How to Store Wine at Home, According to Sommeliers

And that a decanter is a beautiful way to showcase whisky, but not a suitable way to store whisky for longer periods of time as it will expose it to air and light. Fortified wines, such sleep drunkenness as port, sherry and vermouth, should be stored in the fridge after they’ve been opened. The colder temperature slows down the oxidation process and keeps the bottles fresher longer.

Overhead lighting and refrigerator exhaust give off a lot of heat, and the constant vibration can adversely affect taste. But while some types will stay good for quite a while, others have a more complicated shelf life. If you want to keep your spirits spirited longer, follow these tips on how to store your liquor properly. “Room temperature is best for tequila,” says Neil Grosscup, Tanteo Tequila master blender and CEO. “Avoid direct sunlight as well as temperature variations,” says Hendrick’s Gin ambassador Mark Stoddard.

What to Do With Oxidized Wine

To find out how you can declutter in your life, talk to one of our space experts. For everything you can’t fit in your home (like the collection of vinyl records and shoes you moved to make room for your liquor display, #priorities), use Clutter. You can easily wheel it between your kitchen and dining room whenever you need to mix a fresh cocktail. IKEA’s Raskog utility cart makes the perfect liquor storage solution. It’s attractive, sturdy, and big enough to accommodate your liquor collection without taking up too much space.

If you know that you’re not going to finish the bottle, keep it closed. According to Hoel, re-corking the bottle immediately after each glass is your first defense to keeping your wine fresh. “It limits the amount of oxygen that’s in contact with your wine and helps keep its flavor fresh for longer,” he explains. The ideal wine-storage temperature is 45 F for white wine and 55 F for red wine, but if you’ll be opening the bottle within six months, a warmer room temperature is fine. If you’re serious about starting up a wine collection, you can look into a proper storage system, like a basic wine fridge.

Attics, hot garages, the top of your fridge or the cabinet above the washing machine are all off limits. In fact, don’t keep your wine in the kitchen unless you do decide to invest in a wine fridge (just keep it away from the dishwasher). If you plan on making a bunch of cocktails, store your vodka in the freezer for about an hour before the party so it’s chilled. Take it out a few minutes ahead of serving, so it has time to thaw before showing off your mixologist skills. For long-term storage, vodka can be stored in the freezer or in a dark, cool place away from direct light.

Because leftover wine and vodka should never go to waste

“You can easily get a quality vacuum pump for $10 to $20 and, while not perfect, it can add a few days to the life of your wine,” explains Hoel. If you’ll be enjoying a glass of white (these are our favorites under $20) or rosé with say, a fresh salad, just stick it in the fridge for about twenty minutes prior to serving. Stored in the right conditions—cool, dark, tightly closed—an opened, 80-proof-or-higher spirit bottle can be preserved for years, even decades. “If people want the spirit to look absolutely pristine, they’ll want to keep it above 35–40°,” says Polonski. Spirits stored below that range won’t be harmed, although some—notably those that are not chill-filtered—may take on a cloudy or hazy appearance.

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1. She also creates original recipes, which have appeared on product packaging in stores.
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3. Champagne and sparkling wine will only last one day in the fridge.
4. But bottled spirits will be comfortable at a wider range, especially if they are stored away from direct sunlight and humidity.
5. It’s attractive, sturdy, and big enough to accommodate your liquor collection without taking up too much space.

Too much humidity can also lead to “an elevated level of alcohol loss,” he adds, and potentially cause cork closures to swell and eventually break off. Get handy organizational tips and space-saving hacks delivered straight to your inbox. Open shelves in a kitchen or dining room are usually reserved for glassware and china, but why not add your fancy alcohol to the mix. Here are 10 creative ways to store and display your liquor, plus three quick tips about how to do it safely.

Turn a small, unused shelving unit into a cute stationary bar set-up. Just clear the shelves and add bottles of liquor, glasses, napkins, and cocktail mixers. You can’t exactly glue your glass bottles to your kitchen shelves for maximum stability, but you can be smart about where you choose to store them. 9 diet tips to help when drug detoxing Whether you’re a liquor connoisseur, self-proclaimed mixologist, or just a lover of fresh cocktails, you probably have at least a small collection of hard alcohol at home. Learn how long your favorite spirits will last, and whether they should be stored in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Then, give it a taste test (don’t worry—bad wine won’t hurt you). For red wines that have gone “off,” you’ll find that the flavors and aromas will flatten, replacing fresh flavors with nutty, sherry-like notes. You’ve sought the expert advice of a service like Winc’s Wine Club and now you have a few bottles customized to your tastes—how long will they last?

Sealed bottles will weather temperature and climate fluctuations more easily than opened bottles. However, an opened spirit can survive for a relatively long time, as long as the cap is replaced securely. However, rising mercury can cause the contents of a bottle to expand, 5 expert tips to quit benzos for good fhe health potentially causing the stopper or cork to pop. This potential problem is more likely to affect bottles that are already open, as well as those with cork or T-top closures that get pushed into the bottle neck (twist-top closures are unlikely to be affected this way).

Build a DIY liquor cabinet

“It is not necessary to refrigerate liqueurs which are spirit-based, and they usually have a high enough sugar content so they will not oxidize,” says Daniel Warrilow of Campari America. Sommeliers often encourage storing bottles of wine on their sides, but for liquor, not so. Keeping your whiskey down rather than standing it upright can cause the cork to mix and seep into the liquid, altering the high-alcohol content and causing it to disintegrate over time. Most liquor has a high-enough alcohol content to be kept at room temperature, either in a cabinet or on a bar cart. Warm temperatures can speed up oxidation, negatively affecting the quality and flavor. “This process is also useful for checking the integrity of your wine when dining out,” explains Hoel.

Save the sun for picnics.

White wine and rosé should also be recorked and stored in the fridge after opening. While most spirits have enough alcohol content to be fine when stored at room temperature, there are a few items that belong in the fridge. Fortified wines—such as vermouth, port and sherry, as well as cream-based liqueurs, like Baileys Irish cream, need to be kept cold. Reds will begin to darken to brown and brick tones, while white wines will often deepen and become more yellow.

Fun Ways to Store Your Liquor at Home

However, “chilling your spirit in a fridge or freezer may change the flavor of the spirit, muting lighter notes and tones that would be present in a room-temp bottle,” he adds. While some open bottles, like red wine and whiskey, are better stored at cooler temperatures, other options require refrigeration to stay fresh. No alcohol should go to waste because it wasn’t stored properly, so here are the best ways to extend the shelf life of your bottles of cheer. “Unlike wine, whisky does not change in the bottle, so as long as it’s stored correctly, there is no expiration data,” says Raquel Raies, national brand ambassador for The Macallan.