Is sparkling wine dry or sweet?
They make both kinds! Bubbly wine can delight any pallet with its versatile approach. Ranging from dry to sweet, have your pick up these fun and fizzy wine bottles.
The secret to finding the best bottle is to pay attention to the bubbles. The smaller the bubbles, the better the quality of the wine. Delicate, effervescent bubbles create a fine frothy texture that can tickle your tongue.
If you’re getting ready to splurge on a delicious bottle of bubbly wine, then this article is for you. We’ll go over the best tips for storing your wines so they maintain their flavor and color.
What’s the best way to preserve your bottle of bubbly? Read on to find out.
Sparkling Wine vs. Champagne Storage
When it comes to learning how to store bubbly wine, will the same rules apply to champagne? Bubbly wine and champagne are almost identical.
Champagne is a type of bubbly wine. However, not all bubbly wines are champagne. Thanks to their similarities, the rules for storing bubbly wine will also apply to champagne.
Best Storage Temperatures
The environment where you store your bubbly wine will influence its flavor, as well as its fizziness. Since you don’t want the wine to lose its sparkle, you’ll need to keep it in the dark environment.
The room also needs to be cool and maintain moderate humidity. If you have a basement in your home, it’ll probably be the perfect spot for storing your wine.
As long as the room temperature doesn’t go above 55° Fahrenheit or below 50° Fahrenheit, your wine will be just fine. Fun fact, coffee beans do best in the same cool storage conditions as wine. You could start a coffee and wine cellar in your basement!
Avoid Direct Sunlight or Heat
Whatever you do, don’t store the bubbly wine in direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will deteriorate the wine, leaving you with a sour-tasting beverage.
It’s also a good idea to store the wine bottles upright. By storing the wine bottles upright, you’ll be able to keep the cork out of the wine itself. If you stir the bottle on its side, the cork could wind up tainting the flavor of the wine.
What to Do After Opening a Fresh Bottle
Picture it. It’s time to celebrate, and you pop open a fizzy bottle of bubbly wine. However, after a couple of glasses, you’re ready to call it a night.
Now what? How can you keep sparkling wine fresh after opening it?
It’s ideal to finish bubbly wine the same night you open it. However, if you can’t, there’s still a way to store it without the wine losing its fizz.
The secret lies and putting the cork back into the bottle as soon as possible. Immediately after pouring each glass of bubbly wine, put the cork back into place.
Do Wine Stoppers Work?
What if the cork breaks or won’t fit back in the bottle? Do wine stoppers work? You’ll be happy to know they do!
If the cork isn’t working, use a champagne or sparkling wine stopper instead. Keep the open bottle in the fridge to maintain a cool temperature.
If you want to enjoy the most bubbles, drink the bubbly wine on the same day that you open it. If you need to store it overnight, the wine will last for 5 days.
Avoid Flash Freezes
There’s a myth out there in the wine world, and it has to do with freezing your wine. Unfortunately, there are people out there who believe you should put your wine in the freezer to give it a quick burst of cool. Sounds smart, but it’s not.
Freezing bubbly wine or champagne can cause all sorts of problems. One of the most significant issues with freezing is that it’ll burst the tiny bubbles, so the wine loses its fun carbonated texture.
Instead, it’s better to let the wine slowly chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving it. Open the bottle slowly and carefully. Instead of popping the bottle open, gently ease it open with a sigh.
In a Pinch Use a Spoon
For the best bubbly wine, you’ll need to buy a quality champagne stopper. Champagne stoppers will store the wine much more efficiently than the old cork will.
However, what if you’re in a bind and you don’t have a champagne stopper? You’re in luck because all you actually need to save bubbly wine or champagne is a spoon.
If you have a silver spoon, it’ll work even better. However, a standard stainless steel spoon will work great too. Plastic spoons, unfortunately, are not going to be able to help you with this wine storing mission.
Carefully dangle the spoon in the neck of the wine, and place the bottle back in the refrigerator. This isn’t the most perfect way to store your wine, but it’s a good idea if you don’t have any other options.
How Long Will Unopened Wines Last?
Now for the biggest question, how long will your open bubbly wine last? The exact answer will depend on how you’re storing the wine.
Sparkly wines are a little bit more finicky than traditional fine wines. Classic fine wines can maintain their quality for decades. Bubbly wines are going to be a bit more delicate.
As long as you’re storing the bottles properly, they could last as long as 3 to 5 years. Some bottles will even stay good indefinitely.
How will you know if your wine isn’t good anymore? You’ll notice that it doesn’t smell the way it should.
If the odor seems off or the flavor is unpleasant, the wine probably turned. Discard it and go ahead and buy another bottle.
Enjoy a Glass of Bubbly
What are you waiting for? Now’s the perfect time to treat yourself to a delicious glass of bubbly.
If you can’t finish your wine in 1 night, remember the tips from this article for storing it. Keep the wine in the fridge and drink it within the next 3 to 5 days. You can always invite a friend over too if you need a wine-drinking buddy.
We hope that this article will help you have a more enjoyable sparkling wine or champagne experience. For more ways to enjoy life’s most refined pleasures, look around the rest of our website.
