How often do we want to open a bottle of wine and give up on the idea?
Thoughts like “What a waste! I won’t drink all of it and the wine will get old”, are very common.
When in the bottle, the wine is in a slow aging process. That is why it can take some years for a wine to reach is bet moment. Being a living organism, this process can be affected by external conditions. For example, when a bottle is opened and the liquid gets in contact with oxygen, the process is accelerated.
There are a few ways to conserve wine. The cheapest and more pratical is to simply use o cork and the door of our fridge.
For how long does a wine last after opened?
Wine’s initial qualities start to change after the bottle is opened. Here, the amount of time it lasts, keeping its characteristics, depends on the type of wine:
Sparkling Wine: In this case, it will not last given the carbon dioxide and the aromas disappear in a few hours. If you open a sparkling wine or champagne, make sure you drink on that day, unless you use a proper wine stopper.
Red Wine: It normally lasts between 3 and 5 days. The more intense, full-bodied and alcoholic the wine, the more it will last without loosing its quality (maximum of 5 days).
White Wine: With this type of wine, it is also very variable, but it normally lasts for about 2 days.
Rosé Wine: Given the vinification process, it is unlikely that it can keep its quality for more than 2 days.
Fortified Wine: If it is a Vintage Porto, normally it will last a maximum of 2 days opened. For the other types of Port and fortified wines, it can last 3 to 4 weeks.
Late Harvest: Wines that, after opened, can last about 3-5 days- It lasts more than a table wine and less than a fortified.
Bag in box: Despite its connotation to cheap wine, nowadays it is not difficult to find some cheap Portuguese wine with great quality. It is an excellent alternative to waste and normally last for about 6 weeks.
Cheers!
