The quick answer to the question - depends on how fast you drink it! Hahahahahahahahahaha, I'm such a comedian. Enough silly-ness, we're talkin' wine oxidization now. It's an oft-asked question - when will my wine go off after I open it? Sometimes you just want a glass of wine, not the other 4 that are still in the bottle. But maybe a few days later the wines tasting a little bit worse for wear and you've wasted good wine! So we're doing a test. Opening 6 different styles of wine, made by the same producer - us, lol - and seeing how long each wine lasts!

A few key details:

No Refrigeration

All Cork Stopped 

Kept in the same location

 

We're here to make this as neutral as possible and to try and find the best median bottle oxidization time we can. Now, this is not the rule of thumb for everything. Some super natural wines will last about 30 minutes before they start looking pretty so-so, some super natural wines will also last a week!

So here are the wines and let's get stuck into it:

Harvest Blanc de Blanc Sparkling 

Riversand, Fiano

Esoterico, Amber/Skin Contact/Off White

Fresh A.F, Nero + Zibbibo

Exocarpos, Nebbiolo (one from the archives)

 

Day 0 - Open Time

All wines are delicious and you should try them if you can. Exocarpos looking very closed, tasting very tight and tannic - as is the style. This should start tasting real good in a few days.

All wines live on.

Day 1 - 24 Hours Later

Still all very yum - the bubbles are fading a little bit in the Blanc de Blanc. No huge opening changes to note right now. Exocarpos still super closed but starting to come out of its shell.

All wines live on.

Day 2 - 48 Hours Later

Wow, the Blanc de Blanc is still reasonably sparkling! Amazing - I was expecting it to be absolutely dead by now. Riversand is fleshing out nicely and tasting fantastic. Esoterico and Fresh A.F are starting to wane a little bit, acid is dropping out but still tasting yum as. Exocarpos is starting to settle now, tannin is integrating nicely - keen to see what it looks like tomorrow. 

All wines live on.

Day 3 - 72 Hours Later

Bubbles are petering on the edge here, but the wine underneath is yum! Play on. Riversand is probably at its peak but staring down the edge of its cliff. Esoterico is still playing very well. Fresh A.F. is coming down the mountain but hanging on - tomorrow may be its last day. Exocarpos has still got plenty of life left in it - probably not even it's final form!

All wines live on.

Day 4 - 96 Hours Later

The bubbles live on - only just! Imagine like Moscato D'asti, with a medium frizzante. I'm giving it another day. Riversand is at its tipping point here but it shall persevere. Esoterico is going strong here - interesting. Fresh A.F is in a funny spot - it's drinkable but it's not as thrilling as a drink anymore - I'd turn it back at a restaurant, so probably not in the game anymore but I'll taste it again tomorrow out of curiosity. Exocarpos is in the prime of its life - delicious! 

Fresh A.F. is dead - long live Fresh A.F.

4 Wines Live On...

Day 5 - 120 Hours Later

The Sparkling finally dies - at least the sparkling bit! It's actually still a drinkable still wine but it's on its last legs. I'm giving it one more day... (I'll admit, I'm slightly favouring the bubbles here cause this is interesting). Riversand has properly started to turn, I'd turn it back so it's out! Esoterico, still solid as a rock - wow! Fresh A.F. is well and truly out here - not fun at all anymore, just sad. Exocarpos is still solid but it's on the back 9 here. This was really the turning point day for most of the wines...

Riversand is dead - long live Riversand.

3 Wines Live On...

 Day 6 - 144 Hours Later

Okay, Blanc de Blanc is dead now and I don't like it any more. Goodbye Blanc de Blanc. Esoterico is still solid and drinkable but definitely not in its finest form. Exocarpos has very quickly gone down the rabbit hole and is not the nicest thing to drink anymore at all and it's out. ONLY ESOTERICO REMAINS!

Blanc de Blanc and Exocarpos are dead - Long Live Blanc de Blanc and Exocarpos

1 Wine Lives On...

 Day 7 - 168 Hours Later

 That's it! Esoterico is dead. I'm probably being a little harsh on it but it's definitely not in fine form and it should probably be laid to rest. Pretty remarkable stuff!

Esoterico is dead - Long Live Esoterico 

GAME OVER

To be honest, that was quite an interesting little test! Didn't expect a lot of things going the way they did but these are the few key take-aways:

Tannins are a Great Preservative!

All of the high tannin wines lasted a lot longer than anything - so whites, roses and super light reds, drink em quick! For the most part...

Oxidative Handling is The Ultimate Fighter against Wine Oxidation (besides spirit)

How interesting - if you expose the liquid to air whilst fermentation is occurring, the time it takes to oxidise after opening is a lot longer - that's why Esoterico lasted so long, as we ferment on skins on open fermenters! It's a double whammy of tannin and oxidative handling - I reckon it might last in the fridge for 2 weeks! Can someone run a home test for me?

If you like flat sparking, you can drink your bubbles a lot longer...

It may be a bit of an oxymoronic title, but the wine underneath the bubble will last a bit longer if you can handle it! It's likely due to the sugar used in the process of making it bubbly again, so the still wine base will survive a little bit longer! Curious to see how Off-Dry styles work. Maybe there are more tests to be done!