ChangeMe
Grape Picker
Posts:12
 | | 03/11/2004 1:16 AM |
| OK..I, as most know, am a complete newbie here and to wine...my questions are few but probably simple to answer from you veterans.
1. Red vs. White - which to serve cold and which to serve room temp? I read somewhere that red should always be served room temp.
2. Once uncorked, say a red like Rosemount Shiraz...what do I do with it? How do I seal it up so that it stays good? Should I refrigerate it?
3. How long does it last once uncorked? Red or white, wine in general. How long, once its uncorked, does it stay "good"?
Thanks for any answers you guys can provide to me. You all have been very receptive to me on the one other thread I started and it is greatly appreciated! | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 03/11/2004 2:27 AM |
| Below is what I do. Others on this board are certain to do differently
1. Reds- room temperature, NOT cellar temperature.
Whites-
Dry- take out of refrigerator twenty minutes before tasting.
Sparkling- take out of refrigerator 5-10 minutes before tasting
2. With the Shiraz, as well as virtually any other wine, if you're only planning on half the bottle, have a clean dry half bottle and cork ready. Decant 2/3 of the bottle, then pour the remaining portion into the half bottle and fill up with the decanted wine. Cork immediately and refrigerate. If this is done rapidly so as to minimize the exposure of the rebottled wine to air, you needn't refrigerate the wine. When opening refrigerated red wine, remove it from the refrigerator allowing sufficient time for it to reach room temperature.
3. If you mean how long does the rebottled wine stay good, if it's done rapidly and the cork seals well, it should stay fine as long as the original bottle would, or almost as long.
If you are referring to the opened wine for drinking that day, it depends on the wine. A young Shiraz could stay fine for a day or longer, depending on the backbone of the wine. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Fermenter
Posts:567
| | 03/11/2004 2:45 AM |
| Quote:
1. Red vs. White - which to serve cold and which to serve room temp? I read somewhere that red should always be served room temp.
I like to drink my reds in the low to mid 60 degree F range. Room temp to me is low 70s, which is too warm for wine, mho!
Whites, low 50s? Take it out of the fridge and let it sit a few minutes, then open.
This is all rule of thumb stuff. Whatever suits your tastes is the right way to go!
Quote:
2. Once uncorked, say a red like Rosemount Shiraz...what do I do with it? How do I seal it up so that it stays good? Should I refrigerate it?
If you have a smaller clean bottle, pour the remaining there, recork and put it in the fridge. Take it out the following day and let it come to desired temperature.
Otherwise, you can recork the original bottle, pop it in the fridge. Again, take it out the next day and let it come to desired temp.
Quote:
3. How long does it last once uncorked? Red or white, wine in general. How long, once its uncorked, does it stay "good"?
A day or two, but you will probably get varied answers from folks. Again, I think it is very subjective, whatever tastes good to you is the right answer! 
Cheers!
Maya | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:12891
| | 03/11/2004 4:04 AM |
| | i am a firm believer in the vacu-vin line of products. the only time i don't use it is when i want to see how long a wine will last. in that case i just re-cork the bottle and put it back in the cellar. i never put red wine in the fridge, but i do keep my cellar at 52-54 degrees so it is pretty damn cold in there. | | | |
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ormbee
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2397
| | 03/11/2004 8:07 AM |
| Another vote for vacu-vins, I have done experiments with them and just recorking, and I always feel that vacu-vin wins.
Another vote for reds at a "room" temperature in the mid 60s. Higher than that, and the alcohol shows too much imo | | | |
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Tom
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2384
| | 03/11/2004 1:31 PM |
| Quote:
......
2. Once uncorked, say a red like Rosemount Shiraz...what do I do with it? How do I seal it up so that it stays good? Should I refrigerate it?....
There is only one truly satisfactory answer to this question. All right everyone, together now
DRINK IT! ...
Actually, I use the VacuVin also. Of course some of my friends will swear that it has never been used due to lack of necessity. Anyway...
I also have a Rabbit Pump. I am not sure that I like it as well as the VV, but then again, it has only been used once or twice so far.
Good questions and welcome to the world of wine. | | | |
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ChangeMe
Master of Wine
Posts:11169
| | 03/11/2004 1:33 PM |
| | I rarely have any leftover wine. I use the rebottled half-bottle technique occasionally for 750s of Port. | | | |
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Marcel
Grape Puncher
Posts:875
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wineismylife
Arlington, TX
Master of Wine
Posts:11872
| | 03/11/2004 5:04 PM |
| I'm unfamiliar with the concept of recorking a wine after opening. Why would you recork an empty bottle?  | |
Joe
-----
Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone. | |
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love_cab_chard
Master of Wine
Posts:12248
| | 03/11/2004 5:31 PM |
| Practically never happens to us either. BUT, on that rare... very rare... occasion that it does, I use the Pump.
For whites: pump out the air, store in frig (next day is max for me).
