How long before wine goes bad?

Question

I have half a bottle of wine in my fridge that I opened a week ago. I have a stopper in but haven't touched it since. Is it still good to drink? How long can I keep an open bottle before I should pour it down the drain?

Answer 1

It all depends. Smell and taste it.

There have been many questions of this type on this board and I have been experimenting with keeping the remains of wine in the fridge and to my surprise they keep longer than the few days I expected.

However, flavor will change and you'll start to lose taste long before the wine 'goes bad'.

So smell and taste it -- if it seems OK then drink it. If you don't like the taste, then throw it away. But it will not harm you.

Answer 2

It depends on a lot of factors, including variety of wine, vintage and vintner, and how much is left in the bottle. White wines start to turn sour after about a day in the fridge, and only twelve hours if left out at room temperature. Reds are a lot more variable -- a really good, aged red can last for a week at room temperature, and actually requires as much as six hours before you SHOULD drink it at all, because it needs time to breathe and open up.

After opening a bottle of wine, exposure to air causes several things to happen: oxidation, evaporation of some of the alcohol (if you leave it open), and depending on how you've handled the bottle, stirring of sediment. After some time exposed to air (and it's still exposed even if you immediately cork it -- you've let air into the bottle), the oxidation that occurs can cause the wine to madeirize, especially if left at room temperature -- it gets a funky, slightly bitter taste and funny overtones.

So is your wine okay to drink? Sure, it's not like it's turned into hemlock in your fridge, though it may not be very good. Re-open the bottle, let it warm up closer to room temperature and have a taste, and if it seems okay, drink the rest. It may have madeirized, in which case (depending on your tastes) it may or may not be all the enjoyable, or if you and your friends were swiggin' straight from the bottle last weekend, you may have introduced bacteria to the bottle that might be starting the wine on its way to vinegar (unlikely, but stranger things have happened) It's probably not at its best, but I'd give it a chance to prove itself.

Answer 3

Sarah -

Wine "oxidizes," or reacts to oygen in the air, as soon as it is opened. Most people who like wine find that a little of this effect on heavy red wines helps make it taste better after opening - they let the wine "breathe" for about 15 minutes before serving.

The quality of the flavor rapidly changes as the wine oxidizes. Delicate lighter whites become almost tasteless in a short time.

Even if you put the cork back - good for you! - the air in the bottle still affects the wine. Refrigerating indeed helps but it also sometimes degrades the wine.

Afrter a bottle has been open a week you can certainly strill drink it - even up to a month, depending on the wine. But don't expect to enjoy it as much.

Don't pour the wine down the drain unless you need the refrigerator space. You can use it for cooking!

Usually I use wine that has been open that long for cooking. It adds body to gravy, for example, and white wine with melted butter, tarrgon, and some chopped shallot or mild onions makes a great basting sauce for both chicken breasts and barbecued trout. Red wine mixed with many other things - write me for the recipe - makes a superb liquor in which to cook a splendid roast beef your friends will ask about for years.

Answer 4

Don't refrigerate it, it speeds the aging proccess up way too much. Just leave it in/out a cabinet or a wine holder, believe me, the older the wine is, the better it'll taste, but, I'll consult a Expert before drinking it, just so there's no hazard of Poisoning yourself.

The only reason wine goes bad is because the grapes have a Acidic Base to it, and if released upon the Oxygen, it'll cause Bacerium to start developing in the Sugary Grapes.

Answer 5

It depends on the quality of the wine to begin with and the method in which it is stored. Corked wine needs to be handled gently. The cork needs to be kept moist, usually be storing the wine at an angle that keeps the wine in contact with the cork. This is only for wine that hasn't been opened. Once oxygen enters into the equation, oxydation can wreak havoc on the fine nuances of good wine.
Wine that has a stopper is already half antifreeze (glycol) anyway, so you probably have a couple of months before you have to worry about upsetting your palate.

Answer 6

It won't last very long. Once opened, wine begins to oxidize rapidly; red wine may last a day or so longer than white, but neither will taste very good after two or three days. Oxidation doesn't make wine toxic, but it will be unpleasant to drink - think vinegar. However, putting the cork back into an opened bottle of wine and putting it back in the fridge will keep it from over-maturing for about a week.

Enjoy! That's the long, short, bitter, sweet, and sour of it!

Answer 7

Depends a lot whether there are any added preservatives!

Our Italian neighbors buy tons of big round grapes each year, and make their own community wine, and, if stored in cool refrigerators, it will make it to a year, but, usually only 9 months, as it slowly 'mothers' into a really gross vinegar!

Your Supermarket wines will last for up to a few years until opened, but, who wants to do that, with cheap wine? If stored in a cooler with the cork in place, on it's side so the cork is kept wet, and engorged and swollen, in the bottle neck, it can make it for about two-three months. But, if half the bottle is air, it will go stale quite soon.

Answer 8

Well, I'm no connoisseur, but I can tell that wine is perfectly good after only a week. It should be good after a year or more, in fact. But it depends on the type. White wines have a shorter shelf life than red wines, as I've learned from experience. If in doubt, give it a sniff or just a little taste. If you think it's unfit to drink, you might consider using it as a marinade. Seriously, it can add a good flavor to meat or poultry.
The link below should give you more information than space will permit here.

Answer 9

Wine lasts a long, long time. I'm hoping the bottle in the fridge is white wine; otherwise take it out of the fridge. But don't worry about it going bad. Like people, as wine ages it just gets mellower and finer and more complex.

Answer 10

If its red, throw it into your cooking(red meat dishes) if its white pour some into a clean glass and hold it against a white surface-so you can see the color! If it has gone really yellow tip it(will taste like vinegar) if it still has a pale green color its ok 2 drink still.You should be aware that most wines today are made for drinking quite quickly,really good ones (mainly reds) can be kept longer depending on what type they are. You should always cork your wines b4 storing in the fridge as they take on other aromas readily(whites of course) reds however should never be fridged unless they are Lambrusco which should be served chilled! bon appetite!!

Answer 11

Depends on the wine really. a good blend never really spoils, then again I never let it go that long he he. If I am not going to drink it I save it to cook with. White wines are different and do not last as long but ya can still cook with them! Cooking with wine makes what ever you are eating special too. The baby duck variety I would toss I don't touch those "pop" wines anymore. Wine snobs might balk at my ways but darn it I LOVE wine it is made to enjoy not hang alone in a bottle on the bottom of the fridge door.
An Ode to the half bottle of wine

Oh wine! adore you I do!
A meal with out my liquid jewel
would make me a very sad FOOL.
Wine how you flow from my mouth to my toes.
That is how it goes you knows!
So you are half FULL and await my call if anyone drops you
I would have to kill them
the end.

(sorry poetic brain out of order)
So my answer is GOOD wine should never be wasted ever.
send your half bottles my way no problemo!
Hope that helps
LOVE MY RED WINES