# red wine left over



## TommyDawg (Jan 6, 2008)

Hi. I enjoy a red wine occaisionally, but my wife does not. So if we have any at the house, I am the only one drinking it. If you open a bottle of red wine and do not finish it, can I recork and keep for any length of time? If so, how long? Also, would I just put it back in the wine rack, or some other storage? Not that I'd keep it long, I just want to be able to save for the next day or two. Thanks,
Tom


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## rgrossicone (Jan 27, 2008)

Absolutely...you and I are in the same boat. My wife hates red wine, I love it. I usually always have a glass at dinner and occationally two. I have wine stoppers instead of recorking them, keep them standing up on my kitchen counter, out of direct light and heat, and they usually last for 3-4 days. If it gets longer than that, you'd prob have to toss it, as it can get very vinegary...but I make it a point to have a glass a day, so that doesn't happen.


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## TommyDawg (Jan 6, 2008)

excellent! I was not sure if the wine stoppers were any good or not. Thanks for the advice...
Tom


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

An open bottle of red wine rarely goes un-consumed in my house, but I totally understand your problem.

Air is the enemy of wine. If you regularly have red wine left over, I recommend you buy an inexpensive pump like this: 

It will help seal the bottle and at remove some of the air. There are obviously much more expensive models available, but this should at least help until the next day.

BTW...I would not recommend leaving an opened bottle of red wine sitting around for more than a day (even when sealed with an air pump). Either drink or cook with the remaining wine. Old wine can be used to make vinegar. Do a Google search to learn how to do that.

Good luck.


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## pweller (May 21, 2008)

I don't know anything about wine, but I did see an interesting device on tv the other day. It was basically a cork and hand pump combo, so you'd cork the bottle and then pump the hand pump on top to pull the air out of the bottle. 

I'm guessing that wine oxidizes, so this device would prevent that by evacuating all of the air.

I don't know if this is really valid or not, but maybe it will help.


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## fat paul (Aug 26, 2008)

I find the red wine hang over preferable to the red wine left over. Just drink the whole bottle. Then again I have been told that I might have a problem with the stuff.
Cheers, Fat paul


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## Dr. François (Sep 14, 2008)

I have a vacuum pump, but several empty water bottles of various sizes work the best.

For example, I keep empty Perrier bottles around for this purpose. Pour the leftover wine into the smaller bottle until it is full to the brim. I mean absolutely full. 

The whole principle is to get the wine away from the air.

A few baby water bottles, a few 8 ouncers, and a few 12 ouncers, and you're all set!


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## Dhaller (Jan 20, 2008)

Once wine is opened, chemistry starts to happen, but it's not *that* fast.

A rule of thumb I've often heard is that you can keep wine until the bottle gets dusty... so actually quite a while. You do want to recork it, though.

A fun tip for champagne (which is impossible to recork) is to but a spoon into the neck, handle-first, and it will keep a few days after opening (this works because it prevents lamillar air flow parallel to the plane of the bottle opening, but we won't go there...) My usual procedure with Champagne is to drink it on day one, make mimosas on day two, and cook with it on day three. Works with Perrier-Jouet, anyway 

As far as the red wine goes, if it goes a week or so and still isn't gone, cook with it. Or you can pour it over fruits and make a kind of sangria.

Just don't waste it!

D.


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## Miket61 (Mar 1, 2008)

Dhaller said:


> A fun tip for champagne (which is impossible to recork) is to but a spoon into the neck, handle-first, and it will keep a few days after opening (this works because it prevents lamillar air flow parallel to the plane of the bottle opening, but we won't go there...)


I've seen "Champagne Preservers" that look like little metal flowers with long stems, but I never knew how they were supposed to work. Thanks!


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## JohnRov (Sep 3, 2008)

I am in the same boat, but with both red and white. I have a spray that is heavier than air, like this:



It then goes into the refrigerator, which also helps slow down the reaction. I still drink it within a day or two. It works very well.

If for some reason a bottle was left open I would just cook with it the next day.


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## Droog (Aug 29, 2006)

I work at a wine shop as a hobby job. The winery's policy is to dump (or better, take home) wine two days after it's opened. We use a vacuum pump each night, and the bottles are plugged when not being poured. This is perhaps a higher standard than strictly necessary, but it is based on the point that a customer should be able to taste the wine the way it first comes out of the bottle (after breathing, of course, if necessary). It also shows better that way.


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## Andy (Aug 25, 2002)

It (oddly) often depends on the red wine. I usually re-cork it and put it in the refrigerator! When time to drink it again, I'll take it out of the refrigerator and let it come almost to room temperature.


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## jazzy1 (May 2, 2006)

*Red Wine Vinegar*

Most times a bottle of red doesn't get past dinner. But on those rare occasions when it does, I will put the leftover wine in a bottle with a little vinegar and some herbs and let it sit for a while.

We eat a lot of salad and always use the red wine vinegar and oil for a nice dressing


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## rip (Jul 13, 2005)

Here's a viable and reasonably priced solution:

https://www.beveragefactory.com/wine/preservation/keeper.shtml


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## smujd (Mar 18, 2008)

I have yet to find an acceptable re-corking/wine saving mechanism. If you have an unfinished bottle, simply stick the cork back in and keep the bottle away from heat and light. It should keep 2-3 days. After that, toss it.

If wine (red, white, bubbly) is unfit for drinking, it is similarly unfit for cooking. Cooking with cheap wine only makes lousy food.

If you won't finish the bottle in 2-3 days, sounds like you are better served by buying splits and/or half bottles.


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## The Louche (Jan 30, 2008)

Standard bottles of wine are only 4 servings. Just finish the damn thing.


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## Carlton-Browne (Jun 4, 2007)

This brings to mind a letter to the Daily Telegraph a few years ago

*To good health*

Sir - The article on a new medical service reminds me of my first visit to a doctor in France in 1982. I was given a list of local restaurants and menus. I confessed to drinking half a bottle of wine a day. "That is terrible," said the doctor. "Only a half? You must drink at least one bottle of red wine a day." I have been healthy ever since. 
*William Dorman*, Ulverston, Cumbria

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/3615437/The-Daily-Telegraph-letters.html


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## coynedj (Jun 1, 2008)

I haven't found a vacuum pump gadget that's worth buying, though I do still use the stoppers that came with the one I have (and don't use). But re-using the cork should be fine.

Temperature and exposure to air will cause red wines to go bad. So, putting the bottle in the fridge will extend the life of your wine. To cut down on air exposure, a tactic similar to one already suggested is to buy a half-bottle of something and keep the bottle after you finish it. After one night's drinking, fill it up close to the top and cork it, which should give it minimal air exposure. On day 2, finish the original bottle before opening the half-bottle.

Personally, I only get 3 days drinking out of a bottle (I'm such a lush), so I tend not to go to that extreme (I do put it in the fridge, though). By the third day the wine isn't at it's best, but it's still well worth drinking as long as the wine was worthwhile to begin with.


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