How long can you keep a bottle of white wine in the fridge?
Monday, February 8th, 2010 at
5:22 am
Sonia A asked:
After I’ve opened the bottle, how long will last in the fridge? Also, do you only drink red wine at room temperature? Can anyone suggest a good, but inexpensive white wine? I like zinfandel and chardonnay…Also a red wine that is not too dry or bitter, something a little on the sweet side? I kinda like merlot…but I’d like to try something else as well..One more thing..is it me, or does wine make you super tired by the second glass?
After I’ve opened the bottle, how long will last in the fridge? Also, do you only drink red wine at room temperature? Can anyone suggest a good, but inexpensive white wine? I like zinfandel and chardonnay…Also a red wine that is not too dry or bitter, something a little on the sweet side? I kinda like merlot…but I’d like to try something else as well..One more thing..is it me, or does wine make you super tired by the second glass?
Tagged with: Chardonnay Wine • Merlot • White Wine
Filed under: Wine
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id drink it the next day, or get yourself one of those vacuum caps. they’re inexpencive and they should have them at any wine store.
if you can find it, williamsburg wineries have awesome wines. the governors white is the best, but i think you’d like james river white or two shilling red.
white wine is good in the fridge up to about a few months, but only if it is well corked. It’s good unopened on the rack for about two years.
Red wine should be opened and poured into a wide mouthed (and bottomed if possible) decanter to allow the liquid to breathe (have contact with air) and bring out its natural aromas and bouquets. You can drink it from the fridge too, but you miss half the experience of a good wine if you do that (so only do that with cheap wine).
Sutter Home and Glen Ellen are both solid, inexpensive white producers. Chardonnay and Zin are the more inexpensive white varieties, but if you’re willing to pay a little more, a *good* sherry (not the cooking variety) or a pinot noir are quite lovely as well.
Merlot is a very solid red that goes with a lot of things, Cabernet Sauvs tend to be a bit more dry, and full-bodied, but can really add that je ne se quois to a hearty meal. Madeira is also lovely and a little sweet. If you’re looking for really sweet, go for a port, but I find the more sugar in the wine, the bigger the wine headache afterward (same goes for white and red).
And yup, right there with ya with the wine sleepies. To extend your wine drinking session, eat when you drink–either a meal, or a nice little snack tray of cheeses and fruits and crackers–drink water between wine sips, and always drink with a friend.
:^)
Cheers!
An opened bottle of white will be okay for a couple of days, depending on the quality. However the taste changes a bit (less fruity).
Red wine should be drunk not at regular room temperature, but depending on the wine between 14 and 18 degrees Celsius (58 – 65 Fahrenheit). A decanter can be usefull for some wines. However older wines can actually turn bad in a decanter because they get too much oxygen.
Whether white or red, wine will begin to fall apart after 2 or 3 days. You’ll notice that it just doesn’t taste the way it did when you opened it! It doesn’t go “bad” per se, but it won’t be as tasty as it was. I”ll either throw it away or cook with it at that point.
Your best white wine values will probably be from New Zealand. There are some beautiful Sauvignon Blancs and Chardonnays from Kim Crawford Winery, Brancott Winery, or Babich Winery–these are pretty widely available in the US.
For reds, stay away from the big name California winerys — they tend to be high in alcohol — which will come across to you as less sweet and will probably make you sleepy
Try a merlot or a meritage (which is just a fancy name for a wine that is blended with several different grapes) from Chile or Australia. Again, both very affordable and easy to drink.
White wine can be kept in the fridge for 2 days MAXIMUM with the cork in. You should drink red wine at room temperature or about 65 degrees. Most White wines are usually fairly good priced, in the $4 to $8 range. Just to expand your knowledge:
Zinfandel is a RED grape that is mainly made into RED WINE but with so much on the market the wineries in CALIFORNIA began making WHITE ZINFANDEL. WHITE ZINFANDEL is wine that is NOT fermented on the skins. A red wine that is not too dry or bitter would be Sangiovese (Chanti). Wine can make you tired, remember to drink moderately and no more than 5 ounces per day.
Lots of questions – and some very interesting, and VERY off-base answers.
Once opened, how long will white wine last in the fridge?
