When I first started drinking wine thoughtfully, about 20 years ago,
it occurred to me that some wines, usually young reds, got better upon
spending the night in the refrigerator after I drank a glass from the
bottle and popped the cork back in.

I have related this observation to some experienced wine drinkers who
have concurred; some wines do seem to improve under those conditions.

The problem is that more wines tend to go bad, literally overnight,
under those same conditions. While there are some like the McMannis
Cabernet which I have left in the fridge for about 7 days and still
tasted good, others seem to just collapse after one opens them and
takes some of it out of the bottle.

Try as I may, I have not been able to *predict* which wines will
preserve and which won't. Thus, I come to you for guidance.

Are there any traits (e.g., residual sugar, grape variety,
vinification techniques, etc.) that will help predict whether a wine
will keep in the refrigerator after opening and drinking some of it?


--
=================================================
Do you like wine? Do you live in South Florida?
Visit the MIAMI WINE TASTERS group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/miamiWINE
=================================================

Hola Leo,

In my own (limited) experience, heavy reds (cab, zin) and whites (sauv
blanc, chard) seem to hold up well after opening. Some even improve.
Lighter wines (Riesling, Pinot Noir) don't seem to last as long.

Dan-O (former FL resident)

On Sun, 06 Feb 2005 03:06:16 GMT, Leo Bueno
> wrote:

>Are there any traits (e.g., residual sugar, grape variety,
>vinification techniques, etc.) that will help predict whether a wine
>will keep in the refrigerator after opening and drinking some of it?

Well, here's some examples...

Old wines - ones that are possibly over-the-hill while undoubtedly
collapse.

Young wines may improve. Especially, the tannins in vigorous reds may
soften.

Wines made in an oxidised style will not change much. I'm not sure
quite how long an opened bottle of Madera will keep, but it is more
than a few days!

--
Steve Slatcher
http://pobox.com/~steve.slatcher

I can offer a recent example - Turley Old Vines 2000. Opened 11/2/04. Drank
nearly half a bottle. Tasted young, somewhat tight. I knew it needed to open.
Put in a cool closet for the next night. It was beautiful on night 2. A perfect
balance. So I'll wait a year before I open another and expect it to be more
ready to drink on night one.

Leo Bueno wrote:
> When I first started drinking wine thoughtfully, about 20 years ago,
> it occurred to me that some wines, usually young reds, got better
upon
> spending the night in the refrigerator after I drank a glass from the
> bottle and popped the cork back in.
>
> I have related this observation to some experienced wine drinkers who
> have concurred; some wines do seem to improve under those conditions.
>
> The problem is that more wines tend to go bad, literally overnight,
> under those same conditions. While there are some like the McMannis
> Cabernet which I have left in the fridge for about 7 days and still
> tasted good, others seem to just collapse after one opens them and
> takes some of it out of the bottle.
>
> Try as I may, I have not been able to *predict* which wines will
> preserve and which won't. Thus, I come to you for guidance.
>
> Are there any traits (e.g., residual sugar, grape variety,
> vinification techniques, etc.) that will help predict whether a wine
> will keep in the refrigerator after opening and drinking some of it?
>
>
> --
> =================================================
> Do you like wine? Do you live in South Florida?
> Visit the MIAMI WINE TASTERS group at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/miamiWINE
> =================================================

Leo Bueno wrote:
> When I first started drinking wine thoughtfully, about 20 years ago,
> it occurred to me that some wines, usually young reds, got better
upon
> spending the night in the refrigerator after I drank a glass from the
> bottle and popped the cork back in.
>
> I have related this observation to some experienced wine drinkers who
> have concurred; some wines do seem to improve under those conditions.
>
> The problem is that more wines tend to go bad, literally overnight,
> under those same conditions. While there are some like the McMannis
> Cabernet which I have left in the fridge for about 7 days and still
> tasted good, others seem to just collapse after one opens them and
> takes some of it out of the bottle.
>
> Try as I may, I have not been able to *predict* which wines will
> preserve and which won't. Thus, I come to you for guidance.
>
> Are there any traits (e.g., residual sugar, grape variety,
> vinification techniques, etc.) that will help predict whether a wine
> will keep in the refrigerator after opening and drinking some of it?
>
>
> --
> =================================================
> Do you like wine? Do you live in South Florida?
> Visit the MIAMI WINE TASTERS group at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/miamiWINE
> =================================================



Mature wines will oxidize rapidly.

