This Is How Long an Open Bottle of Wine Lasts, and How to Make It Last Longer

Have you ever sat down to enjoy a glass of wine but aren’t keen to finish a bottle? We’ve all been there. Maybe it’s a little late in the evening and you just want one more sip. What happens to the leftover goodness that sits in the bottle? How long do you have before you need to call it a day and pour that vino down the drain?

Storing and preserving wine might seem like a difficult job but, luckily for us, it’s actually quite straightforward. 

In fact, there are a few things you can do to preserve the shelf life of your wine. Here, we’ve outlined just how long each type of wine typically lasts, how they should be stored once opened and how to make them last even longer.

You can thank us later. 

How long each wine lasts:

General consensus says that red wine lasts 3-5 days while white wine and rosé can last up to a week. Champagne and sparkling wine have the shortest shelf life once opened, typically lasting around 1-2 days before going flat. Fortified wine (which is wine with a spirit added to it e.g. vermouth and sherry) is a whole different ball game and can last around a month if the bottle is resealed and stored in a cool dry place or the fridge.

How to store: 

Once your bottle of wine is actually open, there are different storing rules depending on the type. For red wine, it’s recommended to keep it in a cool, dark place or in the fridge. If you have a wine fridge or are keen to invest in one, it’s a great way to keep your reds at room temperature which makes for easy storing and enjoyable drinking. This 28 bottle wine fridge from Devanti is one of the most effective and reasonably priced options around. With high precision cooling technology and adjustable temperature control, it’ll keep all your vintage wines at their ideal drinking point and makes preserving wine incredibly easy. 

For white wine, sparkling and rosé, you should reseal and keep in your normal fridge. Keeping the temperature down helps to slow the oxidation process (which impacts the flavour of the wine) so the fridge is usually always your best bet with these. 

Bar Fridges: 

Polar Wine Cooler Fridge ($494.89)

NutriChef Thermoelectric Wine Cooler ($1,023.77)

SHYPNA Wine Cooler ($1,085.64) 

Tips for preserving wine further: 

If you’re worried about the flavour being thrown off, there are a few extra things you can do to preserve your wine further. Investing in a decent wine stopper is a good place to start, and this one from Le Creuset comes highly recommended. Stoppers can preserve the flavour of opened wine for up to seven days so it’s a handy thing to have around. Le Creuset also has a great stopper for preserving Champagne and sparkling wine, just snap it on top of the bottle and pop it in the fridge – no more fiddling with corks. 

Another nifty invention is the wine saver device. It’s one of the easiest ways to preserve your wine for a few days, weeks and even months. It blasts an all-natural argon gas into the wine bottle which sinks below the air in the bottle, forming a protective layer just above the wine. This then reduces oxygen absorption and oxidation, extending the life of your wine. The Winesave Pro would be our pick as it’s highly effective and good for up to 150 applications – which is a lot of grape juice. 

Champagne Stoppers: 

Barware Professional Sparkling Wine Stopper ($19.80)

BWS Champagne Stopper ($5.50) 

SaikerMan Stainless Steel Wine Plug ($30.81)

So the next time you’re trying to extend the life of your cab sav, you know exactly how to make it last and where to keep it. Sure you could add it to the stew you’re cooking, but where’s the fun in that? 

This article has been updated since its original publish date.