by Debra Williams
If you remember, last month I wrote about using left over wine to make a wine vinaigrette. I hope that some of you are tying it with me. I started mine on April 29th, so it has sat in a dark room for nearly a month now. I posted pictures of my soon-to-be red wine vinaigrette on Facebook. Check it out.
In the meantime, I thought I’d share with you some additional uses for wine. These are more unusual in nature, but might be interesting to try. If you try any of them, please be sure and go to Facebook and let me know how it worked or shoot me a quick email.
Did you know that in India wine is used in many facial spas? It is thought that the antioxidants, we all know to be in wine, are also extremely good for the skin. According to Stephanie Rogers, 2011 Ecosalon article, Actress Teri Hatcher pours a glass of red wine into her bath water.
Wine has been used for years to help expedite the healing of bruises. Once thought to be a tale passed down by Grandma, it turns out that the antioxidants that help soften our skin are also beneficial in treating bruises. Grandma said to soak bread with wine and rest on the bruise, or one can soak a rag and wrap around the inflamed area.
What about some wine jelly? Yep, there are recipes out there for that as well. All it takes is some pectin and sugar. Stephanie Rogers has a great suggestion. What about champagne and strawberries? Yum!
Fabric Dye. That’s an obvious one. For those of us who have struggled with wine stains, what better way to maximize that staining factor by using it to dye a faded bed sheet or T-Shirt.
A green alternative to fossil fuel. I saved the best for last. Prince Charles has converted his Aston Martin to run on leftover wine. It runs cleaner, thus, by doing so, is able to reduce carbon emissions. Wine bio-ethanol is actually something that you can purchase. Wine bio-ethanol. I wonder if there’s a recipe out there. Club members, stay tuned…
What actually happens to an open bottle
Wine left in a partly empty bottle changes because of oxygen, not because of anything dramatic. Fresh fruit aromas fade first, then acidity begins to dominate, and eventually bacteria convert alcohol into acetic acid, which is what makes the wine taste sharp. The speed depends on temperature, how much air is in the bottle and how the wine was made.
That progression is useful to know, because each stage suits a different purpose. A bottle open for a day is still a drinking wine, one open for three days is a cooking wine, and one open for a week is on its way to vinegar. Nothing is wasted unless it goes down the drain by default.
| Time since opening | Condition | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| One to two days | Fruit fading, still balanced | Drinking, ideally with food |
| Three to five days | Flat aroma, acidity rising | Deglazing, braises, sauces |
| One to two weeks | Sharp, oxidized | Marinades, reductions, freezing in cubes |
| Beyond two weeks | Turning to acetic acid | Vinegar projects or the compost pile |
Cooking is the most useful second life
The kitchen absorbs almost any leftover wine, and it does so without demanding that the wine still taste good on its own. Heat drives off most of the alcohol and concentrates what remains, so acidity and fruit character do the work rather than aroma. A wine that has gone flat in the glass can still deglaze a pan beautifully.
The two habits worth building are freezing and labeling. Pour leftover wine into an ice cube tray, freeze it, and move the cubes to a sealed bag with the color and date written on it, and you have single-portion units for months of braises and pan sauces. Keeping red and white separate matters more than keeping varieties separate.
- Deglaze a hot pan after searing meat and reduce the wine by half before adding stock.
- Add a cube or two to a long-simmered tomato sauce for depth and acidity.
- Use white wine in risotto, steamed shellfish and cream sauces.
- Poach pears or dried fruit in red wine with spices for a simple dessert.
- Build a marinade with wine, oil, salt and aromatics for tougher cuts.
Our guide to food and wine pairing covers the same acid-and-fat logic from the other direction, which is what makes wine work in a pan as well as in a glass.
Household uses, with a note of caution
Wine turns up in a long list of household suggestions, and some of them work better than others. As a fabric dye it behaves like any tannin-and-anthocyanin stain, which means it colors unevenly and fades with washing unless a mordant is used. As a garden addition, small amounts poured onto a compost pile break down without trouble, though large volumes are better avoided.
Food projects deserve more care than novelty ones. Home preserves such as jellies depend on the right balance of acid, sugar and pectin, and altering a tested recipe can produce a product that does not set or does not keep safely. The University of California’s agriculture and natural resources program is a reliable place to look for tested home food preservation guidance rather than improvised recipes.
Anything applied to skin belongs in the same cautious category. Claims about antioxidants in cosmetics are not the same as evidence that a home application does anything, and alcohol on skin can irritate as easily as it soothes.
Slowing the clock in the first place
Most leftover wine problems disappear if the bottle is closed and chilled quickly. Refrigeration slows every reaction involved, and it works for reds as well as whites, since a red can be brought back toward serving temperature in ten minutes. Standing a half bottle in the door of the refrigerator costs nothing and buys days.
Transferring wine to a smaller sealed container helps even more, because less air means slower change. Vacuum stoppers and inert gas sprays both reduce contact with oxygen, and either is worth having if partial bottles are common in your house. Our wine skills and knowledge notes cover storage in more detail.
Why some bottles last longer than others
Not every wine fades at the same rate once opened, and the differences follow the structure of the wine. Tannin and higher acidity both slow oxidation, so a firm red generally outlasts a delicate white by a day or more. Fortified wines last longest of all, because their alcohol level makes them far more stable.
Sweetness helps as well, which is why a dessert wine can sit in the refrigerator for a week without collapsing. Sparkling wine is the outlier, since the problem there is escaping gas rather than oxygen, and no amount of chilling holds pressure indefinitely.
Leftover wine FAQ
How long does an open bottle stay pleasant to drink?
Usually two or three days if it is re-corked and refrigerated, with fuller reds and fortified wines lasting longer than delicate whites. Sparkling wine keeps a day or two with a proper stopper.
Does cooking remove all the alcohol?
No. Long simmering removes most of it, but short cooking and flambeing leave a meaningful amount behind, so dishes made with wine are not alcohol free.
Is wine that tastes sharp unsafe?
Not unsafe, merely unpleasant. The acetic acid that develops is the same compound that makes vinegar sour, which is why old wine is a starting point for vinegar rather than something to throw away.