banyuls
November 18, 2007 4:46 PM   Subscribe

How long can a bottle of Banyuls dessert wine stay fresh after being opened?
posted by elwoodwiles to Food & Drink (11 answers total)
 
Some people swear by freezing leftover wine.
posted by Neiltupper at 5:28 PM on November 18, 2007


Response by poster: Erm, I don't think that's an option here. What I'm thinking about is having an open bottle in the fridge that I can access over a period of weeks.
posted by elwoodwiles at 5:31 PM on November 18, 2007


I'm not sure any wine is going to last a period of weeks after being opened. You can get various stopper devices that claim to prolong the life, but once it's been exposed to air, it's going to start to turn. From my highly unscientific tests (sniff and sip), a few days at most is about all you get before you start getting vinegar...
posted by pupdog at 6:04 PM on November 18, 2007


i think dessert wines can go longer than less-sweet wines because of the sugar. keep it in the fridge, and it should be okay. just give it a taste the night before you serve it again, and if it's gone yucky, well, pick up a new bottle. :)
posted by thinkingwoman at 6:53 PM on November 18, 2007


I'm going to correct myself, I wasn't as familiar with Banyuls - since it's a fortified wine much like port, it will keep longer than some others. You do need to keep it sealed as best you can, and in a cool and shaded spot. If it was sealed with a stopper, you can put that back in and should be able to hold it for a week - maybe two. If it was corked, don't try and re-cork it - use a stopper (the lever-action cheap ones will work as well as anything). Some people swear by gas-replacement systems that pump in argon to fill the bottle, but a little wine never hurt anyone, just finish the bottle before it goes bad ;)
posted by pupdog at 6:56 PM on November 18, 2007


With a stopper you can keep it for weeks, maybe months.
posted by bru at 7:47 PM on November 18, 2007


As Bru says. Some dessert wines will stay fine for a whole year. It'll be great waaaaay longer than a week or two.
posted by J-Train at 9:02 PM on November 18, 2007


Yeah. Far longer than days or a couple of weeks. I'm told that dessert wine loses a certain 'freshness', but it wont go bad for months.
posted by twirlypen at 12:39 AM on November 19, 2007


Seconding what most have said: dessert wines keep a long time. I had a bottle of Sauternes (Doisy-Daëne, if I remember correctly) that I kept sipping from for months, and it was fine.
posted by languagehat at 6:46 AM on November 19, 2007


Response by poster: Sweet. Thanks people.
posted by elwoodwiles at 9:54 AM on November 19, 2007


Our last half-finished bottle of Banyuls developed a strange edge to its taste about eight weeks after it was opened.
posted by Hogshead at 3:46 AM on November 20, 2007


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