We entertained last night. I’m fine with the idea of re-corking the white and white zin, and putting them into the fridge. They hold just fine.
I opened a bottle of red. I let it breathe. I oxygenated it, caressed it carefully and prepared it for consumption. It stood alone. Untouched. Rejected. Bereft of takers.
After my red-wine-hating guests had departed, I recorked it as far in as I could get the cork. Here’s the problem:
Do I lay it down again on it’s side in the breakfront, where it will sit unrefrigerated? Will it leak? Will it matter that it has been uncorked? Should I stand it up and not refrigerate it? Should I stand it up and refrigerate it?
It’s a decent bottle, it was a gift and I hate the idea of tossing an entire bottle of wine just because it was untouched by the ungrateful whelps I had over last night.
Oenophiles, I shall do your bidding. Instruct me. ( you might start with telling me how to spell that word correctly. )
My understanding (and practice) with reds is to stopper them, get as much air out as possible, and refrigerate. Will keep from 3-5 days this way. You can also get one of those newfangled gas replacement dohickeys but I am not familiar with them.
The refrigeration helps preserve the wine. You should also to come back up to around 60 degrees before drinking.
Yes to the above. The wine may be better tomorrow. One test for “is this wine worth cellaring?” is seeing how it tastes the next day - if it’s better, it is. The tannins will be softer, and if it was the sort of red you drink with beef. game or lamb (shiraz, cab sav, chianti etc) it will be nice on its own or with a mild cheese tomorrow.
If it’s a good bottle and still full, just pop the cork back in. Keep it up right, as the wine could easily leak through the hole where the corkscrew went. Keep it somewhere cool but not cold, like in that enormous cellar you undoubtedly have. Drastic temperature changes are not good for wines (for reasons that elude me). It should be good for a week or so. I’ll be round Tuesday to see how it’s progressing.
You guys must take me for a real rube. Everybody knows that Tannis is the city where Indiana Jones found the lost Ark of the Covenant, lo those many years ago.
Thought ya had me there, huh? Thought you were pretty clever, huh? Not THIS guy ! Not THIS movie buff !
I’ll make sure it’s consumed in the next week. We have people coming this coming weekend. I think I’ll force them to drink it. Now, should I make a stuffed flank steak, or a roasted pig?
No, Tannis was what the Mummy needed (the real mummy, not the CGI pretender).
In any case, I find that many reds are improved by recorking them and leaving them on the kitchen counter. Lots of red are drunk too young, when they are too high in tannin (especially cabernets). A few days on the counter and they’ll turn delicious.
" Coming soon: The Curse of The Mummy’s Cork"
I might just flummox you all and COOK with it !!! No, to be honest I would rather serve it to friends. I’m severely partial to Chardonnay, but I understand the love some have for a nice red.
I was treated to a most singular experience a long time ago. I worked a shoot in the Meridian Hotel Boston. The director of food services ate dinner with us the last evening. She ordered Chateau Neuf du Pape. I dont’ know what year. It was a red, and it was such an INCREDIBLE experience. We drank a ton of it, apparently the bottles were in excess of $ 200.00 per. It was flavorful, appealing, went incredibly with the Surf and Turf dinner. We got bombed, crawled to the rooms, and slept like logs.
Actually, it is advisable to put red wine in the fridge for a short time, to bring it to “cellar temperature” (about 55-65 degrees F). This does not apply in every case, just wnated to point out that there are cases where red wine could be put in the fridge…
But, in the spirit of your above quote=
Please do not STORE red wine in your fridge, ever!
