I don’t drink much, and my husband doesn’t drink at all. I do, however, cook with wine. I usually only use about a quarter or half a cup of wine at a time, though.
So how long will an opened bottle of wine keep, for cooking purposes? I put the wine in the fridge. Indefinitely? Until it gets fuzzy? Only a week or so? This isn’t great wine, it’s just a step or two above the cheapest wine in the store.
If it is white wine then use vermouth instead. It will keep in a cupboard indefinitely and supplies the same flavour profile.
For red I’d say that it won’t keep very long at all, even in the fridge, if it is exposed to air. I bought a soft sided bottle (similar to those collapsible bottles) made for backpacking wine. You can pour the leftover wine into it and squeeze out all of the air. I’ve managed to keep wine in it for at least a week and have it still good. If you don’t want to go the vermouth route you can use this method for the white wine as well.
At casa de kayak, about 25 minutes.
I keep cheap white wine in the fridge, in a bottle with a screw top. It takes me maybe a month to finish a bottle, and it’s still fine for cooking.
For a semi-decent bottle you’re talking a week maximum if resealed and stored properly. A good trick is to keep an empty half bottle around and immediately pour half your opened bottle into it and recork it. That should keep significantly longer if there’s no air in the bottle.
Otherwise, use a vaccuum recorker and store the wine (red or white) in the fridge.
Yeah, keeping air out is the key. I’ve used week-old wine in recipes and regretted it, but I’m guessing mileage can vary a lot depending on the wine.
I was going to suggest buying your wine in boxes, because it keeps a lot longer, but it’s just a collapsible bottle/bag inside there anyway. Since boxes of wine often contain the equivalent of 3 or 4 bottles, you’d probably do better with a collapsible water bottle you could toss into the fridge.
You can also get a vacuum-sealing stopper for standard glass bottles.
You can buy small bottles that are the equivalent of two glasses of wine. That might be your best bet.
Vacuum sealing versus just corking and putting it in the fridge has never seemed to make a difference. The fridge is the key; you can get 2-4 days out of a red and a week for a white kept in the fridge. That’s for drinking, not cooking, though - I’ll go a lot longer with cooking wine, maybe up to a month.
That said, I’d do what madmonk28 suggested if I were you. Just buy those little bottles. They’re usually decent enough quality for cooking, and you don’t have to worry about them going bad.
Opened vermouth keeps much better in the refrigerator. Not bad for cooking, if you like the slightly herbal taste.
Boxes keep wine fresh, too. But the little “individual” bottles might be best bet…
I don’t have this issue with reds because I will drink them myself - but I don’t like whites so well and I’ll buy those little six packs of white wine. I think that’s the way to go, especially with the reds that don’t keep so well. I love cooking with wine and will find any excuse to add it so the little bottles come in handy.
I’ll look into getting the small bottles, that seems to fit my needs the best, thanks.
That’s hilarious. Dad’s gonna be 80 this year and I can put up with him getting a 2nd glass of wine buzz on. Mom, on the other hand, makes it so fucking TENSE. I figure if you lived to your 70s plus, drink away. Get a buzz. Especially my Dad, who has had to put up with Mom (whom I do love dearly, really) for 55+ years. But I love my Dad more. What can I say? It’s really uncomfortable, though, especially since Mom thinks Dad is ‘forgetful’ (diagnosis: Alzheimer’s around the corner!)
Aging parents and alcohol. FUN TIMES.
You can also freeze wine in plastic containers - you’ll get some additional crystally gunk in the bottom, but it tastes fine to drink if you pour carefully. I imagine it would also be fine to cook with.
Centuries if it’s made from good quality glass.
Until morning.
Without reading other’s answers, I will say “about five or six days for red wine, about three or four weeks for white wine.” Sake is good for much longer – several months – as are dessert wines. Marsala cooking wine is good for almost a whole year.