# how long does open bottle last?



## Paulc (Apr 24, 2011)

So my JAOM is almost ready to bottle, certainly before the end of May. So once it is bottled and ready to drink, how long is an open bottle drinkable? I am probably going to be drinking this stuff on my own and a regular 750 bottle of wine lasts me at least 2 days, sometimes all week. 

So once the cork on a 750 bottle of jaom is pulled, how long will the mead continue to taste good? Should it be drunk in one sitting? Can I vacuum seal it like a regular bottle of wine? Do I stick it in the fridge?

Tia, paulc


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## Wade E (Apr 24, 2011)

Id say about 2-3 days unless you have a can of that wine preservative and a Tasters Cork.
Links to both below.
http://www.finevinewines.com/c-201-other.aspx
http://www.finevinewines.com/p-32-4319.aspx


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## Paulc (Apr 24, 2011)

Is this stuff best drunk at room temp or fridge? Treat it like a white wine?


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## Wade E (Apr 24, 2011)

Id say a little cooler then room temp. Too cold and it wont open up to release its florals as any mead should.


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## BobF (Apr 24, 2011)

Open bottles last about 20-30 minutes around here! ;-)


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## PPBart (Apr 25, 2011)

Paulc said:


> So once the cork on a 750 bottle of jaom is pulled, how long will the mead continue to taste good? Should it be drunk in one sitting? Can I vacuum seal it like a regular bottle of wine? Do I stick it in the fridge?



I have a real aversion to leaving a partial bottle in the frig overnight -- so we usually just finish it off (or I do, if no one else is helping).


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## woodsxdragon (Apr 25, 2011)

if i have any left over from a bottle i usually find a mason jar and cap it if i plan on drinking it within the next few days or so... otherwise i get depressed that i have left over wine and usually end up drinking it.


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## fatbloke (Apr 26, 2011)

dunno if there's actually any "set time".

Meads don't oxidise like "normal" wines do. I've had no problems putting part bottles in the fridge over night.

If in doubt, you can always just get a "vacuvin" type device. That way, you can de-gas the mead before serving it and then use their stopper to keep it overnight (after pumping out the majority of the air).

regards

fatbloke


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## jet (Apr 26, 2011)

fatbloke said:


> ...
> Meads don't oxidise like "normal" wines do.
> ...



That sound interesting. Can you elaborate?


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## mmadmikes1 (Apr 26, 2011)

_"how long does open bottle last?"_
How many people are in the room?


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## Malkore (Apr 26, 2011)

jet said:


> That sound interesting. Can you elaborate?



I'm curious too, as I had a fairly old mead that, when tasted by the club, a few people noted oxidized flavors.

But it was 11 years old, and never sulfited, so I was not offended or put off by a little oxidation.


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## fatbloke (Apr 27, 2011)

Malkore said:


> I'm curious too, as I had a fairly old mead that, when tasted by the club, a few people noted oxidized flavors.
> 
> But it was 11 years old, and never sulfited, so I was not offended or put off by a little oxidation.


Don't really know. I've just noticed that meads, particularly traditionals, don't seem to oxidise as readily as other wines (lower sensitivity ? for some reason).

I've read that other vastly more experienced mead makers have noticed this as well, though whether it's something to do with the actual honey(s) used, or a lack of organic compounds (when comparing honey to grape juice etc), or the temperature of the meads when ageing/stored.

I just notice that if I open a bottle of "normal" red or white, you can start noticing a change in flavour after a while (can't put a figure on how long in hours), and if you then store it in the fridge overnight, you can taste a difference the following day, where this doesn't seem to happen with meads so quickly. Yes, obviously it will happen after a while, it just doesn't seem to happen quite so quickly.

Don't forget, it could easily be a temperature thing. We're a hell of a lot more "temperate" here, that parts of north America, when you guys experience greater seasonal swings than us.

Does that make sense ? I hope it does. Otherwise all my efforts at avoiding oxygen/air exposure (airspaces when ageing, no splash racking, proper use of sulphites, etc etc) when actually making the stuff, would be wasted.

Hell, the only reason why I follow the comments about "sherry-like" tastes and the correlation to oxidation is because I know what sherry tastes like. I've not actually experienced losing a batch to oxidation.

regards

fatbloke


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## docanddeb (May 3, 2011)

My husband and I have 1 glass of wine per night. The bottle is refrigerated overnight. Some wines taste BETTER the next day and others are the same, occasionally it tastes worse. Very dependent on the wine!

Debbie


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## djrockinsteve (May 3, 2011)

We can have bottles of wine and numerous samples opened here for up to and beyond a week with no taste change. They all have a cover on either a wine stopper or even a piece of plastic wrap.

Air will undoubtly come in contact with the open wine. O2 will begin to work it's oxidation immediately but how fast will depend upon temperature, color of bottle, closeness to sunlight, the acid percentage and amount of sulfite contained within the wine.

I'm sure some wines will turn faster than others too. If you are in doubt chill the opened bottle and plug it. Even use a vacuum thing to remove as much air as possible.

If you are unable to finish bottles (750ml) within a reasonable time maybe use 375ml bottles.


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## jet (May 3, 2011)

djrockinsteve said:


> ...
> If you are unable to finish bottles (750ml) within a reasonable time maybe use 375ml bottles.



Unless you buy all your bottles, most people would have trouble coming up with that many 375's.


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## Ron22 (May 3, 2011)

djrockinsteve said:


> If you are unable to finish bottles (750ml) within a reasonable time maybe use 375ml bottles.



