11-16-07 Saving Wine

Whether you are saving the rest of that last bottle that you really shouldn't have bothered to open anyway or you have just gotten smarter in your old age and realized another glass or two is not worth having a foggy head tomorrow morning, these tips will help you hold on to that yummy bottle just a few days longer.

There is a number of gadgets on the market that will help you add life to your wine, but if you are like me, the last thing you need is another thing to crowd your small apartment. Most of these gadgets either add gas (Private Preserve) or remove air (VacuVin) from the wine bottle to reduce the wine's contact with oxygen, which causes oxidation. If you want to use one of these, I recommend Private Preserve, but you'll still have to make sure you have it on hand. My favorite way to put off the effects of oxidation is to put wine in the refrigerator. No gadgets needed, just put the cork back in and pop it in the coldest part of the fridge (generally the back of the fridge on the bottom shelf). The cold causes the oxygen molecules to expand and slows the oxidation process. How do you know if its still good the next day? Taste it. If its still tastes good, then drink it! Oxidation makes it taste flat and boring, a little like watered down vinegar. Sometimes it will still taste good, but smell a little funny. The first thing you will notice in the smell ("nose") is that it's no longer fruity. It will smells a little more like wet cardboard. As long as you like the way it tastes, and don't have really nice, big glassware, or a very good nose, you might as well still drink it. Wine is much different from milk, the smell won't hurt you!

You can enhance the success of the refrigerator method by transfering the wine into a smaller container. Next time you empty a half bottle of wine (375ml) or glass jar, hold onto it. You can move the wine from your big bottle into the smaller bottle and this will also slow down the oxidation. If you are using an old jar, definitely make sure it wasn't a pickle jar, and whatever you use, make sure there is no obvious leftover smells. The wine will suck those right up, and make the wine taste really yucky!

Wine and oxygen can also be useful to each other. More on that tomorrow!

Also, for anyone who is aware that yesterday was the release of Beaujolais Nouveau, I'm sorry that I didn't give that any mention. I'll make sure that I pick up a bottle in the next week and provide comments, but I warn you ahead of time, I'm generally not a huge fan of the actual wine (just the celebration!) For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Beaujolais Nouveau is the first wine released every year. It is always released on the 3rd Thursday in November. I'll let you know how it tastes!