Many people look at me with an air of suspicion when I tell them their wine will keep perfectly well in the fridge for 3 to 5 days, without the aid of any expensive gadget. (Others look aghast that there is any scenario which would mean that the bottle wasn’t drunk in its entirety after its first outing... )

In our business, we will very often have several wines ‘on the go’ in the fridge. We test all new hopefuls over the course of a week, as it’s important for us to fully understand how it behaves in the glass over several days. 

Sometimes a wine improves over time, showing more depth and intensity, opening up and losing any initial ‘tightness’.  Sometimes, however, the qualities that interested us will dissipate too fast, and we see that we may have been seduced by first impressions that do not stand the test of time. 

All the wines we sell have been through this process and we can guarantee that if you keep them correctly, you will be able to enjoy a glass over 3 – 5 days, depending on the wine.

How to store an open bottle of white wine

Always put the cork or screwcap back into or onto a bottle of white wine as soon as you have finished pouring it into the glass. Don't struggle to put the same cork back into a bottle if it's resistant - just use a generic stopper. Do, however, make sure it has a really tight fit and that no air can get into the bottle as the wine will deteriorate if it comes into contact with the air.

A bottle of white wine will keep perfectly well for 3-5 days if tightly sealed in a normal fridge at about 5° C. Remove about 5-10 minutes before drinking to bring it back to more suitable temperature of about 10 – 12 °C.

How to store an open bottle of red wine

In exactly the same way as white wine. Always put the cork or screwcap firmly back in place and put the wine in fridge.

As above, if you can't get the original cork back into the bottle and it's not a screwcap - use a generic stopper. It is important to ensure that it has a really tight fit and that no air can get into the bottle while it's resting in the fridge.

Your wine will keep perfectly well for up to 5 days, depending on the wine.

Remove it about 30 minutes before you want to drink it. Never leave a half-finished bottle of red wine on a counter top and hope for the best. The heat, light and changes in temperature will destroy it within a very short time. The correct temperature for serving red wine, to maximise the aromas and bring out the fruit flavours, is between 16°C and 18°C – room temperature as it was  a few hundred years ago when the concept developed. A red wine that is too warm will taste ‘flabby’ and unbalanced.

It's worth noting too that red wine in particular can improve in the bottle a day or two after opening, so one should feel no pressure to finish it on the same day. It's interesting to retaste a wine to see how it might have changed. Sometimes the fruit and aromas have a chance to come to the fore and in very low sulphur wines, if there's a hint of CO2 from bottle fermentation, this will have ceased.

Gadgets for keeping wine fresher for longer

For everyday use, we have a few different styles of wine stoppers, but one of our current favourites is the OXO stainless steel expanding tops that are not only effective, but have the added benefit of not adding any extra height to the bottle - which can be important if fridge space is limited. These are inexpensive and you will find them at a range of retailers, but we got ours from John Lewis.

We also use a couple of gadgets for keeping wine fresh for up to 4 weeks, although I realise this is rarely necessary in a non-commercial setting. Our current favourite is the Coravin Pivot or Pivot+ which we have tested extensively.

The advantage over the previous Coravin, is that rather than piercing the cork, which sometimes led to a little leakage, the new model comes with its own stoppers which meaning there is zero leakage (as far as we've been able to tell) and you can also use it for screwcap wines. The Pivot Plus also has a handy aerator which helps the wine spring back to life as its poured.

This is an expensive product, but it's a good option if you want to try a fine or very good wine in advance of opening the bottle at a later date, or to spread the joy over a a few weeks. It also makes a great gift for wine enthusiasts or solo drinkers.

We have tried many other gadgets but these are the only ones we use now. Some of the vacuum products which aim to suck air out of the bottle will work for a short time, but tend to lose their efficacy quickly, allowing air to seep into the bottle and causing the wine to deteriorate.

How to store Champagne and Sparkling Wine

Forget everything you’ve been told about teaspoons. It really does not work, unless perhaps by chance. It has become a bit of a myth that the metal of the spoon cools the air inside the bottle and reduces the amount of gas that expands, thus keeping the wine fizzy. There is no scientific or even practical evidence to support this other than anecdotal.

The only foolproof way to keep your Champange and Sparkling Wines fizzy is to seal them very tightly with a specifically designed stopper. We generally use simple metal stoppers that have a good grip on the bottle. Wineware has plenty to choose from but you will find them in a whole range of retailers both online and in store.

A bottle of sparkling wine will usually only keep for up to 2 days, regardless of which manual stopper you use.

Coravin also produce a version of their wine saving gadget for sparkling wines - which should keep the bubbles bubbling for up to 4 weeks - although it comes at a very hefty price of around £400 that I'm not sure is really worthwhile for domestic use. Particularly as there is no hardship in finishing a bottle of Champagne a day later. Much more cost effective would be to buy a decent half bottle of Champagne which provides a glass and a half per person or per sitting - the ideal quantity.

Try our own label Champagne Francoise Monay Brut which, unlike some other brands, is as strong on quality as its full size sibling. A perfectly guilty pleasure.

What to do with leftover wine

Even the most enthusiastic wine drinkers may find themselves with wine leftovers. Sometimes because of a bottle or two that’s been left open overnight and is really not in good enough condition to drink the next day. Sometimes, work or other factors mean that you don’t want to drink whatever is left in the bottle, but neither do you want to throw it down the sink.

This is the perfect opportunity to stock up on cooking wine – and the best way to do this is to freeze it. Put red, white or rose wines into a flattish Tupperware or in a large format ice cube tray. It never freezes completely, making it easy to cut off a chunk and throw it into your pan when needed.

Nothing worse than seeing a recipe that calls for a glass of wine and having to open a bottle just for that – or worse – resorting to those strange de-alcoholised wine flavoured cubes and condiments that seem to be full of everything except wine.

And finally

Drinking alone or making a bottle last a week is perfectly possible. Far better to sip and savour a perfect glass that hits every spot, then feel pressurised into finishing a bottle that may well taste even better the next day.