It’s Friday afternoon and it’s been a long week. There’s that bottle of wine you bought on holiday and it’s on your mind: uncorking it, sitting down, feet in slippers and sipping a lovely glass of wine with a few snacks. But you will be tormented by a myriad of reasons to abandon this plan: Is it worth opening a bottle of wine knowing you’ll drink only one, no more than two glasses?

If you follow these five tips, the answer will be… Cheers!

  1. SELECT THE RIGHT RED WINE

High quality, young red wines keep well for up to a week, without changing much. It would be riskier to open an 8-10-year vintage though: in this case, we do advise you to abandon the plan and get together with a couple of friendly neighbours for an aperitif instead.

2.CLOSE THE BOTTLE WELL

Oxygen turns red wine to vinegar. To avoid this happening, make sure the bottle is sealed well. There are a variety of devices on the market that remove the air from a bottle once it has been opened but it all depends on the quality of the cap. Without a well-sealing cap, any other device is rendered useless.

3.CLOSE THE BOTTLE BETWEEN EACH SERVING

If you decant the wine, remember to pour a little at a time into the decanter and don’t fill your glass too much either. Close the bottle until the next toast.

 

4. REFRIGERATOR IS BEST!

A refrigerator is perfect for storing your red wine! Remember to keep the bottle vertical to keep the surface area in contact with oxygen to a minimum. If you can, use the refrigerator – if not, then find a cool, dry place that is also as dark as possible.

5. AVOID TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS

Most important in storing wine is to keep it away from sources of heat and from fluctuations in temperature, conditions certain to be bad for anyone’s health.