How long after opened can you keep a bottle of wine?
Answer From Expert Roger Bohmrich MW
This is a popular question I've addressed many times. The short answer is that wine starts to change as soon as it is exposed to air, and most wines will deteriorate fairly quickly. Delicate whites should be kept refrigerated and will be best within a few days of opening. Very old wines tend to be fragile and should be consumed shortly after being opened. Light reds are usually at their best when the cork (or other closure) is removed and will lose their fruit by the next day. Powerful, young red wines are the most likely to show their best qualities for several days. Some may even be better - more revealing and richly flavored - after a period of aeration, and individual examples may appear to have improved the next day (although these are the exceptions). In all cases, you can improve the longevity of an opened bottle of wine by using an inexpensive and simple "wine saver" device such as a hand pump and rubber plug to create a vacuum effect which lasts for 12 hours or more. Or you can buy a canister of inert gas to spray into the open bottle, which can be sealed with a stopper. This technique could extend the drinking window by several days. You'll find many such wine-saving devices on the market for a modest cost.