I almost always take 3 days or more to finish a bottle of wine. Reds I
usually reseal, and hand pump the bottle and leave them on the counter
in the kitchen. Whites I put in the refrigerator. In my experience
young wines usually hold up fairly well, older wines are more fragile,
and red wines tend to hold up better then whites.

Last night I finally finished the last of the five 2001 California Cabs
I posted tasting notes on Jan 29th and the 2002 Whispering Dove I
posted notes on Feb 1st. Of these the only one that really went down
hill was the 2001 Chateau Monelena, Napa, which seemed to become harder
and more tannic as the fruit faded. The 2002 Whispering Dove was much
more open on the second day and stayed very appealing until I finished
it. The rest held up well, and some seemed to improve a little.

In my experience, wines that fade quickly are probably not wines you
want to age or age any further, though they may be very appealing to
drink right now.
------------------------------------
Mike's Wine Blog
http://mikeswinecellar.blogspot.com/

Mike,

I also use a hand pump to suck most of the air out of the headspace in
the bottle I haven't finished. I found that the whites in the fridge
were still very nice after sometimes up to five days (I forget the
bottles in the fridge, that's why they CAN last five days,) while reds
on the kitchen counter hardly ever tasted well the third night.

So, I put the vacuum-pumped reds in the fridge and voila! They seem to
do well for up to a week. Easy huh? Cold slows down chemical
reactions. Who would have figured that?

On 8 Feb 2005 11:25:12 -0800, "Hipergas" > wrote:

>Cold slows down chemical
>reactions. Who would have figured that?

Chemistry classes taught me that, in the normal day-to-day temperature
ranges, a reduction of 10 deg C will reduce the halve the speed of
reactions.

--
Steve Slatcher
http://pobox.com/~steve.slatcher

Goody goody.
"EMRinVT" > wrote in message
...
>I can offer a recent example - Turley Old Vines 2000. Opened 11/2/04. Drank
> nearly half a bottle. Tasted young, somewhat tight. I knew it needed to
> open.
> Put in a cool closet for the next night. It was beautiful on night 2. A
> perfect
> balance. So I'll wait a year before I open another and expect it to be
> more
> ready to drink on night one.

Goody goody.
"EMRinVT" > wrote in message
...
>I can offer a recent example - Turley Old Vines 2000. Opened 11/2/04. Drank
> nearly half a bottle. Tasted young, somewhat tight. I knew it needed to
> open.
> Put in a cool closet for the next night. It was beautiful on night 2. A
> perfect
> balance. So I'll wait a year before I open another and expect it to be
> more
> ready to drink on night one.

Thoughtfully speaking - it's a Crap Shoot.
"Leo Bueno" > wrote in message
...
>
> When I first started drinking wine thoughtfully, about 20 years ago,
> it occurred to me that some wines, usually young reds, got better upon
> spending the night in the refrigerator after I drank a glass from the
> bottle and popped the cork back in.
>
> I have related this observation to some experienced wine drinkers who
> have concurred; some wines do seem to improve under those conditions.
>
> The problem is that more wines tend to go bad, literally overnight,
> under those same conditions. While there are some like the McMannis
> Cabernet which I have left in the fridge for about 7 days and still
> tasted good, others seem to just collapse after one opens them and
> takes some of it out of the bottle.
>
> Try as I may, I have not been able to *predict* which wines will
> preserve and which won't. Thus, I come to you for guidance.
>
> Are there any traits (e.g., residual sugar, grape variety,
> vinification techniques, etc.) that will help predict whether a wine
> will keep in the refrigerator after opening and drinking some of it?
>
>
> --
> =================================================
> Do you like wine? Do you live in South Florida?
> Visit the MIAMI WINE TASTERS group at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/miamiWINE
> =================================================

Thoughtfully speaking - it's a Crap Shoot.
"Leo Bueno" > wrote in message
...
>
> When I first started drinking wine thoughtfully, about 20 years ago,
> it occurred to me that some wines, usually young reds, got better upon
> spending the night in the refrigerator after I drank a glass from the
> bottle and popped the cork back in.
>
> I have related this observation to some experienced wine drinkers who
> have concurred; some wines do seem to improve under those conditions.
>
> The problem is that more wines tend to go bad, literally overnight,
> under those same conditions. While there are some like the McMannis
> Cabernet which I have left in the fridge for about 7 days and still
> tasted good, others seem to just collapse after one opens them and
> takes some of it out of the bottle.
>
> Try as I may, I have not been able to *predict* which wines will
> preserve and which won't. Thus, I come to you for guidance.
>
> Are there any traits (e.g., residual sugar, grape variety,
> vinification techniques, etc.) that will help predict whether a wine
> will keep in the refrigerator after opening and drinking some of it?
>
>
> --
> =================================================
> Do you like wine? Do you live in South Florida?
> Visit the MIAMI WINE TASTERS group at
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/miamiWINE
> =================================================

