Refrigerating wine after opening will extend its shelf life, but it’s not necessary for all wines. Refrigerate wine after opening (cool storage) to slow the oxidation process, which is the primary factor in determining how long a bottle of wine will last after opening.
Most wines will last for 3–5 days after opening before they start to go bad once opened depending on the type of wine.
But do you have to refrigerate sparkling wine, red wine, white wine, or Rose wine after opening? For how long? In which fridge? At what temperatures? How to enjoy the wine after refrigeration.
Let’s dive in!
Do you have to refrigerate wine after opening?
The best way to keep your wine is to refrigerate the wine after opening but you should re-cork it first. This helps extend the lifespan of the wine by minimizing exposure to oxygen, heat, and light. It also helps with keeping the flavor in the wine. There are a few key reasons why you should.
- The first is that when you open a bottle of wine, the gas that is trapped inside it escapes.
- The second reason is that wine is an organic product, and when you store it at room temperature, it can break down.
- The third reason is that wine is sensitive to light, and certain types of light can actually cause it to break down.
Refrigerating your opened bottle of wine extends its drinking /shelf life and prevents the flavors from evaporating but you need to re-cork the bottle and refrigerate it properly. If you have taken most of the wine, you can pour the wine into a smaller bottle with a 375ml bottle working great.
It is important to note that white and rosé wines (last 3-5 days) should be served chilled and red wines should be served at room temperature. Sparkling wine needs to be consumed quicker (gets spoilt 1-2 days after opening). We recommend consuming it soon after opening it instead of putting it in the fridge.
However, you shouldn’t be afraid of storing opened red wine in the fridge even if the serving is at room temperature. This is because it will preserve the flavor and content.
So, if you refrigerate your wine after opening, you’ll be protecting it from these factors.
Why is it important to refrigerate wine?
It is important to refrigerate wine after opening since it preserves the taste, color, and prevents spoilage of the wine. The white wine does well in the fridge but should not stay there for long- a month should be the most you store in a fridge.
Red Wine – Red wine has a very high tannin content. These tannins will begin to break down once the bottle has been opened. If the wine is not refrigerated, the tannins will begin to break down too much. The taste of the wine will change dramatically as a result.
White Wine – White wine has an extremely low tannin content. This means that it has been fermented long enough to remove the tannin from the wine. White wine begins to lose flavor a couple of hours after being opened.
Sparkling Wine – Sparkling wine is carbonated and fizzy. If a bottle of sparkling wine is not refrigerated, the CO2 inside of the wine will escape. This will make the level of fizz in the wine decrease.
There are many reasons why it is important to refrigerate your opened bottle of wine. Some of these include the fact that the wine will last longer, it will be less likely to oxidize or break down, and it will be less likely to develop bacteria. All of these reasons make it important to refrigerate your wine after you’ve opened it.
There are different instances where it is important to refrigerate your opened wine. The first instance is when you’re serving white wine or rosé wine. These wines should be served chilled. So, if you’re hosting a party with these two types of wines, you should chill them before serving to ensure that your guests are drinking a nice, cool beverage.
The second instance is if you’re serving red wine. Red wine should be served at room temperature. If you put it in the refrigerator, it will be too cold, and your guests won’t be able to enjoy it. However, you can give it some time to cool off to ensure your guests enjoy it.
When is it important to refrigerate your wine?
You should store the wine in the fridge once you pop a bottle of wine and are done drinking it. This way, the wine maintains its integrity by minimizing the oxidation process even though the wine continues aging.
White and rosé wines – White wine needs to be refrigerated as soon as possible after opening. White wine has the lowest tannin content of the three. This means that it will lose flavor very quickly. The light wine should last for 5–7 days in the fridge with a cork. The lifespan is 3–5 days in the fridge with a cork for Full-bodied white wines
Sparkling Wine – Sparkling wine should be refrigerated as soon as possible after opening. This will slow down the process of CO2 escaping from the wine. However, it still has a short time span in the fridge of 1–3 days when the bottle has a sparkling wine stopper. This is because sparkling wine loses carbonation very fast thus spoiling its integrity.
Red Wine – Red wine does not have to be refrigerated right away. It is safer to let the wine sit for half an hour after refrigerating it before serving to ensure the temperature is perfect for drinking. Red wine will last 3–5 days in a cool dark place with a cork or in a fridge.
Do you have to refrigerate Moscato after opening?
Moscato is best when enjoyed chilled because it is a sweet, fizzy white or Rosé wine containing low alcohol content. White wines are better enjoyed at a lower temperature of about 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Therefore, because of the serving temperature and because you want to enjoy the Moscato wine for a long time after opening, you should store it upright in a refrigerator with a quality wine preserver like Vacu-Vin to ensure that you enjoy fresh wine it up to 1 week after opening.
Storing Moscato wine in a fridge enables you to get a longer drinking window since it slows down the degradation process. The refrigeration slows down the oxygenation and loss of carbonation thereby preserving its quality for an increased period.
We recommend where possible opening the wine bottle and refrigerating it right away since any time the wine is placed on a countertop at room temperature, the degradation starts right away.
What temperature should you refrigerate your wine at?
The most ideal temperature for storing wine after opening is less than 45° F but most fridges have the temperature set at 40° F (4° C) or lower.
