How Long Will Your Favourite Bottle of Wine Last?

We have all been there – whether to open that good bottle of wine or not! Not all of us can finish one whole bottle of wine, and wasting it is definitely out of question. When wine is exposed to oxygen, it deteriorates the taste, flavour and aroma of it, and within days turn it into vinegar. So, before you uncork your favourite bottle of wine, you must learn a thing or two about its shelf life.

Red Wine: Red wines like Nine Hills Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Nine Hills Shiraz and Nine Hills Shiraz Rose generally last longer compared to white wines. Darker, heavier wines will last up to a week whereas lighter red wines might be drinkable for about three days. The tannins in the wine help in preventing oxidation, which is the main reason behind wine going bad.

White Wine: The same rule applies to white wines. White wines with heavier body and darker colour last longer than wines with lighter styles. If you are planning to open a bottle of Nine Hills Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc, then we suggest you finish the wine within a day or two, or you might end up wasting it.

Sparkling Wine: Unlike red and white wines, sparkling wine is not meant to be stored for later. Once you open a bottle of champagne, you might as well finish it. Sparkling wines tend to lose their bubbles within 3-4 hours of opening it, so make sure you have wine crazy people around you when you plan to open one of these.

If you really cannot finish that bottle of wine and want to save it for later then you must follow these steps. Stick the cork back in the bottle and close it as tightly as possible. You can vacuum seal the bottle, this will remove some of the oxygen from the bottle and increase its life. Once you seal the bottle, stash the bottle in the refrigerator. This will slow down the oxidization process and might help save your precious wine.

How To Taste Wine Like a Pro

The first rule of wine drinking is to appreciate and savour the taste of it. Drinking wine is not same as drinking a glass of juice or milk, you will need to taste it and not just gulp it down. Before you start taking notes on how to taste wine, here is a little tip: Make sure your mouth is not tainted with tobacco, alcohol, caffeine or any other substance with strong odour/taste. This might affect the taste of wine and ruin with your wine tasting experience.
Explore the five S’s of tasting Wine.

1. See: The first rule of savouring wine is to see its appearance. Pour the wine into the wine glass and slightly tilt it against a white background. The main reason for doing this is to look for flaws in your wine glass, and you can also tell the age of wine by doing so. The colour of the wine tells a lot about its age, red wines tend to lose their colour whereas white wines tend to become darker as they age.

2. Swirl: Swirling is an important part of wine tasting. Make sure you don’t fill up your wine glass, doing so will make it difficult to swirl the wine. Pour small quantity of wine and swirl it around the glass by moving your wrist in small circles. This will release the aromas present in wine.

3. Smell: After you swirl the wine, get your nose as close to the wine as possible and take a deep breath. For most people smelling the wine is as pleasurable as drinking it.

4. Sip: After you smell the wine, you pretty much have an idea about its flavour, richness and intensity. Take a small sip and let it stay in your mouth for a while, you could take air through your mouth, this way the flavour of the wine will intensify.

5. Swallow or spit: After you take the first sip, and savour the taste of it, there are two things you could do: Swallow or spit depending on the place and occasion. If you are in a wine tasting event, it is advisable to spit out it since you will taste different kinds of wines and swallowing it will make you dizzy within a few minutes.

So, these are the basic rules of tasting wine. Follow this and you will soon be drinking wine like a pro!