How to keep an opened bottle of wine fresh? Ask The Wine Ladies March 2010

Dear Wine Ladies,

I noticed your column in 24 a month or two ago and look forward to reading it now every Friday. I’d like to ask, once a bottle of wine is opened, and only half emptied, how long would it keep if re-corked, or had the air pumped out and capped? Is the best place in the fridge, or store at room temperature?

Jim Richmond B.C.

Dear Jim,

If a half emptied bottle of wine is simply re-corked and left at room temperature, much of its freshness and flavour will be significantly diminished by the next day. Storing the wine in the fridge will help slow the oxidation, as will pouring the leftover wine into a half bottle, minimizing exposure to a wine’s foe, oxygen. Investing in a device that can either pump the air out, or displace it, are two other options that can definitely extend the lifespan of a wine as well. One example, of many is the Vacu-vin, for pumping the air out, a product we’ve tried on numerous occasions. Quite effective, affordable, portable and easy to use, the Vacu-vin will typically keep a wine fresh for up to three to four days. A little pricier, but also more effective, the “Preservino” which displaces the oxygen with argon, an inert gas that is used in wine making. This product can lock in a wine’s freshness for up to two weeks. A third option, the “Private Preserve”, very inexpensive and much less sophisticated, is simply a combination of three inert gases packaged in a bottle. A spritz or two of Private Preserve into your wine bottle will act as a blanket and safeguard the wine from the oxygen helping to preserve its freshness and integrity.

The Wine Ladies, Georgia and Susanne