How to Preserve Opened Wine

Once opened, wine is subject to the process of oxidisation. This effect will eventually spoil any wine, but before examining methods to delay this process it is first important to consider how long your wine will remain enjoyable.

A young claret will initially benefit from being exposed to the air, as it softens up the firm tannins; however, an aged wine will likely deteriorate in a matter of hours or even minutes. Whilst trying to keep an older vintage overnight borders on the foolhardy, it is perfectly reasonable to do so with a younger, firmer wine.

Refrigeration:

When it comes to combating aeration, your greatest ally is the stalwart refrigerator. Simply put, chemical reactions are slowed greatly at lower temperatures – the result being that your wine will take far longer to spoil. It also inhibits micro-organisms, including acetic bacteria which pose the risk of converting the wine to vinegar. It is therefore strongly advisable to put the cork back into the bottle and place it in the fridge in order to keep wine overnight.

Further methods exist, but their effectiveness is debateable:

Vacuuming:

This method employs a rubber bung that is inserted into the neck of the bottle, featuring a pump that extracts air. This obviously does not create a perfect vacuum, or anything approaching that state. The equipment is inexpensive and sold in supermarkets.

Sadly, wine that has been vacuumed compares unfavourably to wine that has simply had its bottle recorked – the former seems flat, stifled and insipid. This is because the pump removes carbon dioxide from the solution due to the reduced pressure. In addition, many of the most involving aromas in wine are the result of unstable compounds and the use of a pump will make these evaporate. For this reason the use of a vacuum is inadvisable.

Nitrogen:

This may seem like an extreme measure at first, but for the committed wine aficionado it does in fact make sense – at least in theory. A squirt of compressed nitrogen that then settles over the wine can be used to protect wine from oxidation.

Some have reported that this has a negative impact, especially on more fragile, venerable wines. It is also quite a hefty piece of kitchen equipment.

The exception:

It’s important to note that the biggest exception is sparkling wine. This experiences very little change in character over time compared to table wines, especially when recorked and refrigerated. A pressure cap is advisable, as this retains much of the effervescence.

Certain dessert wines, such as Sauternes, also keep very well when compared to table wines – though just how well will depend on the vintage and constitution of the wine at hand.

Closing comments:

Most wines can be kept overnight with relative ease, though keeping wine longer than this will generally result in a marked deterioration in quality. Simply recork the wine and place it in the fridge, remembering to take reds out about half-an-hour before you intend to drink them; this allows the wine to steadily reach room temperature.