of wine won’t harm its flavor.
Use Half Bottles
If you’ve only consumed half a bottle of wine and the remainder is now exposed to half a bottle of oxygen, consider bottling the remaining wine in a smaller container to reduce room oxidation.
If you want to conserve wine for another day, use a half bottle (150ml, 375ml). Most stores that sell full bottles (750ml) of wine often sell half bottles. This low-tech method lowers the air-to-wine ratio in the bottle.
Use Inert Gas
One of the most effective ways to prolong the life of partially drunk bottles of wine is to use inert gas. Remove the cap and squirt two or three brief blasts of inert gas (nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and argon) into the wine bottle before corking it. The gas replaces oxygen, protecting it from oxidation’s harmful effects. The bottle comes with a thin tube that connects to the nozzle and allows the gas to be injected deeper into the bottle, but it is unnecessary to use it.
An awful glass of wine will break a wine enthusiast’s heart. So, when you have a bottle of wine that you want to keep for a few days, what you want to do is make sure it stays fresh and tasty. Then, to keep your wine glass smelling delicious and fresh, extend the life of your open bottle by following the above tips.