How long can you keep red wine after opening at room temperature? When does it go bad?

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In general, after you have opened it and it has been out for a while, even if you re-cork it, it will lose some flavor and not taste the same. Generally, I drink whatever in one or maybe two sittings/meals. After that, I use the rest for cooking only, or just toss it. I'm sure this varies based on the type of wine you have as well. If you're going to a good wine supplier, I'm sure they could give you insight based on the type you are purchasing specifically....Show more

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The ideal temperature for storing red wine is 50-55F, which is far lower than room temperature. Which is why most cellars are in cold basements, undergrounds, or fancy wine temperature controlled units. The only bad thing about placing red wine in the refrigerater is the florescent lighting. Red wine is typically stored in dark places since light can be harmful to the aging process. However, we are talking about a few days here, so the benefit of the colder temperature is going to outweigh the light factor. Refrigerating the wine will slow down the aging process, although not as much as freezing it, and will allow you to get a couple more days out of it. Anyway, how long red wine will last depend on how you keep in that amount of time. Some people say red wine improves after a day, others say it deteriorates. But either way it should last a day or two with the cork in out at room temperature. To get a few more days (at most a week) out of it, you can use a vacuum system like Vacuvin or a nitrogen replacement system. The key is to get the air out of it, because the oxygen is what causes the turn in the wine. Most high level winos say the only way to drink a wine longer than that is to freeze it, and then it can last for a couple weeks or a month without much degradation. There was a bunch of articles recently on the Wine Spectator blog about this. I'd like to those, but you'd need a subscription to the site....Show more

They key to aging wine is to prevent contact with Oxygen. Oxygen is the great eater of wine. Thus, once you have uncorked a bottle of wine and introduce oxygen once again to the mix it immediately starts to deteriorate, although so subtly at first that your pallet, however complex, cannot detect it. There are certain canned gases that you can buy, that are heavier than air and can be sprayed into a bottle of wine to keep the oxygen away from your wine for short periods of time. I gas the wines at my bar every night prior to closing and find that I can get about twice the normal life span. Remember, once opened drink it fast, or the big bad oxygen will get it. For tannic red wines, try to avoid heavy refrigeration. It will stun the flavor and lessen the complexity of your wines. If you can't afford the gas I use ($6.00 dollars) try and consume the wine within 4-5 days max. After that you could mix in a little brandy or cognac, which will toughen it up but produce a whole new flavor....Show more

The wine will last for a few weeks like that. However after uncorking the bottle and not drinking it within a few days the wine will begin to lose its flavors and aromas so I am not sure how good it will be taste wise by then.

The unfortunate part is that even if you refrigerate the wine it will begin losing its flavor within a few days. I always suggest drinking a wine within 3-4 days of opening. Refrigerating may buy you an extra day or 2....Show more

Depends on the wine, but I find that most red wines are not good to keep around. Plan on drinking the bottle in one sitting or keep what is left in the fridge and use it only for cooking....Show more