Local Tips for Preserving Wine

With a few weekends left to the summer, there are plenty of outdoor BBQs and weekend parties left. If you're planning on bringing wine, here are a few tips for transporting, storing and preserving your wine.  

Linda Roth, at Long Island Cork and Bottle, said red wines typically last longer than whites. Red wines only last two to three days after opening, she said, but closed they can last a few years.

Roth said white wines also have the same open shelf life, but do not have as long of a closed bottle shelf life. Red wines, Roth said, can be aged; white wines are ready to drink.

Commack's favorites lie in the California wines, like Kendall Jackson ($12.99 per bottle), Roth said.

She said that you should store all wines in a cool, dry place – like a basement – in a wine rack. They should be kept on their side while closed and generally corked in the same fashion when opened.

Screw tops, Roth said, allow you to preserve the wine a little longer and allow you to keep wines upright – no need for racks. This is a new sort of top, and Roth said they are popular.

Adam Schneider, of Long Island Wine and Spirit Merchants, said air is what makes wine change.

For the first 6 hours the wine continually changes – so much so that if you open it, drink a bit and then leave it for a half hour, the second taste will be different, Schneider said.

After about 12 hours of this change, it starts to go "downhill," Schneider said. The wine slowly becomes vinegar and doesn't taste right.

Temperature does affect wine, but not as much as you would think. Schnieder said you can cook wine by leaving it in the car for too long, but a warm house or apartment will not really cook the wine as quickly. He said there are a handful of preservation techniques, although he said they are not reliable.

Some preservation techniques include storing wines in a cool, dry place or using a pump system to pump the oxygen out of the wine. Schneider said it is best to enjoy wine 12 hours after opening it. Other than that, he said, it probably won't be as good.