And find out what to do with the leftovers!
After celebrating Christmas, chances are you have some unfinished wine bottles in your pantry or fridge. Just sitting and waiting to be used. But how long can they stay in there and what could you do with the wine if you don’t want to drink the leftovers? Keep reading to find out.
Shelf life
The shelf life of the wine depends on the kind of vino that you’re drinking. The average amount of time that you can save an opened bottle of wine is one to five days after opening it. The time frame gets shorter when it’s a bubbly wine or champagne. This is because those beverages could lose their bubbles after a day or two. A white wine or rosé can be saved a little longer: you can keep these in the fridge for around five days. Even though the wines are still drinkable after that time, they won’t taste as good and fruity and might even get a little bit of a sour aftertaste. That is something you would want to avoid.
Red wine can be saved for two or three days. This is because the flavor disappears more quickly than it does for the white wine. As long as you keep your ‘vintage red’ stored in a cool, dark place, the flavor will stay around a little longer but it won’t last forever. So whenever you can, you should find a little ‘you’-time to drink a nice glass of red, white or pink. Just to wind down.
Leftovers
If you don’t see yourself drinking your opened bottles of wine anytime soon, you can use the wine in different ways. That way you won’t waste any of it and you can still enjoy the wine before it goes bad. An example of this is cooking with wine. You can easily add wine to a dish, like risotto. If you combine the wine with a vinegar of the same color, onions, honey and salt, you have turned your leftover wine into a delicious salad dressing, easily served with every dinner.
Wine can also be used to make stewed pears or for poaching other types of fruit. Another option is to make wine flavored ice cubes. If you freeze some wine in an ice cube mold, you can save it for three months. That’s a great way to make your wine last! If you don’t like wine but love Sangria, you can turn your wine into your favorite drink: add some fruit, ice cubes (maybe the wine flavored ones?) and Gran Marnier (optionally) to your leftover wine and you have created a delicious Spanish beverage in no time at all.
The options with leftover wine are pretty limitless. This way you won’t have to waste any of the red, white or pinks that were left behind during the holiday celebrations and you challenge yourself to be more creative in the kitchen!
Also read: Cheers! Drinking champagne can be good for you
Source: Max Vandaag | Image: Unsplash, Kelsey Knight