An opened bottle of wine lasts anywhere from a day to a month, and the type of wine decides which. Sparkling is gone fastest. Fortified wine lasts longest. Everything else sits in the middle at three to seven days if you put the cap back on and keep it in the fridge.
| Wine | Lasts about | Store it |
|---|---|---|
| Sparkling (Champagne, Prosecco, Tasmanian fizz) | 1 to 3 days | Fridge, with a proper sparkling stopper |
| Light white, rosé and sweet white (Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Moscato) | 5 to 7 days | Fridge, cap on |
| Full white (oaked Chardonnay, Viognier) | 3 to 5 days | Fridge, cap on |
| Red (Shiraz, Cabernet, Pinot Noir) | 3 to 5 days | Cool dark spot or the fridge, cap on |
| Fortified (Port, Sherry, Rutherglen Muscat) | About 28 days | Cool dark spot, cap on |
| Bag-in-box | 2 to 3 weeks | Fridge |
Those figures are for the wine still tasting like it should. It will not hurt you after that; it just tastes flat, then sharp, then like vinegar.
Table of Contents
Why wine goes off
Air. The moment you pull the cork, oxygen starts reacting with the wine. A little oxygen is good, which is why you swirl the glass and why some reds improve after an hour. A lot, over days, is bad. The fruit fades first, then the wine turns dull and nutty, then bacteria get to work and it heads towards vinegar.
Three things change the speed.
The type of wine. Tannin and sugar are preservatives, which is why big reds and sweet wines last longer than a delicate Pinot Noir. Fortified wines have alcohol on their side too, which is why an open bottle of Port sits happily on the shelf for a month. Sparkling wine has a different problem: it is the bubbles that go, not the flavour.
Temperature. Cold slows every chemical reaction. A red left on a Brisbane bench in January is dead by the next evening. The same bottle in the fridge lasts the better part of a week.
How much air is in the bottle. A bottle with two glasses left has more air in it than wine, and it goes faster than one that is still three quarters full. Pour leftovers into a smaller bottle and the wine lasts longer.
How to tell it has turned
Smell it before you pour. Wine on its way out smells flat, or a bit like sherry or bruised apple, and the fruit is gone. Wine that has gone smells like vinegar or nail polish remover. Reds go brownish at the edge; whites darken to gold. If it smells fine, it is fine. If it smells wrong, cook with it or tip it.
How to make it last longer
Put the cap on and put it in the fridge. This is the big one and it covers reds too. Take the red out twenty minutes before you want it and it will be at the right temperature.
Use a proper stopper for sparkling. A teaspoon in the neck does nothing. A clamp-style sparkling stopper, about $10, holds the pressure and buys you two extra days.
Decant into a smaller bottle. A clean half-size bottle with less air in it is the cheapest preservation system there is.
Vacuum pumps pull some of the air out and cost about $20. They help a little with still wines and do nothing for sparkling (they pull the bubbles out too).
Argon gas sprays lay a blanket of heavier-than-air gas over the wine. About $30 a can, and they work better than a pump.
Coravin is the serious option: a needle through the cork, argon in, wine out, and the cork reseals, so the bottle never really opens. It is expensive and it is the only thing that lets you keep a good bottle for months. We have used one for a while; our Coravin Timeless Three review covers whether it is worth it.
What to do with the leftovers
Cook with them. Red goes into a bolognese, a stew or a gravy. White goes into risotto, a pan sauce or steamed mussels. Pour it into an ice cube tray, freeze it, and drop a cube in whenever a recipe asks for a splash. Frozen cubes keep for months. Wine that is slightly past its best is fine for cooking; wine that smells of vinegar is not.
Frequently asked questions
Does red wine really need to go in the fridge?
Yes, once it is open. Cold slows the oxidation that kills it. Take it out twenty minutes before drinking. In an Australian summer this is not optional.
Can old open wine make you sick?
No. It turns into something you would not want to drink, but it is not dangerous. The alcohol and acidity keep harmful bacteria out.
Does screw cap or cork make a difference once opened?
Not much. A screw cap is easier to reseal tightly, which helps a little. What matters is temperature and how much air is in the bottle.
How long does unopened wine last?
That is a different question. Most wine under $30 is made to drink within two or three years of the vintage. Good reds with tannin, and Rieslings, can improve for a decade or more. Keep them somewhere cool, dark and steady.
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