Storing wine

In this blog we discuss the best way to store wine. We will discuss both storing red wine and storing white wine. What are the differences? For example, how long can you store red wine or should I keep red wine in the refrigerator? These are questions that we answer below per theme.

Shelf life of wine

When we talk about the shelf life of wine, we must first ask ourselves: why are we so eager to leave wine for longer? When you start drinking wine and find it fun and tasty, you soon want to know more about it. Soon afterwards you want to know what a wine is worth. And so you start the process of collecting wine and mainly storing red wine. Why? This could have a number of reasons:

• Wine investor
• Collecting red wine that is not ready to drink yet
• Building a wine collection
• Save wine for when the kids can drink

Storing red wine , investing in wine

An interesting topic is investment in wine and we often see mainly in red wine, because it can be stored for longer. If you want to invest in wine, you will first have to do research and mainly start with people who have knowledge of the matter. Consider the owner of a wine shop or someone with family knowledge about wine.

Don't let yourself talk too much about wine auctions and discounted wines. It is not without reason that these wines are auctioned and often due to the transport process, these storage wines are not always stable and there is often a bottle difference. Great advice is to buy wines 'en primeur' or to obtain the correct information from your wine shop. Moreover, someone in the store will be happy to help you so that you can also buy non-stored wines from them.

How can you store the best wine when purchased?

What are the best ways when it comes to storing wine?

• Store horizontally
• At a temperature between 14 and 18 degrees for red wine
• At a temperature between 10 and 18 degrees for white wine
• Do not store the wines in a room that is too humid
• Make sure you don't have a stone surface due to the labels being abraded.

How long can you keep opened red wine?

Storing red wine open takes a matter of days. Why can you only keep red wine for a limited time? Because no oxygen has been added in the wine process, when opened a lot of oxygen is immediately added. When oxygen reaches the wine, it starts oxidizing. Or the aging of the wine by oxygen.

On average, you can store an opened red wine for 1 to 3 days. It is best to store the red wine in the refrigerator. This ensures a slower oxidation process . When drinking again, take the wine out of the refrigerator an hour before then to get back to the right temperature. In short, store an open bottle of red wine in the refrigerator with the cork back on.

How long can you keep a bottle of white wine open?

Following the article written above about red wine, a bottle of white wine can be kept open for about 1 to 2 days. Moreover, it is wise to store it in the refrigerator, just like red wine. This makes the white wine last longer. The oxidation process that shortens the shelf life of white wine is the same as with red wine.

Storing sparkling wine

Of course we also receive many questions about sparkling wines such as:

• What is the shelf life of Prosecco?
• Is the shelf life of Cava longer than Prosecco?
• What about the storage time of Champagne?
• Can I store Champagne without a cork?

These questions are valid and we try to answer them. Firstly, the shelf life of Cava is the same as that of Champagne, because they are made using the same method. In contrast, Prosecco often has a shorter shelf life when it is a frizzante. This is a process that uses less bar pressure. This makes it have a more limited shelf life, because the bubbles often disappear after 1 day.

Can I store Champagne without a cork ? Yes, that is possible, but then no carbon dioxide remains in the bottle. The only and best way is to use a Champagne stopper. On the other hand, a teaspoon is absolutely a myth and has no effect whatsoever.

Storing dessert wine / shelf life of Port

Finally, a short section about storing dessert wine and the shelf life of Port. Of course, dessert wine can be stored for longer, often 10 to 15 years without any problems. On the other hand, you can often keep an opened bottle of dessert wine for a maximum of 2 weeks to a month. Because the bottle contains a lot of sugar, the storage potential is high.

When it comes to the shelf life of Port, we talk about 3 variants:

• Store Tawny Port
• Save Ruby Port
• Store white port

In the first two categories we talk about storing red port , because these are both types of red port. You can't keep Puby Port open for as long as you can keep a tawny Port open. This is because tawny Port has been raised with oxygen and ruby ​​Port has not. On average you can keep a tawny Port for a month when opened and a ruby ​​Port for about 2 weeks. White Port has a limited shelf life when opened, up to a maximum of one week.

Dregs or deposit

When enjoying a long-matured tawny or ruby ​​port, we often see lees in the bottle, also called depot. This process occurs when wines are stored for a longer period of time. In addition, sweet wines such as Port often have more lees. This is because sugar crystallizes and remains at the bottom of the bottle. The sediment in wine, as it is also called, is not a problem, you can easily filter it out with a tea strainer.