Experienced tasters (not professionals) can tell the difference the next day! Contrary to what “Woz” wrote, white wines will taste ATROCIOUS after a few days, let alone a few MONTHS!
All wines oxidize when exposed to air, and as you reduce the volume of wine in the bottle, more air is introduced. White wines, in general, tend to be more rapidly affected by oxidation than do reds.
The only certain method to prevent this oxidation is to drink the entire bottle! Actually, I am kidding.
Solo wine drinkers face this conundrum daily. There are three effective solutions – half bottles, which contain a “just right” amount of wine for one, the use of a nitrogen preserver such as “Winelife,” which will treat over 120 bottles, and costs less than one bottle of wine, or finding someone to share a bottle with.
Vacuum caps DELAY the oxidation by reducing the amount or air in the bottle, but nitrogen replacement costs less than the vacuum caps and is effective for far longer.
Remember that your refrigerator is probably in the mid-30 degrees F, and that is WAY too cold for a drinking temperature, so allow your whites to warm up, either in the bottle or the glass, before drinking. Too cold temperatures tend to blunt the flavors of white wines.
Do you only drink red wine at room temperature?
This is an interesting question. The concept of drinking red wine at room temperature comes from the French, whose wines were to be drunk “chambre,” or at room temperature. This expression, however, dates from the 1800′s, when room temperatures were much colder than they are currently.
Red wines are typically cellared at 55 degrees F; this is WAY too cold a drinking temperature. Let the bottle warm slowly to the low 60′s; I believe that anything under 62 degrees is too cold.
Emile Peynaud, in his book The Taste of Wine, determined that 18 C, or 64 F, is the ideal temperature for both whites and reds to be appreciated.
A good, but inexpensive white wine?
This hinges on what you consider “inexpensive”. For the purposes of my response, I’ll consider under $10 a bottle “inexpensive”.
Stay away from HUGE wine producers like Sutter Home and Glen Ellen – sure, they make inexpensive, OK wines, but there are SO many wonderful wines made by small producers in small batches that cost almost the same, why mess with factory wines?
Once again, contrary to “Woz’s” response above, and, I believe, your question, zinfandel is not a white wine. “White zinfandel” is actually a rose wine made from red zinfandel grapes. Keeping the skins of the grapes away from the juice is what keeps this wine from shoving the deep red character of zinfandel.
Excellent chardonnays can be pricey, so I’d concentrate on Bobette’s suggestions, as well as considering adding some German Rieslings, such as Kesseler, or Alsatian pinot blancs, pinot gris or gewurztraminers to your selections.
A red wine that is not too dry or bitter, something a little on the sweet side?
As suggested, ports and sherries fit this bill, but they are made as aperitifs, dessert wines, or for after-dinner drinking. If you are looking for a red that you can drink after work to relax and then segue into a meal with, merlot is a good place to start, however, syrah/shiraz (the same grape, different names, depending where in the world the wine is made) is a much more “interesting” wine.
There are some wonderful blended red wines coming out of Australia – shiraz/cabernet blends, grenache/shiraz/mourvedre blends, etc. Producers like Penfolds, Kilikanoon and Marquis Philips are making outstanding, affordable wines that are fun to drink!
Does wine make you super tired by the second glass?
It can. Try drinking 2 glasses of water to every glass of wine. You’ll have to stay awake to use the bathroom! Actually, wine was meant to be enjoyed with a meal – proper hydration and good food will reduce the soporific effects of wine consumption. Here I agree with “Woz”.
Now, to address a few other issues that have cropped up in other answers above.
Decanting a red wine is of little use in the “affordable” category. You can get the same effect by swirling your wine in the glass. First, just pour yourself a small sip. Then, swirl it around in your glass to “volatilize the esters” (release those wonderful aromas, otherwise known as the nose or the bouquet). Take the wine into your mouth, moving it over your tongue, and hold it there, savoring the flavors. Then, swallow.
Don’t fill your glass more than half way – you can’t swirl your wine! Well, you can, but it makes such a mess!
While “Meritage” is a term which DOES refer to some blended wines, it refers ONLY to those blended wines from wineries in California that are members of The Meritage Association. California meritage wines are typically outside the inexpensive price point.
And LOL @ 5 ounces a day. According to recent medical studies, two glasses, or approximately 10 to 12 ounces a day of wine, provide the best health benefits.