There are several things you can do to make red wine last longer after you open the bottle. (Photo by Ken Ross)

Many of us enjoy a glass of red wine, especially with dinner.

But what if that’s all we want?

How long does a bottle of red wine last once it’s open?

I have been asked this question many times over the years and it’s a great one.

White wine is easy. Open the bottle, pour a glass, then put the bottle in the fridge. Many bottles of white wine will taste great for at least a week after you open it.

Red wine is much trickier. Once you open that bottle, the clock starts ticking. You only have a limited amount of time to finish the bottle before it goes bad.

So how much time do you have? And is there any way to make a bottle of red wine last longer once it’s open?

The short answer? It depends.

Most red wines still taste great the next day. But every bottle is different. Some start to lose their flavor after a few hours or even less. And once those great flavors are gone, you’ve often lost them for good.

That’s probably one of the reasons why some people find wine so frustrating. Few other products have such a short shelf life. And all red wines are not created equal.

But that’s also one of things many of us love about wine. It’s a living, breathing thing that vividly brings to life a wide range of fleeting flavors and aromas that change and evolve, sometimes in a matter of a few minutes or a few hours.

So what should you do? How can you drink a red wine after it’s open? And why do some red wines last longer?

Here are a few tips and suggestions I’ve picked up over the years that often extend the life of an opened bottle of red wine.

Hope this helps and hope you enjoy.

Why does red wine turn bad after it’s open too long?

Three words – air, heat and light.

When wine is exposed to oxygen, it gradually loses its flavor. That’s why you need to be careful with red wine after you open it. Otherwise, it could lose its unique character right away.

As for heat, this is probably the number one enemy of wine. When red wine is exposed to heat – roughly above 80 degrees – it quickly loses its flavor. This applies to whether the wine bottle is open or closed. A bottle of wine left in a hot car, for example, can go bad in as little as an hour. That’s why you need to store wine in a cool place, meaning under 60 degrees.

You also need to store wine in a dark place. That’s because light can damage wine and age it quickly. And again, it doesn’t matter if the bottle is open or closed. Light is bad for wine.

How long do most red wines last after you open the bottle?

In most cases, most red wines still taste great the day after you open the bottle. Where you might run into trouble is if you try to stretch out a bottle of wine to two days or longer after you open the bottle. But there are a few tricks that often work that can stretch that timeline out a few days or even longer in some cases, which you can read more about below.

Can you drink all red wines over several days after opening the bottle?

The short answer? No.

Even if you do everything right, some wines lose all their wonderful flavors after only a few minutes or hours. This is especially true with some older red wines. And by old, I mean at least 10 years old. This is why you should always taste a wine as soon as you open the bottle. That way, you can decide if the wine needs time (again, anywhere from a few minutes to sometimes an hour or so) to open up or if the wine is ready to drink now.

How do you know if a red wine is ready to drink? That’s a whole separate wine column. But basically, if the wine tastes a bit harsh, give the wine time in a glass to open up and soften those sharp edges. However, some really old (often at least 20 years old) red wines sometimes only hold onto their flavors for an hour or even less. And if that’s the case, you should really drink the entire bottle that day and not save it for tomorrow. Otherwise, you might be really disappointed.

5 ways to make red wine last longer after it’s open

So let’s say you have a bottle of red wine that’s not a delicate flower that needs to be consumed the same day you open it. Here are five helpful tips that will hopefully help your red wine last a few extra days after you open it.

1) Put a cork in

This is a common mistake many people often make. After opening the bottle and pouring a glass of wine, they don’t put the cork back in. They leave the bottle open. When you do that, air gets into the bottle and quickly ages the wine. Leaving the bottle open also allows all those magical flavors to escape. So if you plan to drink the rest of the wine in the bottle the next day, put the cork right back in after you pour your glass.

2) Keep it cool

Storing wine at about 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit is just the start. To help an open bottle last beyond 24 hours, I often put the open bottle with a cork inside in the refrigerator. We keep our refrigerator at about 38 degrees. Just be aware that when you pour yourself another glass in a day or two, give the red wine time to warm up to room temperature. Otherwise, the wine won’t have any real flavor since it will be far too cold.

3) Keep it dark

Just like storing wine before you open the bottle, keep the opened bottle in a cool, dark place. This is why a refrigerator is such a great place to store a bottle of red wine after you open it.

4) Air pump

Another trick that helps a bottle of open red wine last longer is pumping the air out of the bottle after you open it. These air pumps are sometimes called vacuum stoppers or wine stoppers and cost about $15 to $20. Combined with putting the wine in the refrigerator, your opened bottle of red wine should still taste great about three or four days after you open it.

5) Other gizmo & gadgets

There is no end to the number of gizmos associated with wine. And this is especially true when it comes to gadgets that supposedly allow someone to drink wine from the same bottle for many days. The best-known gadget in this category is the one made by . This device allows you to remove wine from the bottle without removing the cork. Coravin claims some models allow users to remove still wine (not sparkling) and keep it fresh “for weeks, months, or even years.” However, I would recommend finishing the bottle within 30 days after you first removed wine using a Coravin, just to be safe. Prices start at about $250 for a Coravin.

Upcoming wine events

Wine 101 – Provisions in Longmeadow will host a wine tasting class focusing on the basics of wine on Tuesday, Feb. 27 from 6 pm to 8 pm at its Longmeadow location at 686 Bliss Road. Tickets are $25 each. More information about the event can be found at Provision’s website.

Napa Valley Wine – Table & Vine is planning a wine tasting class that will highlight wines from California’s Napa Valley. This event is scheduled for Thursday, February 29, between 6 pm and 8 pm at Table & Vine, located at 1119 Riverdale Street, West Springfield. Tickets cost $30 and are available for purchase on Table & Vine’s website.

Boston Wine Expo – The Boston Wine Expo will take place on March 2 and 3 at the Hilton Boston Park Plaza Hotel, 50 Park Plaza, Boston. Wine tastings will occur each day, complimented by specialised wine tasting seminars which are set at various times throughout the weekend. Tickets and further information can be found on the Boston Wine Expo’s website.

Cheers!

Wine Press by Ken Ross is featured every Monday on Masslive.com and every Thursday in The Republican’s Weekend section.

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