You’ve no doubt made your Independence Day wine purchases, so let’s turn to the mailbox this week to answer reader questions.
How long can I keep a bottle of opened wine?
The best answer is don’t keep an opened bottle. Share it with friends and void the pitfalls of tying to preserve this highly oxygen sensitive product!
Still, I feel your pain. I often have two or three bottles I’ve opened of tasting and friends who have gone missing. While the debate rages over which method is best, here’s what works for me.
I use a hand pump made by World Cuisine that is available at most local cookware and barware shops. This plastic hand pump vacuums oxygen from the bottle through it’s special rubber stoppers. I disregard package instructions and pump until I have some real resistance going on. I’ve kept bottles of red wine at room temp in this fashion for a week or more; white wines go in the fridge and have lasted without noticeable decay for 10 days or so.
Air is the enemy, so I also re-cork between glasses – particularly if I’m going to be the only one drinking.
Another popular system is one that uses inert gases that are heavier than air to create a “blanket” over the surface of the wine. Dispensed through spray cans, these gases are alleged to have no ill affect on the wine. The system’s advocates wines have been kept for as long as a year – and I know several wine reps who use this method to extend the life of sample bottles.
You said it was risky to ship wine during the summer. How about keeping it in my car?
Same deal. Pick up your favorite bottle on lunch break and leave it stashed in your car until you go home after work – you’ve got cooked wine. The build up of gases may push out the cork or even break the bottle – and the taste is sure to funky. That’s why you’ll often see me trudging around downtown with a two-bottle wine tote. If I have to buy early in the day or deliver to a club member, I try to keep the bottle as cool as possible.
Keep in mind, the same heat-induced spoilage suffered by wine can also ruin the flavor of beer – and even soft drinks.
Red wine gives me a headache. Is it the sulfites?
Scientists continue to debate this issue but current thinking is that no, sulfites do not give you a headache at the level the substance is present in wine.
Still, I can detect a wine loaded with sulfites after one glass – there is no other logical explanation for the splitting headache I get.
I did notice that as my taste grew away from less expensive reds that my headaches became less and less frequent. All wines, even those dubbed sulfite-free, contain some naturally occurring sulfites. Very inexpensive red wines, tome, seem to be higher in sulfites, which are used to extend shelf life.
Do you drink ALL the time?
No, but I do taste a lot – often as many as 15-20 wines per week. Occasionally, I go for a week or more with no consumption of wine, beer or spirits. This helps refresh my palate and, frankly, I occasionally crave a tall sweet tea, an icy cola or, yikes, water!
Until next week, cheers!

Wine of the week

I was talking about Georgia-made wines with Greg Butch of Elizabeth on 37th and he turned me on to a sweet Muscadine wine my by Still Pond Vineyards of Arlington, GA.
There’s something about the nutty, organic aroma of the Muscadine grape that has grown on me. For south Georgia, it’s the grape du jour – the one varietal that will withstand our hot, humid summer and still produce big, juicy fruit.
And that’s exactly what you find with Still Pond’s Notchaway White. The nutty aroma gives way to juicy grape smells. If you’ve ever eaten a Muscadine form the vine – this will be like reliving that experience.
The honey-like character of the wine lends itself to lip-smacking sweetness and the rich, organic flavor of Muscadines. Mild acidity tempers the sweetness but allows the grape’s character to shine through. Use this one as a dessert wine or aperitif.