What To Do With Leftover Red Wine | 9 Ways To Use It
Leftover wine is not a common occurrence within my house. But it does happen.
Either I cracked open that second bottle without to much thought, I just really didn’t like the wine I bought, I forgot I had an open bottle, or someone has very kindly gifted me a bottle of wine which just wasn’t quite my cup of tea.
or should I say it wasn’t quite my glass of wine?
Heck, sometimes I just forget I had an open bottle.
Point being. Although it doesn’t happen often, it still does happen. And there's nothing quite as upsetting as pouring wine down the drain.
So what else can you do with it? How exactly can you use your leftover wine. Well I’ve not just got 1 great idea for you, I’ve got 9 and throughout this article we’re going to go through all 9. So if you ever catch yourself with some not-fit-for-consumption wine, you will know just what to do with it.
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Now I assure you I will get to the list, but first…
How long does open wine last?
Typically, an open bottle of wine will last between 1-5 days. But that depends on a few key details. Such as the type of wine and how it’s stored.
White wine
White wine has the longest open shelf life as typically we will be keeping this in the fridge. So the degradation of the wine is a lot slower.
A bottle of wine with the lid on kept in the fridge can last between 3-5 days before going bad. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s unfit to drink. That’s just the point in which the flavours change and not in a good way.
Red wine
Red wine will last between 2-3 days with the lid on.
Once again, this doesn’t mean it's unfit to drink. It’ll just start losing flavours. Different types of red wine will last different amounts of time but generally speaking, after day 1 the flavours start to get lost and after day 3 an acidic, vinegar like flavour will start to develop.
The longer you leave it, the more this vinegar will take over until eventually it just becomes vinegar.
Sparkling wine
Sparkling wine will last the least amount of time. Not necessarily because of the flavour, but because of the bubbles.
After 1 day sparkling wine will become dramatically less bubbly, and no one wants flat prosecco, I’m sure we can all agree on that.
How to make wine last longer
Is it possible to make opened wine last longer? Absolutely it is.
For wines with corks, the difficulty is that you can't screw the lid back on. So instead of trying to hammer the cork back in, you can just pick up a wine stopper like these…
It’s a simple thing that will keep your wine going a few days longer and look good whilst it’s doing it.
For still wines, you can vacuum seal the wine. By removing the air from inside the bottle you slow down the oxidizing of that wine. Which is what makes wine go bad (we’ll cover that shortly)
And although wine vacuuming sounds like a difficult and expensive process. It’s actually not. All you need is something like this…
Wine Vacuum Sealer
These Vacuum sealers might be cheap but they work perfectly. Take a look in the wine fridge behind any bar, you’ll see plenty of these in use. They are a standard in professional bars and restaurants.
To use them, just pop in the tab, and use the pump to pump the air out until you hear a click. That’s when you know that no more air is in the bottle.
With those, your opened wine will last between 7-10 days.
Now if you’re a real connoisseur, a collector, or you just want to have a few bottles of wine on the go so you can conduct wine tastings or have a separate glass of different wine throughout the night. Then you want this…
Coravin Preservation System
That is the Coravin preservation system. A lot more of an investment then the old reliable vacuum sealer but well worth it.
The way it works is through the needle which goes into a wine cork, giving you the option to pour wine without ever opening the bottle.
It means you can pour a glass of wine and have the bottle last for weeks, even months.
The clever clogs who came up with this idea are my idols. It means you could have 5 wine bottles on the go without having to open a single one. For any wine lover this is at the top of their wish list.
They make a bunch of models but by far, the best one in my opinion, the best value for money and the classic is the one I’ve linked below.
What about sparkling wine?
Sparkling wine is a tricky one because not only are you trying to protect the flavour, but you’re also trying to keep in the bubbles.
I have 2 options for you. The first option is the basic wine stopper.
That is what we use in restaurants to keep the bubbles fresh in sparkling wines. All you do is clip it on the top and it’ll do its thing. It’s not a perfect solution, it will only add about 1 day on the shelf life of your sparkling wine.
However, 1 day is better than nothing.
Option 2, is the Coravin sparkling wine preservation system.
Yep, I’m back talking about the Corvin. (I swear its not sponsored) They’re just the top tier of wine preservation systems for home and bars and they have this sparkling wine model specifically designed for sparkling wine which works perfectly.
If you can afford one, I’d say do it because they’re fun to use and it’s just a fantastic piece of kit.
This one will keep your sparkling wine fresh for up to 2 weeks.
