First off, I am a relative "wine rookie," 10+ years of enjoying (red) wine
and 2-3 years of serious learning.

Having been in this situation countless times, I will offer my own opinion:

If you have to ask in the first place, you obviously care about this bottle,
and you should probably be drinking it the night you opened it.

Even if you liked the wine, I'd hope you'd drink it the second night, where,
as previous posters stated, some wines actually improve.

If a bottle sits longer than a second night, I personally recork it as
tightly as possible, put it into the fridge, and use it for cooking as soon
as possible. A red wine demiglace is pretty easy to make.

Hope this helps.

Double-T




"Mat" <Ask@me> wrote in message ...
> Timothy Hartley wrote:
>> Bobby wrote:
>>
>>>Can anyone tell me how long an opened bottled of red lasts? Presuming
>>>that
>>>the bottle is re-corked?
>>
>>
>> If it's any good, not long enough is the general rule in our house.
>>
>> Tim Hartley
>
>
> That's probably the best answer.
>
>
> Many ppl have asked this question. Including me. And I've spent some time
> conducting gruelling research.
>
> Sometimes having it opened [but with cork in] for a day or so actually
> improves it for me personally. But other times as others have said it goes
> downhill, and you lose any flavour and bouquet.
>
> If you want to prolong the life, you can put it in the fridge, and take it
> out say 10-15 mins before you pour a glass. I personally don't like this,
> I just have an unshakeable feeling that red wine shouldn't go in the
> fridge for a number of reasons. It puts me off, even if it is totally
> unreasonable.
>
> You can also buy a half bottle [375ml], drink it, and clean it for future
> use. So when you open a full bottle, pour half into the little bottle
> [right up to the top] and drink the rest of the big bottle. The wine in
> the little bottle, with little oxygen to spoil it, will last for up to a
> week I've found in a reasonable state.
>
> You could also invest in one of those vacuum seal systems.
>
>
>
> But generally I find if you open a bottle, say have a glass or two every
> night for 3 nights, there isn't too much difference, especially with lower
> end wines, say up to $20AU.
>
>
> HTH,
>
> Mat.
>