Drinking an opened bottle the next day

[eipi10]

As a student, I can't often purchase a wine of sufficient quality to be cellared, much less an old bottle whose price has appreciated. Recently I bought a $50 2001 Barolo, which was too tough to drink yesterday, even after I let it stand in the glass for a half hour or so. Today though, it seems in perfect form--the tannins have smoothed out, there's a tad bit more acidity, and it's altogether more aromatic and rounded. I've noticed time and time again that good reds are better the next day.

I'm neither a chemist nor a wine expert, so I wonder--how similar is this effect to the effect of bottle aging?

[carswell]

Yes, some unevolved wines may benefit from several hours breathing. It's more oxidization than accelerated aging, though. The wine's appearance doesn't change; it does when aged. And neither the bouquet nor taste evolve as they would with time in the bottle; for example, secondary and tertiary characteristics simply don't develop.

Generally, however, I'm mystified by the number of geeks, including several whose palates I admire, who make a point of tasting a bottle over two, three or more days and often speak of the wine in glowing terms on the basis of its Day 3 showing. My experience is that most wines suffer when exposed to air for more than a few hours. They may taste softer but they also taste flatter. As a result, I almost invariably decant leftovers into small bottles at the earliest possible moment and gas them with Private Preserve.

FWIW, a few years ago, friends and I did side-by-side tests of four young mid-priced wines — two whites (a Burg and an Alsatian riesling) and two reds (a Burg and a Bordeaux). A third of each bottle was transferred to a 250-ml bottle and gassed; another third into a half-bottle and "sealed" with a Vacu-vin type system; and a third was left in the original bottle and recorked. The wines were tasted blind two days later. In every case, the majority preferred the gassed wine.

[eipi10]

Yes, some unevolved wines may benefit from several hours breathing. It's more oxidization than accelerated aging, though. The wine's appearance doesn't change; it does when aged. And neither the bouquet nor taste evolve as they would with time in the bottle; for example, secondary and tertiary characteristics simply don't develop.

Generally, however, I'm mystified by the number of geeks, including several whose palates I admire, who make a point of tasting a bottle over two, three or more days and often speak of the wine in glowing terms on the basis of its Day 3 showing. My experience is that most wines suffer when exposed to air for more than a few hours. They may taste softer but they also taste flatter. As a result, I almost invariably decant leftovers into small bottles at the earliest possible moment and gas them with Private Preserve.

FWIW, a few years ago, friends and I did side-by-side tests of four young mid-priced wines — two whites (a Burg and an Alsatian riesling) and two reds (a Burg and a Bordeaux). A third of each bottle was transferred to a 250-ml bottle and gassed; another third into a half-bottle and "sealed" with a Vacu-vin type system; and a third was left in the original bottle and recorked. The wines were tasted blind two days later. In every case, the majority preferred the gassed wine.

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That's very interesting. Conceivably the improvement is more my psychological expectation than a real phenomenon. I will say that I've never found a wine I thought was as good after 3 days. That said, this is really yummy and it certainly made class more tolerable!

Edited February 8, 2006 by eipi10 (log)

[SBonner]

I have been advising restaurants and wine bars with large wine by the glass selections to use Argon gas to maintain wine freshness. I see good results with many wines staying fresh for periods of upto 10 days. At home, once open, a bottle lasts less than a dvd

Cheers,

Stephen

Vancouver

Edited February 9, 2006 by SBonner (log)

[artisanbaker]

i've found that the better quality wines seem to endure a couple 24 hour periods, perhaps a testamony to the tannins' quality rather than quantity. the fruit seems to enjoy a shorter "peak window." an expert may be able to explain better...

Edited February 9, 2006 by artisanbaker (log)