How long will an unopened bottle of wine last?
People always ask how long opened bottles of wine last, but rarely do people ask about unopened bottles.
A big part of this is because we’re all pretty much aware that wine can be aged, that you can keep hold of wine for a long time hence why such things as wine collectors exist.
However…
Not all wine is made for aging.
When you age wine, the flavours become more developed. They become stronger, and more pronounced. Which is a massive plus for certain types of wine. But a lot of wine, in fact, I’d say the majority of wine starts going bad the longer you age it.
Some wine is just made to be drunk young. So don’t always think that the oldest age statement is the best.
It sucks because I know people who have been given wine from a loved one and kept it in pristine condition for years waiting for that special occasion to crack it open, then when it finally happens it tastes horrible because it’s gone way past its best.
Always take the time to google your wine before planning on aging it just to see if it’s meant to be drunk young or aged.
When wine aging goes bad
Even if you do have your hands on a good bottle of wine that benefits from aging. So much can go wrong if you don’t store it in proper conditions. Such as ending up with a corked wine.
What is corked wine?
Wine corks are made from wood. That wood can get infected by fungus, which can then steep into the wine. Making your wine taste like soggy cardboard.
The name for this is cork taint, and you can only detect it once the bottle has been opened and the wine tasted.
5 percent of all wines with corks are infected with cork taint.
If wine corking wasn’t enough to worry about, a wine cork can also dry up and expand leaving little pockets which air can get through oxidizing your wine. So essentially, you could be aging a wine which is slowly turning into vinegar.
Can you age wines that have screw caps?
Anytime we talk about aging wine, we always picture corks. But what about screw caps?
The answer is yes. Yes you can age wines that have screw caps… but that doesn't mean you should.
As I mentioned, a lot of wine isn’t made to be aged, and out of the wines that are meant to be drunk young, the majority are screw caps. So it’s a big sign that the wine in question might not be good for aging.
The last thing you want to do when you’ve been aging wine is to throw it away. So finding some use for it, some way you can enjoy it, is an absolute must in my opinion.
Why does wine go bad?
We spoke about corked wine which is a good segue into bacteria. Open wine has to deal with the elements and all it takes is for a little bacteria to make its way into your unsealed wine to make the whole thing taste like a smelly barn.
But the main issue in this ruining of our wine is oxygen.
Oxygen and wine do not go well together. Exposure to oxygen causes wine to oxidize, which turns sweet elements bitter and starts making the whole bottle taste more and more acidic.
It will also change the colour of wine to become more brown. Which is exactly what happens with fruit and vegetables, and is exactly what is happening when metal goes rusty.
Have you ever noticed that anytime a cut avocado is left out the fridge for longer than what seems like 10 seconds it starts to turn brown? Yeah, that's oxidation in motion.
The science of wine oxidizing
What's happening when wine is exposed to oxygen is that the acetaldehyde converts to acetic acid, turning the wine to vinegar.
It doesn't necessarily mean you can't drink the wine, it just makes it taste horrible.
The more exposure, the quicker this process happens.
The 9 Great Ways To Use Leftover Red Wine
So with all that being said here are the 9 ways you can utilize your not fit for consumption wine.
#1 Marinade
All you need to make a marinade is salt, oil, flavourings and leftover wine.
Mix equal parts oil and wine and add the flavourings and salt to taste. My go-to would be fresh herbs and garlic. Mix up and viola. Your wine will not go to waste. Instead it’ll be used to flavour steak, or whatever else you're marinating.
Just shove it all in a zip lock bag with your meat and let it infuse for a few hours.
#2 Vinegar
Once oxidized, your wine is slowly turning into vinegar. There is unfortunately no reversing this process. So why fight it? Vinegar might not be what we wanted but vinegar is what we’re getting so why not just go with it?
Take the lid of your bottle of wine. Let all that air seep in. It’s infected with air, let's give it more!
Take a cheesecloth or a little bit of muslin and a rubber band. Put that round the neck of your bottle (check out this video for visual representation) to the top of your bottle.
This will keep any nasties like flies getting in but allow air in.
Leave somewhere warm for 8 weeks and viola, you have vinegar for all your cooking needs.
#3 Shrubs
Shrubs (not to get confused with the bush) are drinking vinegars.
I absolutely love shrubs. In the last bar I worked in I was forever associated with the smell of vinegar due to the amount and size of the shrubs I’d continuously have on the go.
