How Long Does Open Wine Last For?

Once you open a bottle of wine, how long will that wine last in the bottle? The will depend on various factors, but it is certainly a common problem wine drinkers have. You don’t want to have multiple glasses of wine in a night, but you want to enjoy a glass and relax a little bit after a long day, or enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. But you don’t want to waste the rest of the bottle and enjoy it later on. Here are some quick tips and advice plus more detailed information below.

After a few days, wine will start to act like any fruit that is exposed to air. An apple will start to turn brown after its been cut. The same goes for wine, although it takes longer for the wine to go bad than an apple. But air is good for wine to open up, right? Yes, we recommend decanting most red wines. However, after the first day of being opened, the wine can start to get too much air and go bad.

How Long Does Red Wine Last?

Red wine will last corked and in the fridge for 3-5 days. Wines that have higher tannins will last longer than lighter wines. So a Cabernet Sauvignon will last longer than a Pinot Noir. Some red wines may even taste better after being opened for a day, like a very long decant. So it can be fun to experiment with wines that have higher tannins to see if the flavors change for the better after a day of being opened. Make sure the temperature of the wine is consistent if you do decide to experiment, so you are doing an apples to apples comparison when tasting both days.

How Long Does White Wine Last?

White wines like chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, riesling and others will all go bad eventually after being opened. White wine will typically last in the fridge for 3–7 days in the fridge if you put the cork or cap back on to prevent more oxygen from touching the wine. With a vacuum or blanket system (more on this below), the wine can last for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

Lighter white wines, rosé, and sweet wines will last longer than full bodied white wines like oaked chardonnay, Viognier & Chenin Blanc won’t last as long because those wines were introduced to more oxygen during the wine making process. So full bodied white wines will only last 3-4 days while light white wines can last for up to 7 days in the fridge.

How Long Does Sparkling Wine Last?

Sparkling wine will only last for 1-3 days in the fridge before it loses carbonation and goes flat. Once the wine goes flat, it may still be “drinkable”, but will no longer be fizzy and will be like drinking a flat pop or soda. Champagne may last a little longer than Prosecco, but not much longer (maybe a day longer).

How Long Does Fortified Wine Last?

Port and Sherry have extra alcohol added to the wine, which is meant to help it last longer. This is good, because it can be hard to drink an entire bottle in 1 sitting due to the higher alcohol content in these wines. Plus the sweetness in the wines makes it harder to drink large amounts of it in 1 night. Because of the extra alcohol, fortified wines can last up to a month if stored correctly in the fridge with the cork in the bottle.

Note: Madeira and Marsala will actually last forever because the wines are cooked and oxidized already.

How Long Does Boxed Wine Last?

Boxed wine, or a bag of wine in a box, will last up to 3 weeks stored in the fridge. This goes for red and white wine. It lasts longer because the bag prevents oxygen from touching the wine to oxidize it. It is not recommended to store the wine for longer than 3 weeks due to food safety regulations because it’s stored in plastic.

How To Make Wine Last Longer

There are two main ways you can make wine last longer in the bottle. Both options remove the air from touching the wine, which helps extend the life of the wine in the bottle.

Vacuum Pumps – Removes the air in the bottle.

Blanket Systems – pumps gas into the bottle that weighs more than the air, forcing the air out of the bottle.

With both options, we recommend storing the wine in the fridge, which will help the wine last longer and the vacuum and blanket systems become more effective. It limits the exposure to oxygen, heat and light by storing it in the fridge instead of on the counter. The cooler temps slow down the chemical reactions that cause the wine to go bad. Similar to storing fruit in the fridge to help it last longer before rotting. Following these steps should extend the life of the wine bottle to a week or two. For red wine, we recommend taking it out of the fridge an hour before you want to enjoy a glass so the wine will warm up to room temperature.

How To Tell If Wine Has Gone Bad

Once opened wine starts getting too old to drink, you should be able to tell by smelling and then tasting the wine. It will start to get hints of vinegar in red wine and smell like bruised apples in white wine. That is when you can tell if the open bottle of wine has gone bad. If the wine smells OK, then take a small sip and see if it still tastes good. If it does, then you are good to drink it!

Also, it is important to remember the flavor of the wine may change slightly as it gets older and starts to oxidize, but still taste good and be OK to drink. The general rule is if it still tastes good to you, then drink it! Some people will decant a bottle of wine for an entire day and taste the wine as it gets exposure to more and more air. So there is no downside to experimenting and seeing if the old wine still tastes good to you.

There really isn’t a safety concern with drinking old wine, it will just taste gross.

What To Do With Bad Leftover Wine

Once wine is no longer palatable, it does not mean there is no use for it and you should just dump it down the drain. Wine that is too old to drink is still great for cooking with. You can make sauces, marinades, and glazes with the old wine and it will still taste fantastic in the dish. You can also freeze the old wine into ice cubes to last even longer for cooking.

One more fun thing to do with the leftover wine is to make your own vinegar with it. Use 3/4 cup of red wine with 1/4 cup of vinegar, then let it sit in a sealed container the fridge for 3 to 4 weeks. There are many other recipes you can find for other twists on your homemade vinegar.