A question about an open bottle of wine

I want to put this as nicely as I can, and I respect your right to your own tastes, but I can't let this one stand out in public without observing that very, very few wine enthusiasts would agree with this.

Two <i>days</i>, sure. But I would never recommend hanging on to red wine in an opened bottle for one week, much less two, irrespective of the wine's quality.

I agree. Like David, I've had opened bottles of bigger reds (young Bordeaux, Aglianico, Nebbiolo) that were good for 4-5 days, but even then there are some oxidative notes creeping in (just not enough to dissuade me from drinking). Refrigerated Riesling or Chenin (or lighter high acids reds from Loire or Beaujolais)will sometimes last a week, but I'd view as exception.

A great red wine should be able to go upwards of two WEEKS before it begins to show signs of oxidation.

I want to put this as nicely as I can, and I respect your right to your own tastes, but I can't let this one stand out in public without observing that very, very few wine enthusiasts would agree with this.

Two <i>days</i>, sure. But I would never recommend hanging on to red wine in an opened bottle for one week, much less two, irrespective of the wine's quality.

That's because very, very few wine enthusiasts have taken the time to study the matter.

Complete and utter crap, Nathan. (I'm not putting this as nicely as I can) I'd hazard a guess that most every experienced wine drinker has encountered at least a few times a "great" red wine that has been left open for at least several days and I would further hazard that most all of them -- with you as the prominent exception -- have come to the conclusion that prolonged exposure to the air is not salutary for the overwhleming majority of wines. I know that I, and most of the people I drink wine with, certainly have.

Mark Lipton

[David M. Bueker]

And we don't all spend our time at mass tastings.

Oh...before I forget...don't feed the troll.

A great red wine should be able to go upwards of two WEEKS before it begins to show signs of oxidation.

I want to put this as nicely as I can, and I respect your right to your own tastes, but I can't let this one stand out in public without observing that very, very few wine enthusiasts would agree with this.

Two <i>days</i>, sure. But I would never recommend hanging on to red wine in an opened bottle for one week, much less two, irrespective of the wine's quality.

That's because very, very few wine enthusiasts have taken the time to study the matter.

Which gets back to a point I've been trying to make to people for quite a while now: You can't understand a wine within the context of tasting 119 other wines over the course of four hours.

I.e. many of these mass tastings of wines [as performed most notably by the professional critics] provide data points which are essentially meaningless in nature.

You need to spend days and days with a bottle of wine to learn its subtleties and nuances.

I'm not sure if this is a troll or a serious contribution, but it is certainly not a view that I share. The majority of bottles of wine I drink at home are shared with my wife and we usually take two evenings (more if more than one bottle is opened) to finish a bottle. A good percentage of those wines (I've never kept an accurate score) have begun to fade by 24 hours and very, very few have improved according to my palate preferences. I have had a few wines that have lasted more than 2-4 days, but by lasted I mean still drinkable, and not the delight they might have been originally.

I would not recomend leaving a great wine sitting around opened for weeks, except an Aussie Muscat, Tawny, or Tokay!

Mike