Drinking a small glass of wine is often very pleasant, but sometimes we hesitate to open a bottle of wine when we know we won't finish it right away. In the same way, we sometimes feel obliged to finish a started bottle, for fear of seeing the wine oxidize. However, there are solutions for storing an open bottle of wine .
The importance of good wine storage
If great wine lovers often invest in a beautiful wine cellar, it is not for the simple pleasure of having a beautiful storage space for their best bottles of wine. Indeed, the conservation of a wine is a crucial issue to guarantee its taste qualities. Therefore, care must be taken to provide ideal storage conditions : protected from light, humidity, temperature variations, etc.
Once a bottle is opened, air comes into contact with the wine, causing it to spoil. The oxidation of the wine then causes the microbial and bacterial development of the wine, which quickly makes it undrinkable.
Logically, to keep an open bottle as long as possible , you must then be able to offer it the same conditions as for a closed bottle. It is therefore advisable to keep it at an average temperature of 15°C for red wine, and in the fridge for white and rosé wine .
Then, it will be a matter of protecting it from light, and limiting contact with air as much as possible, by using the original cap.
Good to know: if there is little wine left in the bottle, it is recommended to pour it into a bottle of smaller capacity, in order to limit contact with air, and thus slow down oxidation .
A shelf life that depends on the type of wine
When it comes to conservation, not all wines are in the same boat, and some are much more fragile than others. For example, sweet wines and sweet wines, with a high sugar and alcohol content, last longer once the bottle is opened, because the sugar and alcohol act as preservatives.
The shelf life of a wine depends mainly on its color:
- Red wines can be kept for 2 to 4 days after opening the bottle;
- White wines can be kept for 1 to 2 days after opening the bottle.
But the acidity of the wine also has an influence on the lifespan of an opened bottle of wine . The more acidic the wine, the longer the storage time. Finally, young wines and red wines, containing a lot of sulphites and having a high alcohol level, also allow you to take your time before finishing the bottle.
Tools for storing opened wine bottles
If you want to be able to open a bottle of wine whenever you want, without feeling obliged to finish it quickly, there are preservation tools used by all professionals in the wine world.
- Presorvac : this tool removes the air contained in the wine bottle, using a rotating pressure system. This expensive accessory is very effective for red wines, white wines, rosé wines and sparkling wines;
- Vacuvin : composed of a rubber stopper and a small pump, this oenology accessory allows the air contained in the bottle to be evacuated, thus increasing the storage time of the wine by 2 to 3 days;
- The Advineo tower : intended for sparkling wines as well as still wines, this tool preserves the wine by vacuum, in a very natural way;
- Nitrogen preservation systems : ideal for preserving a bottle of wine for up to 3 weeks, these systems consist of replacing the air contained in the bottle with edible nitrogen, a gas which prevents oxidation. Very effective, they are intended for storing large quantities of wine bottles, particularly in the catering sector;
- Coravin : this tool takes wine conservation on the wrong foot, by proposing to never really open the bottle, in order to always protect the wine from oxidation. For this, this accessory is made up of a hollow needle, to be inserted into the cork. It allows you to serve wine from a glass without damaging the cork and without letting air enter the bottle. To ensure optimal protection against oxidation, the needle injects a neutral gas into the bottle, at the same time as the sample.
Have you ever refused yourself a small glass of wine so as not to open a bottle for just one glass? Or to force yourself to finish a bottle so as not to spoil the wine? You are now informed about how to keep an open bottle of wine for as long as possible.
