Guide · storage
How long an open bottle keeps
Spirits barely spoil at all, wine spoils within a week, cream liqueur genuinely goes off. All three answers in one table, with the reasons alongside.
An open bottle
- Vodka, whisky, rum, gin, cognac
- years; the aroma fades slowly
- Sugary liqueur
- 1–2 years
- Cream liqueur
- 6 months, in the fridge
- Vermouth and fortified wine
- 1–3 months, in the fridge
- Wine
- 2–5 days, corked in the fridge
- Sparkling wine
- about a day, with a proper stopper
- Beer and cider
- a few hours; the bubbles go
The fridge is not only for food: vermouth, cream liqueur and open wine really do belong there.
Three enemies
Oxygen is the main one. It pushes wine towards vinegar and dulls the aroma of spirits. That is why a half-empty bottle keeps worse than a full one — there is more air in it.
Light breaks down aroma compounds, especially in beer and pale liqueurs. Green and brown glass exist for a reason: the colour is a filter.
Heat and swings in temperature speed everything up. A bottle beside a radiator or on a sunny windowsill ages many times faster than the same bottle in a cupboard.
Position and place
High strength degrades the cork if the bottle lies down. Upright is the only correct position.
The cork has to stay damp. Screw-cap wine can stand upright.
A cupboard beats a shelf by the window. Beer minds the light most of all.
10–14 °C is ideal for wine; swings are worse than a couple of degrees too warm.
Red included. Take it out half an hour before serving.
Rescuing a half-empty bottle
Reduce the air
Pour what is left into a smaller bottle. Less air, slower oxidation.
Seal it properly
A vacuum stopper for wine, a tight one for sparkling. A plastic bag is not a stopper.
Put it in the fridge
Cold slows everything down. That includes red wine and vermouth.
Use it in the kitchen
Oxidised wine is fine in a sauce or a stew. Do not throw it away, but do not drink it either.
Common questions
Do spirits go off?
Not microbiologically. Over time they evaporate and lose aroma, especially when little liquid is left in the bottle.
Can open wine be kept at room temperature?
Better not. In the fridge it keeps 2–5 days, on the table one day.
Does wine improve in the bottle?
Only a small proportion of wines. Most supermarket wine is made to be drunk within two or three years.
Is the freezer an option?
For vodka yes, for wine no — the liquid expands and pushes the cork out. Sparkling wine left in the freezer ends as a burst bottle.