On 6/2/05 3:06 am, in article ,
"Leo Bueno" > wrote:

> Try as I may, I have not been able to *predict* which wines will
> preserve and which won't. Thus, I come to you for guidance.

Wines may change within an hour of opening, for better or for worse. Some
aficionados keep a diary of a wine's life from opening to finishing. Not me.

On 6/2/05 3:06 am, in article ,
"Leo Bueno" > wrote:

> Try as I may, I have not been able to *predict* which wines will
> preserve and which won't. Thus, I come to you for guidance.

Wines may change within an hour of opening, for better or for worse. Some
aficionados keep a diary of a wine's life from opening to finishing. Not me.

Stormlx wrote:
> On 6/2/05 3:06 am, in article
,
> "Leo Bueno" > wrote:
>
> > Try as I may, I have not been able to *predict* which wines will
> > preserve and which won't. Thus, I come to you for guidance.
>
> Wines may change within an hour of opening, for better or for worse.
Some
> aficionados keep a diary of a wine's life from opening to finishing.
Not me.

What's the matter? Don't you have any drinking buddies? When we have
our Italian dinner parties, we go through 7 or 8 bottles in one evening!

Stormlx wrote:
> On 6/2/05 3:06 am, in article
,
> "Leo Bueno" > wrote:
>
> > Try as I may, I have not been able to *predict* which wines will
> > preserve and which won't. Thus, I come to you for guidance.
>
> Wines may change within an hour of opening, for better or for worse.
Some
> aficionados keep a diary of a wine's life from opening to finishing.
Not me.

What's the matter? Don't you have any drinking buddies? When we have
our Italian dinner parties, we go through 7 or 8 bottles in one evening!

On 2/3/05 3:03 pm, in article
,
" > wrote:

>> Wines may change within an hour of opening, for better or for worse.
> Some
>> aficionados keep a diary of a wine's life from opening to finishing.
> Not me.
>
> What's the matter? Don't you have any drinking buddies? When we have
> our Italian dinner parties, we go through 7 or 8 bottles in one evening!

If only. I've been warned by my doctor not to drink anymore 7 or 8 bottles
in an evening.

And, after learning a bit about wine, on this ng and elsewhere, I decided to
limit that consumption to expensive wine ("spending our kids' inheritance"
and so on).

So there you have it. In years gone by, when I gave dinner parties to
professional contacts, I got a higher reimbursement if I served 2 or 3
different wines of an evening. Funnily enough, my employer didn't ask me to
prove the worth of those wines.

Now, nobody pays me for anything. But if I can get a smile of recognition
from my guests it more than makes up for the cost.

Yet, advice I got early in my career rings in my ears: when you have a great
bottle of wine, save it to drink when you are depressed. Don't waste it on
your customers and clients who more than likely won't appreciate it anyway.
Give them a decent bottle first round, and give them plonk second and
subsequent rounds, and they will praise you ever after for your hospitality
and sommelier awareness.

Perhaps.

Stormlx wrote:
> On 2/3/05 3:03 pm, in article
> ,
> " > wrote:
>
> >> Wines may change within an hour of opening, for better or for
worse.
> > Some
> >> aficionados keep a diary of a wine's life from opening to
finishing.
> > Not me.
> >
> > What's the matter? Don't you have any drinking buddies? When we
have
> > our Italian dinner parties, we go through 7 or 8 bottles in one
evening!


With 10 or 12 people.

Stormlx wrote:
> On 2/3/05 3:03 pm, in article
> ,
> " > wrote:
>
> >> Wines may change within an hour of opening, for better or for
worse.
> > Some
> >> aficionados keep a diary of a wine's life from opening to
finishing.
> > Not me.
> >
> > What's the matter? Don't you have any drinking buddies? When we
have
> > our Italian dinner parties, we go through 7 or 8 bottles in one
evening!


With 10 or 12 people.