White Wine – White wine can be stored at a temperature of between 45° F and 65° F before opening but refrigerated at less than 40° F (4° C) once opened for 5–7 days in a fridge with a cork.
Sparkling Wine – Sparkling wine can be stored at around 55 degrees Fahrenheit before opening but also should be refrigerated at less than 40° F (4° C). This will slow down the process of CO2 escaping from the wine. Red Wine – Red wine can be stored at a temperature of around 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
There are a couple of things to take into consideration when it comes to the temperature you should refrigerate your wine. The first is the type of wine you’re storing.
The temperature at which you should refrigerate your red wine is around 40 degrees. For white wine, it should be around 40 degrees. For rosé wine, it should be around 45 degrees. The temperature at which you should refrigerate sparkling wine is around 38 degrees.
Should you re-cork your open bottle of wine when storing it?
Yes, you should re-cork your open bottle of wine when storing it in the fridge. This helps protect the wine from oxidizing too quickly. You should make sure that the wine is stored in an airtight container when refrigerating it as well.
Re-corking is important for a couple of reasons. For one, you don’t want your other food items around your opened bottle of wine to become tainted. The second reason is that you want to protect your wine from breaking down even more.
Leaving the cork off will expose the wine to more light and oxygen, which will break it down faster. Thus, re-cork your wine bottle after drinking before putting it in the fridge.
How long should you store your opened bottle of wine in the fridge?
The shelf life of most wines after it’s been opened varies depending on how light or heavy the wine is. Thus, most wines last between three and five days after opening. The amount of time you store your opened bottle of wine in the fridge will depend on the type of wine and how long it was in the bottle.
For red wines, it is recommended that you store them or store them for 3–5 days in a cool dark place with a cork after opening. For white wines, it is recommended that you refrigerate them for 5–7 days in the fridge with a cork after opening. For rosé wines, it is recommended that you refrigerate them for 5–7 days in the fridge with a cork after opening.
Storing the wine in the fridge ensures that you lose the carbonation at a slower rate and also prevents the oxidation of the wine. However, wines can not last for long in the fridge.
Should you store the wine in a Kitchen Refrigerator or Wine Refrigerator?
Your best bet is to store your opened bottle of wine in a wine refrigerator. Keeping your wine in a kitchen refrigerator will cause the wine bottle to age too quickly.
Ideally, your wine refrigerator should be at 45 degrees Fahrenheit with a humidity of 50%.
The main fridge in your kitchen is for food items, like vegetables and fruits. It can destroy the flavor of your wine, so it’s better to use a special wine fridge to store your opened bottles of wine.
The temperature inside wine refrigerators is kept at around 54 degrees. This is the perfect temperature for storing opened bottles of wine. The humidity inside a wine fridge is around 70%, which is important to keep your wine from breaking down.
When to put wine in the fridge
When to Put Sparkling Wine in the Refrigerator
You should put sparkling wine in the refrigerator at the same time you would put a bottle of white wine in the fridge. Sparkling wine should be kept at a temperature between 32 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This will slow down the process of CO2 escaping from the wine.
You should put sparkling wine in the refrigerator 12 to 24 hours after opening it. It will last longer if you put it in the fridge right away. You should put sparkling wine in the fridge in a sealed, dark environment. If you don’t do this, it will lose its fizz and bubbles.
When to Put Red Wine in the Refrigerator
You should put red wine in the refrigerator at the same time you would put a bottle of red wine in the fridge. You may want to wait a couple of hours before refrigerating the wine. This will give the wine time to cool off before you place it in the fridge.
You should put red wine in the refrigerator 12 to 24 hours after opening it. Red wine has the potential to break down quickly, so refrigerating it after opening will help extend its shelf life.
Care should be taken not to freeze the champagne even though it does not spoil when frozen. However, the bottle may crack thus losing the wine.
When to Put White wine or Rose Wine in the Refrigerator
You should put white wine in the refrigerator at the same time you would put a bottle of white wine in the fridge. You may want to wait a couple of hours before refrigerating the wine.
This will give the wine time to cool off before you place it in the fridge. White wine can be stored at a temperature of around 41 degrees Fahrenheit.
You should put white wines such as chardonnay, pinot grigio, or sauvignon blanc in the fridge immediately after opening. They don’t last long, so it’s important to refrigerate them as soon as possible.
You should put rose wines such as pinot noir rosé or shiraz rosé in the fridge immediately after opening them. They don’t last long either, so it’s best to refrigerate them as soon as possible.
Related: Chardonnay Alcohol Content – ABV of Over 30 Varieties & Calories
Conclusion
Wine is a drink that is enjoyed by people around the world. It makes a great drink to enjoy with friends or by yourself. If the wine is left out too long or not stored properly, it may not taste very good.
Refrigerating your opened bottle of wine helps extend the lifespan of the wine and keeps the flavors in the wine. If you are going to drink wine, make sure that you refrigerate it once it has been opened.
This will keep the wine from going bad too quickly. It is also a good idea to keep sparkling wine in the fridge once it has been opened as well.
Sources
https://winefolly.com/tips/how-long-does-an-open-bottle-of-wine-last/
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-properly-store-wine-at-home