For reds: pump out the air, store in cellar (next day is max for me).
For desserts: pump out the air, store in frig or cellar. Depends...
As far as serving temps:
Reds: I like 59-65.
Whites: In the frig an hour before serving. Drink as the wine develops, picks up the temps. | | | |
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skwid
Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5452
| | 03/11/2004 7:10 PM |
| Quote:
Why would you recork an empty bottle?
To confuse drunk Texans | | | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Destemmer
Posts:98
| | 03/11/2004 10:12 PM |
| For white wines with high acidity, such as sauvignon blancs and rieslings, I like them on the cooler side, so right out of the fridge is fine with me.
For fuller boddied whites like chard or some southern rhone whites I like to decant them after removal from the fridge. Let them sit for half an hour. By then the wine is up to a reasonable temp and has opened up a bit.
As far as the pumps are concerned, I prefer to gas the bottles. The product I use is called "Private Reserve Wine Preserver". It is a spray container with an inert gas that is heavier than air. This produces a layer of gas on top of the wine preventing oxidation. You just shoot a short blast in to the bottle and pop the cork in (or not). | | | |
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wineismylife
Arlington, TX
Master of Wine
Posts:11872
| | 03/11/2004 10:14 PM |
| Quote:
Quote:
Why would you recork an empty bottle?
To confuse drunk Texans
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Joe
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Wine is like potato chips around me...if it's open, it's gone. | |
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ChangeMe
Grape Stomper
Posts:152
| | 03/12/2004 2:10 PM |
| Well, here is the basic theory on WHY you choose a certain temperature for serving a wine. The different constitutens of wine affect the ideal serving temperature in different ways.
Tannins - become harder the lower the temperature
Acidity - becomes more noticable the lower the temperaure
Sugar - becomes more thick and unpleasant the higher the temperautre
Alcohol - becomes more disagreeable the higher the temperature
Flavours - become more perceptible the higher the temperature (at 5 C and below, most finer smells will be lost) | | | |
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Budman
Master of Wine
Posts:11814
| | 03/12/2004 3:24 PM |
| Markus... I'm a little surprised about the 'alcohol' comment.
I've seen several comments on more than one wine board that a good way
to soften a 'hot' wine is to lower the temperature a few degrees. | | | |
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ormbee
Barrel Sampler
Posts:2397
| | 03/12/2004 4:36 PM |
| Quote:
Markus... I'm a little surprised about the 'alcohol' comment.
I've seen several comments on more than one wine board that a good way
to soften a 'hot' wine is to lower the temperature a few degrees.
Isn't that what Markus is saying? Alcohol is more diagreeable the higher the temperature? | | | |
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Budman
Master of Wine
Posts:11814
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ChangeMe
Grape Stomper
Posts:152
| | 03/13/2004 8:34 AM |
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Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13627
| | 03/14/2004 11:32 PM |
| Quote:
Below is what I do. Others on this board are certain to do differently
1. Reds- room temperature, NOT cellar temperature.
Whites-
Dry- take out of refrigerator twenty minutes before tasting.
Sparkling- take out of refrigerator 5-10 minutes before tasting
2. With the Shiraz, as well as virtually any other wine, if you're only planning on half the bottle, have a clean dry half bottle and cork ready. Decant 2/3 of the bottle, then pour the remaining portion into the half bottle and fill up with the decanted wine. Cork immediately and refrigerate. If this is done rapidly so as to minimize the exposure of the rebottled wine to air, you needn't refrigerate the wine. When opening refrigerated red wine, remove it from the refrigerator allowing sufficient time for it to reach room temperature.
3. If you mean how long does the rebottled wine stay good, if it's done rapidly and the cork seals well, it should stay fine as long as the original bottle would, or almost as long.
If you are referring to the opened wine for drinking that day, it depends on the wine. A young Shiraz could stay fine for a day or longer, depending on the backbone of the wine.
I Agree with Board-o here mostly. I like my reds a tad cooler than he, though.
We generally tend to drink a complete bottle when we open something, but, when we do not, it generally goes into my vacu-vin-ed 'cooking wine'. This is the tip I got from Jones, where I keep a full bottle of wine, which tends to be an amalgam of little tiny bits of wine from the past couple of weeks. I use wine a lot in cooking and, by pouring the existing bottle of 'cooking wine' into the new bottle with x ounces left in it, I always keep in reasonably fresh. I use this 'cooking wine' typically when I am not terribly concerned about a specific exact taste or varietal I am trying to capture. | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
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Joseph Filippi
Grape Picker
Posts:22
| | 05/07/2006 12:16 AM |
| Hi, often people apply a gas to the partially filled bottle, nitrogen, argon is the heaviest, nitrogen can be purchased in small aerosol containers at some stores, but if putting it in the fridge unaltered, remember, a cold liquid absorbs a gas (like oxygen) quicker than a warm liquid. I prefer to leave it on my counter for one night if required.
Joe | | | |
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