How To Store Red Wine After Opening: Top Tips

When storing your wine once opened, there are a variety of factors to consider. This is to prevent the wine from ageing or decreasing in quality. It is important that you understand why you need to store your wine correctly once opened. Oxidation is the main reason wine goes bad, which is why it is important that once you have opened your wine, you store it away correctly. This is to ensure that no oxygen gets into the wine bottle. There are many different ways to effectively store your wine properly, whether it be storing it upright, corking it or keeping it out of the sun. Read on to find out more about why it is important to store your wine away correctly after opening, and much more!

 

How Can I Keep My Wine Fresh for Longer?

There are many methods that allow you to keep your wine fresh for longer. We will be discussing with you the different types of ways you can do this and it is quite simple! Just following these steps will allow your wine to be preserved for longer and maintain excellent quality.

 

Store It Upright

There are many benefits to storing your wine bottle upright, especially once opened. Storing the bottle upright ensures that a limited surface area is exposed to oxygen. Most wine coolers offer shelves that allow your wine to stand upright. When you haven't opened your wine bottle, it is important to store your wine on its side. This is because you need to keep the wine's cork moist. This is key for allowing your wine to be preserved for longer.

 

Keep Your Wine Out The Sun

Most wine coolers come with UV protection to prevent any harsh lights from travelling through your wine bottle. If sunlight was to reach your wine it can affect your wine's flavours and aroma. Not only does sunlight affect the quality of your wine but it also causes your wine to become warm, therefore unpleasant to drink. It is best to keep your wine out of the sun, especially in months when the sun is at its hottest such as June, July and August.

 

Store Your Wine in a Cold, Dark Place

It is important to keep your wine in a cool, dark place to prevent and sun from reaching your wine. It is important that you know what temperature to store red wine at as it differs from white wine. Although all wine needs to be stored in a dark place, certain wines need to be stored at different temperatures. This is where a dual-zone wine cooler comes into place.

Dual-zone wine coolers are ideal for storing different types of wine. This is because not all wines are meant to be stored at the same temperatures. For example, rich red wines such as Vintage Port should be stored at a temperature of 19 degrees.

White wines, however, are stored at a slightly cooler temperature of around 12 degrees. This is why a dual-zone wine cooler comes in handy when storing different types of wine. It is important to keep your wine at a consistent temperature. This is because even the slightest fluctuations in temperature can massively affect the quality of your wine.

 

Control The Humidity Levels

When storing wine, not enough people consider other factors such as sunlight and humidity. Humidity is one of the most important things to consider when storing your wine bottles, especially if you are planning on storing them for a long period of time.

Humidity is essential in order to keep the cork moist and in the correct position (in the bottleneck). If your wine isn’t getting enough humidity then this can cause your wine’s cork to dry out. It is important that you get the correct amount of humidity levels for your wine. Not too much, but just enough. If you expose your wine to too much humidity, this can cause moisture to accumulate around the bottle. This could damage the labels and cause the cork to slowly deteriorate.

When it comes to storing wine, the ideal humidity temperature should be between 50 and 70%. If you want to ensure your wine is getting the correct humidity levels, then investing in a wine cooler will help maintain the correct humidity levels. Here at Dunavox, we offer wine coolers with humidity control features. Explore our Glance range today. 

 

How Long Does Red Wine Last Once Open?

When wine is opened, it can last anywhere between one to five days. However, the type of red wine will typically determine how long it lasts once opened. For example, light red wines like Pinot Noir last for around two to three days - whereas medium high-bodied reds such as Shiraz and Merlot last a bit longer (three to five days).

If your wine is a lot darker and richer like Port and Sherry, then it will last much longer (around 30 days!). The higher content of alcohol means the wine will last much longer than alcohol with low contents. An open bottle of wine left unattended will cause your wine to age faster and reduce the wine’s quality. It is important that you make sure you store your leftover wine correctly to ensure that your wine lasts longer.