A lot of friends and clients often ask me about the right way to store wine bottles and how long does a bottle of wine last once it’s opened. Not only the choices of the consumers, but also the choices of the producers can affect this aspect: here I tell you my choices.
For example, I have chosen a dark bottle for all my wines. Transparent bottles are of course more beautiful and easy-to-remember, but for wines that have to stay in the bottle for more than one year you must have a dark bottle to preserve the wine from light, which accelerates the ageing process.
Temperature is also very important, and it has to be between 12° and 15° C with a humidity level of 70%, a lower humidity level may dry out the stopper, if it’s made of cork, and increase the level of oxygen. Don’t be afraid of leave wine bottles laid down, in fact the wine touching the cork maintains it humid and elastic. Wine bottles have to be stored in a humid location without strong smells, such as cheese smell or salami smell that sometimes are stored together with wine and with the passing of time may contaminate the cork and the wine.
When you decide to open a bottle, it would be better to put it in a vertical position at least one day before if possible, so if there is some sediment it will lay down in the bottle. It is also important for the wine to reach the right serving temperature, 7-8°C for sparkling wines, 11-13°C good white wines and 15-18°C red wines and sweet wines.
Since I am a white wine lover, I am sure that the perfect temperature to taste a good quality white wine is 12°C, rather than 7°C, and it would be better to open the bottle at least half an hour before tasting it. A slightly higher temperature and a bit of oxygen enhance perfumes and aromas that have been closed inside the bottle for a long period.
Usually at the end of the meal the bottle is finished, at least it is for me, but if it’s not you can store it, with a seal, in your fridge and you will notice that day by day it will get better.
Some bottles stay in my fridge sometimes for more than 20 days and have no problems at all. Just one thing: don’t leave in the fridge unopened bottles for months: if you wanted to drink it but then changed idea, it’s better to bring it to the winery and store them as I described before.
In the end a piece of advice: if you’re not sure to store your wines in the right way, my suggestion is to call some friends and drink them in good company, this is a great solution. 😉