I am obviously no wine connoisseur, you could say I’m new to this.
Pretty simple: I got this box containing 4 bottles of wine from my mother. It’s a wooden box and it’s what I’ve been keeping them in. (I know there is a special apparatus you are supposed to use, but I certainly don’t have the money to invest in such fancy schmancy things right now)
I opened the bottle of Pinot Grigio (which I didn’t like that much anyway) and left it sitting on the counter. It’s only been about a week, but I just poured myself a glass and it tastes like somebody poured a bunch of water in the bottle. Ick.
Now it has to be one of two things: is it because I left it out on the counter or because I only stuffed the cork back in about halfway? (I did this because on the last bottle, stuffing it all the way in required me to use the corkscrew to pull it out every time, and I thought I could be more efficient by just sticking it in halfway) And as a bonus, what exactly causes this, scientifically speaking?
I’m not sure I follow you. Did you open the pinot grigio and not drink any of it, and then recork it? Or if you did drink some a week ago, how was it then? BTW white wines are usually served chilled, and you should try to finish a bottle of wine within a day or two of opening it.
IME a partially drunk and recorked bottle of red wine will hold up better and longer than white wine, particularly if it is something like a Syrah or a Cabernet.
No, I drank some when I opened it and it was fine. Although like I said, I remember not being particularly crazy about it, it at least had that certain winey fizz about it.
When I drank it tonight, it had a distinctly watered-down taste.
Wine just doesn’t last that long after you take the cork out. I’ve never had a bottle last more than four days after uncorking. If you tried to drink it after a week, I’m not surprised that it was nasty.
Watered down? Odd. Usually what happens is that the oxygen in the air reacts with the alcohol in the wine, oxidising it to an acid and producing a bottle of wine winegar rather than wine. That’s pretty yukky but normally takes a longer time.
Of it’s warm in your kitchen and the cork wasn’ properly sealing the neck I suppose some of the more volatile components (including some of the alcohol) would have evaporated and produced a change in taste.
I’m not sure about the watered-down taste, but I’ve been told to treat an open bottle of wine the way you’d treat milk. Stick it in the fridge. I know this sucks for red wine, but it will keep it longer. Then you can take it out a couple hours before serving so it can get to room temperature.
No good bottle of wine will last a week after it’s been opened. There are some tricks you can play to get it to last a little longer, but the way the OP did it almost guarentees you would end up with crap.
Wine should be drunk when the bottle is opened, or by the next day if possible. Boxed wine (in bladders) will actually last longer, as no air gets back into the bladder when you drink some of the wine.
Putting wine in the fridge is NOT recommended. Just a cool place is best.
Generally speaking, you’ll want to open a bottle and let it breathe for about an hour before consumption but the complexities of that bottle will change even over the course of an average dinner and I can’t even imagine how much of a change it’s undergone after an entire week. “Ick” indeed!
If you’re not going to finish a bottle within a couple of hours, invest $15 to 20 in a vacuum and stopper. You can find one at most grocery stores or at specialty kitchen store. It just sucks the air out and slows oxidation. You could go fancy schmancy and get one that injects inert argon gas into the bottle but that’s really better suited for the high end wines.
Refrigerate if you want as it’ll help delay wine going bad but I for one don’t like to do it with reds. It’s probably best though that you simply shorten your expectations about just how long a bottle will last for you. Anything much longer than a day or two and you’re running the risk of drinking not wine but instead swill.
A *good * bottle of wine doesn’t last long enough around my house to save it anyway. But for your average $10 bottle, the fridge works just fine with white wine. No noticeable degradation in taste.
Let me clarify one thing, lest it be misunderstood. My comment about opening it an hour beforehand was meant to illustrate how fast it begins to undergo a change. Simply opening it and letting it stand does not benefit it that much though, at least to a discerning palate. Optimally, if you’ll let it decant, you’ll be rewarded with a better realization of what that particular bottle can offer. A decanter is simply a vessel that allows to wine to get some air and the flavor to mature. In the case of old world wines, it too may be employed to remove sedimantation (remain in the original bottle). If you don’t have a decanter, simply pouring some from the bottle into your glass will allow the process to begin since in so doing you’ve just lowered the level and thus increased the surface area in your bottle.
I agree with everyone else - you happened to your wine.
White will stay in the fridge for a few days. Red survives a day, maybe two, on the counter. Both change during that time, but usually not enough to go bad.
Next time you buy a full bottle, pour half immediately into the empty half bottle and recork. Make sure there is little or no air space in the bottle. That will last several days, up to a week.
Come on over to my house at any family gathering - they’ll show you! Seriously, in every photo there are three, four empty bottles of wine somewhere in the background. Considering it’s only 6 or 8 people at a time, that’s a lot!
My problem is NOT drinking the whole bottle in a day or two.
If someone is really serious about not drinking the whole bottle, this gizmo works pretty well. It’ll keep it for up to a week. Maybe. I personally don’t have experience with more than 3-4 days.