That was my first thought too. One of the advantages of bottling your own. You can put it in any size bottle you like. 
375ml
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/375-ml-green-bellissima-bottles-12-per-case.html
And if people need more wine at a time.
1.5 liter
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/1-5-liter-emerald-green-claret-bordeaux-bottles-6-per-case.html


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## jet (May 4, 2011)

Ron22 said:


> That was my first thought too. One of the advantages of bottling your own. You can put it in any size bottle you like.
> 375ml
> http://www.midwestsupplies.com/375-ml-green-bellissima-bottles-12-per-case.html
> And if people need more wine at a time.
> ...



True, but buying 50-60 bottles per batch? $$$$ Ouch!


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## BobF (May 4, 2011)

Buying bottles doesn't have to be that expensive. Get to know the folks at your local wineries. Some of them cater to home winemakers and will add a few cases to their bottle orders for you at their cost.

Sometimes you get lucky and they decide to discontinue certain bottles and let their stock go cheap.

Most with tasting rooms will save those bottles for you. My favorite bottle-source-winery saves tasting room bottles for home winemakers and they are cleaned/delabeled when you pick them up. They do charge $.25/bottle, but I'll pay that any day of the week for a clean delabeled bottle! Especially when they match ;-)


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## jet (May 4, 2011)

BobF said:


> Buying bottles doesn't have to be that expensive. Get to know the folks at your local wineries. Some of them cater to home winemakers and will add a few cases to their bottle orders for you at their cost.
> 
> Sometimes you get lucky and they decide to discontinue certain bottles and let their stock go cheap.
> 
> Most with tasting rooms will save those bottles for you. My favorite bottle-source-winery saves tasting room bottles for home winemakers and they are cleaned/delabeled when you pick them up. They do charge $.25/bottle, but I'll pay that any day of the week for a clean delabeled bottle! Especially when they match ;-)



How many of those are 375's?


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## BobF (May 4, 2011)

jet said:


> How many of those are 375's?


 
About 75/25 for 750/375 for percentages they have. Prices are the same.


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## ibglowin (May 4, 2011)

OK am I the only one here that didn't know what JOAM was till I looked it up!


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## Runningwolf (May 4, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> OK am I the only one here that didn't know what JOAM was till I looked it up!



Multiple choice answers

A. Journal of Optoelectronics and Advanced Materials 

B. Joe's Orange Anchient Orange Mead 

C. Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement

D. Julie Ordered Another Malbec

E. None of the above


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## ibglowin (May 4, 2011)

I'll take Meads for $400 Alex.......


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## Runningwolf (May 4, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> I'll take Meads for $400 Alex.......



Sorry! This is double Jepordy and all answers must be in form of questions. Anyone else?


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## ibglowin (May 4, 2011)

Bwahahahahaha......

SNL Jeopardy


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## robie (May 4, 2011)

jet said:


> True, but buying 50-60 bottles per batch? $$$$ Ouch!



The 375's are a little cheaper than the 750 ml. One could bottle some in both sizes. For each 6-gallon batch, I like to bottle at least 6 bottle of 375's. I use them for taste testing down the road... don't want to open a 750 and waste it because it is not ready. (I have been know to re-cork such a bottle, though.)


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## jet (May 4, 2011)

The suggestion was that if you cannot finish a 750, bottle in 375's. For myself, and probably many others, that is not an economically viable solution. Raw, used 750's can be gotten for nothing. I have never found 375's other than retail. From my LHBS, enough for a 5 gallon batch would be $67.


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## robie (May 4, 2011)

jet said:


> The suggestion was that if you cannot finish a 750, bottle in 375's. For myself, and probably many others, that is not an economically viable solution. Raw, used 750's can be gotten for nothing. I have never found 375's other than retail. From my LHBS, enough for a 5 gallon batch would be $67.



There's no right or wrong, here. We are talking options only. I would never spend that kind of money for each batch, either; it is just an option.

That's about right, maybe a little high for my LHBS, but still a lot of bucks. Those bottles will last forever, though. Reuse them. I would never bottle "everything" in those small bottles, anyway. However, if you use only a few for each batch of wine, that is better than not. Buy a case of 24 once or twice a year to spread out the cost.

Some people bottle their wine in beer bottles with regular beer caps. That is perfectly OK, too.

As a side, it seems to me the wine in the smaller bottles doesn't age at the same pace as that in the larger bottles. Maybe it is just me, but the larger bottles seem to be ready faster.

In my house, we typically will polish off any bottle we open in one evening. When we don't, I use a small VacuVin, which I get from my LHBS. It sucks much of the air out of an open bottle and leaves it drinkable the next evening.


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## jet (May 4, 2011)

robie said:


> ...
> I use a small VacuVin, which I get from my LHBS. It sucks much of the air out of an open bottle and leaves it drinkable the next evening.


That's what I do too. I live alone, so a 750mL bottle would last 4-5 days even if I drank the same wine every night, which I don't. I keep the whites in the fridge, and the reds in my "cellar". Most wines hold up OK. A few do not, and I even had one that turned before I got the first glass finished.


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## jnmar (May 4, 2011)

Mine only lasts one evening...I'm totally convinced that the wine in the bottom of the bottle is the best.


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## ibglowin (May 5, 2011)

Private Reserve works 100X better than any Vacuvin if you want to really preserve and protect the wine. Not especially cheap but Amazon is carrying it now along with some neat preservation systems that use Argon canisters like the CO2 ones you use for paint ball guns.


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## ibglowin (May 5, 2011)

Thats actually true in so many ways! 



jnmar said:


> Mine only lasts one evening...I'm totally convinced that the wine in the bottom of the bottle is the best.


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