It is common to have leftover wine after dinner. A lot of people are ambivalent about what to do with this leftover wine. Usually, people either throw it away or put it in the refrigerator. Generally speaking, it is not advisable to store opened wine in the refrigerator because its quality declines but did you know that refrigerated left over wine can still be of reasonable quality for about three days? Learn more about this by reading through this article.
Not a lot of people know that allowing the wine to oxidize before serving actually makes it taste better. Oxidation is the process of the wine reacting to oxygen. Red wines particularly taste better when allowed to oxidize. This is the reason why expert wine tasters open their wine bottle an hour before they drink it. They term this method as allowing the wine to breathe. Very young and very old red wines need more exposure to oxygen than regular red wines and therefore, you need to pour it into a decanter or a carafe. Take note that oxidation improves wine taste only if it happens for a short period of time. Long periods of oxidation ruin the wine's taste. Not only that, long periods of exposure to oxygen allows bacteria and other contaminants to get in the wine. This is the primary reason why it is better to store leftover wine in the refrigerator than have it left to sit in at room temperature.
There are times when there are just lots of leftover wine. It is advisable to recork the wine bottle before storing it in the refrigerator. Recorking slows the oxidation process and thus slowing down the decline of taste. Recorking also protects the wine from growth of any bacteria that may have gotten into the wine. Recorking can be done by putting the original cork back into the bottle. Another way to recork is to use a specially designed stopper that fills the neck of the bottle with an inert gas. But the best way to recork is to pour the leftover wine into a smaller bottle and cork it before you put it into the refrigerator. This is the best because it reduces the amount of oxygen that the wine is exposed to.
As mentioned above, it is generally not advisable to refrigerate wine that has already been opened. If you do so, remember only to refrigerate up to 3 days, After 3 days, you will notice a distinct decline in taste. After three days, it's either use all of the wine immediately or throw it away.
If you want to minimize the hassle of storing leftover wine, it is best if you turn it into something useful like marinade, wine vinegar, or use it for cooking. There are various recipes online that you can choose from. Do this as soon as the leftover wine is available.
Not a lot of people know that allowing the wine to oxidize before serving actually makes it taste better. Oxidation is the process of the wine reacting to oxygen. Red wines particularly taste better when allowed to oxidize. This is the reason why expert wine tasters open their wine bottle an hour before they drink it. They term this method as allowing the wine to breathe. Very young and very old red wines need more exposure to oxygen than regular red wines and therefore, you need to pour it into a decanter or a carafe. Take note that oxidation improves wine taste only if it happens for a short period of time. Long periods of oxidation ruin the wine's taste. Not only that, long periods of exposure to oxygen allows bacteria and other contaminants to get in the wine. This is the primary reason why it is better to store leftover wine in the refrigerator than have it left to sit in at room temperature.
There are times when there are just lots of leftover wine. It is advisable to recork the wine bottle before storing it in the refrigerator. Recorking slows the oxidation process and thus slowing down the decline of taste. Recorking also protects the wine from growth of any bacteria that may have gotten into the wine. Recorking can be done by putting the original cork back into the bottle. Another way to recork is to use a specially designed stopper that fills the neck of the bottle with an inert gas. But the best way to recork is to pour the leftover wine into a smaller bottle and cork it before you put it into the refrigerator. This is the best because it reduces the amount of oxygen that the wine is exposed to.
As mentioned above, it is generally not advisable to refrigerate wine that has already been opened. If you do so, remember only to refrigerate up to 3 days, After 3 days, you will notice a distinct decline in taste. After three days, it's either use all of the wine immediately or throw it away.
If you want to minimize the hassle of storing leftover wine, it is best if you turn it into something useful like marinade, wine vinegar, or use it for cooking. There are various recipes online that you can choose from. Do this as soon as the leftover wine is available.
About the Author:
Polly Perrot enjoys collecting wines. Her collection is stored in a custom wine cellars dallas. This wine cellar texas is designed by Wine Cellar Specialists. Visit http://www.WineCellarSpec.com/ to get tips on wine cellar design.