How to make any fruit vinegar (shrubs)
Step 1: Is to do what we did in method 2: Make vinegar.
Step 2: grab a jar. In that jar mix equal parts vinegar, sugar, and fruit. Lightly muddle the fruit.
Step 3: seal the jar and leave it somewhere cool (like a fridge) for anywhere between 24 hours and 2 weeks. The longer you leave it, the more fruit flavour you will have and the less like vinegar it will taste.
Step 4: Then it's just a matter of straining and bottling. Drink it like you would a cordial. So mix 1 or 2 shots in a glass and fill it with water or sparkling water for a healthy cordial.
Or use it in a cocktail in replacement of syrups.
Shrubs may be high in sugar but they’re packed with health benefits and amazing replacements for unhealthy sodas. My favourites are raspberry shrubs and blackberry shrubs.
#4 Wine Syrups
Dump that wine into a saucepan and mix in equal parts sugar. Stir till the sugar has dissolved then simmer on a low heat for 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool and you have syrup that tastes like wine.
Perfect for cocktails and ice cream.
#5 Poach Pears
You can poach pretty much any fruit with red wine but nothing in my humble opinion tastes better than red wine poached pears.
I have a recipe right here you can check out which involves taking a low quality wine, mulling it and poaching. It’s so damn good you HAVE to try it.
#6 Fruit Fly Traps
Another secret from the bar industry.
Bars suffer from something that when I mention, will cause the hairs on the back of the necks of every bartender reading this to stand up. It’s the enemy of the bars. It is… the fruit fly.
And I hate to be the one to break this to you. But we are now entering fruit fly season. We’ve had the whole of winter to forget about them but they are back.
In my time managing bars, I’ve tried pretty much every fly trap you can purchase and the thing that does the best job is none other than a DIY one made with red wine.
For this, pour some of that gone off red wine into a glass, cover the glass tightly with cling film and poke a tiny hole in the top using something such as a toothpick.
See this video here for a visual representation
Put it somewhere out the way and let it do its thing.
Fruit flies will be attracted to the oxidizing wine and swarm to it. They'll get inside the hole in the top but won't be able to get out again (haha, stupid flies)
After about 1 week pour away your collection of dead flies and re-fill your DIY fly trap. Works so well.
#7 Fabric Dye
Don’t you hate when you spill red wine on your shirt and you can’t get the stain out.
You probably hate it the same amount as when your red wine goes bad.
So let's do both those things on purpose! Grab your leftover red wine, scrunch up a shirt and pop it in a bucket. Then pour over the leftover wine. Leave it overnight then stick the shirt outside to dry. Then put it in the washing machine (on its own) and when it comes out you will have a lovely red wine coloured shirt.
If you’re creative you could pour the wine onto your fabrics more purposely and create red wine coloured works of art much like tie dying.
#8 Sauces
There are so many ways you can make a sauce with leftover wine. The more oxidized the better. Just get creative and see what you come up with. Red wine always works better with this.
As a base, I start off by mixing 100 ml of leftover red wine with 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan.
Scale that up or down depending on how much sauce you want.
After that, it's just a case of bringing it to a simmer and leaving it to thicken. Which usually takes around 10-15 minutes with a steady simmer.
That will give you the most basic buttery red wine sauce. As red wine reducers it becomes thicker and sweeter as all the complexities get stronger and the alcohol burns off.
To elevate this simple sauce. At the point of simmering, add whatever flavourings you want in. Similar to the marinade I spoke about, fresh herbs and garlic works great.
You could use dark chocolate for a dessert red wine saurce. You could use white wine and dill for a sauce to top fish. Honestly just get creative with whatever you have on hand.
#9 Use it in stew
Leftover wine works so well with stew. Not just the flavouring, but the acidity that wine develops when it's gone off is perfect.
It gives the stew that much needed acidity to balance it whilst at the same time adding richness. Honestly this works great for any stew.
As you're simmering, pour in a glug of red wine and the complexities that will develop once you simmer it will be insane.
Vegan and Vegetarian wines
Oh, and one quick note before you go. Did you know that the majority of wine is not vegan or vegetarian? If you are vegan or vegetarian or are just interested in learning more about this, check out this article here.
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Hi, I’m Cameron, guv’nor of Smartblend. If you liked this then you’re in luck, I have a bunch more articles like it. I share only vegetarian and pescatarian food recipes, cocktails, and drink guides with a sprinkling of wellness and mindful drinking. If that sounds like you, then stick around!
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