{"id":1133,"date":"2019-11-04T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-04T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grape-to-glass.com\/?page_id=1133"},"modified":"2022-05-26T06:47:05","modified_gmt":"2022-05-25T18:47:05","slug":"open-bottle-of-port","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/grape-to-glass.com\/index.php\/open-bottle-of-port\/","title":{"rendered":"How long to keep an open bottle of Port?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

How long can you keep an open bottle of Port? <\/h4>\nThis can vary tremendously as there are so many variables to take into account – but one thing is for certain – it is much shorter than many realise. So the following information is to ensure as best as possible you enjoy your Port at its best and don\u2019t miss out on all the character in such an amazingly complex and dynamic wine.
\nA rough simple guide: Any Port with a normal full length cork\u00a0(one where you need a corkscrew to extract)<\/em>\u00a0should\u00a0(when open & stored in a cool place)<\/em>\u00a0be consumed within a two-three days to enjoy it at its finest. Any Port with a T-Stopper type cork\u00a0(can be removed by hand and easily replaced in the bottle)<\/em> can generally be kept, securely re-corked in a constantly cool place, for a *three-four weeks without significant deterioration of the wine.\n\t\t\t\t\"Open-Port-Image-01\"\n\t

Guidelines & Recommendations for Port Wine:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n\u2022 Vintage Port:<\/strong>
\nYoung Vintage Ports\u00a0(less than 5 years old)<\/em>\u00a0can often last 4 – 5 days once opened. However, older VP\u2019s\u00a0(more than 15 years old)<\/em> are not meant to be left open for more than 2 – 3 days. They won\u2019t spoil if left open longer, but they will lose their rich characters and seem a bit more subdued than they did when first opened, especially the aromatics. Really old VP\u2019s (more than 25-30 years old)<\/em>\u00a0are at their best\u00a0when consumed within 24 – 48 hours. Treat Vintage Port like an aged, quality fine red wine.\n\u2022 LBV Port:<\/strong>
\nUnfiltered LBV Ports, if stored in a cool place\u00a0(store approximately 8\u00b0C to 10\u00b0C)<\/em>\u00a0after the bottle has been opened, can provide enjoyment for two sometimes three weeks. For filtered LBV Ports, these typically can last up to 10 to 12 days after being open, without any obvious deterioration of quality.\n\u2022 Colheita Port:<\/strong>
\nFor younger Colheita Ports\u00a0(less than 15 years old)<\/em>\u00a0they can last up to two\u00a0–\u00a0three weeks after being open without any obvious deterioration of quality. Older ones\u00a0(30 – 40 years of age)<\/em>\u00a0are best consumed within 3-4 days.\n\u2022 Aged Tawny Port<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0(Oak Aged Styles: 10 – 40 years old)<\/em>:
\nThese can last up to\u00a0two months after being open without any obvious deterioration of quality, if kept in a cool-dark place. If stored at room temperature\u00a0(on a back bar)<\/em>, three – four weeks is a good rule of thumb. For Restaurants – ‘ideally’ have one person keeping a close eye (nose) on the aromas each day after the second-third week.\n\u2022 Ruby & Tawny Ports:<\/strong>
\nRuby and basic Tawny Ports typically\u00a0*(when stored in cool-dark conditions)<\/em> will last 4 – 6 weeks after being open, without any obvious deterioration. Though ideally finish a Ruby Port within 1 month – and finish a Tawny Port within 2 months after being opened.\u00a0\n\u2022 White Port:<\/strong>
\nWhite Port typically *(once open should be stored in the fridge)<\/em> will last 2 – 3 weeks after being open, without any obvious deterioration. Though ideally finish a White Port within 1 – 2 weeks to enjoy it at its most vibrant – i.e. in a ‘White Port-Tonic’.\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t\"Open-Port-Image-02\"\n\t

So why the variations?<\/p>\n\u2022 Aged Tawny Ports<\/strong>\u00a0(10, 20, 30 or 40 years old)<\/em>\u00a0are matured\u00a0in large oak barrels, where oxidation is a key part of the winemaking process – so exposure to oxygen by opening the bottle has less of an affect. A simple Tawny Port usually has a reusable cork and can last for 2 months after opening if kept cool.\n\u2022 Vintage Ports<\/strong>\u00a0are aged for less than 2 years\u00a0before\u00a0being transferred to bottle\u00a0(so like a wine, very little exposure or resilience to oxygen)<\/em>\u00a0where they can age for another 20 – 30 years\u00a0(sometimes longer)<\/em>. They are bottled unfiltered and the sediment continues to\u00a0work inside the bottle. A Vintage Port will only last a couple of days after opening.\n\u2022 Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Ports<\/strong>\u00a0are left in barrels for 4 – 6 years and sometimes filtered before bottling. So their life after opening is somewhere in the middle – plan on 1 – 2 weeks to be safe, but some can last up to a month.
\n\n\u2605 <\/strong>Port wines can last longer in an open bottle compared with table wines – because of their higher alcohol content (19% – 22% Alc.\/vol) acts as a slight preservative\u00a0*(so does the high level of residual sugar 80 – 120g\/L)<\/em>. Refrigerating will extend its useful life to some extent, because refrigeration slows the process of oxidation that causes unpleasant changes in the wine, reducing its aroma and flavour profile.
\nA sign of Port losing its vitality and character – is the berry fruits and chocolate notes moving more towards nutty notes, which will get\u00a0more pronounced and tired. A rule of thumb; the older the Port wine,\u00a0‘once opened’<\/em> – the shorter the time that it can be stored and enjoyed. Don’t miss out on enjoying these dynamic wines at their best.\n\t\t\t\t\"Open-Port-Image-03\"\n

\n\t\tmore articles\n\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1245,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1133","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grape-to-glass.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grape-to-glass.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grape-to-glass.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grape-to-glass.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grape-to-glass.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1133"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/grape-to-glass.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7538,"href":"https:\/\/grape-to-glass.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1133\/revisions\/7538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grape-to-glass.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grape-to-glass.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}