An opened bottle of wine does not last long, and the answer depends on the color and style. Most still wine holds 3 to 5 days in the fridge, sparkling wine 1 to 3, and fortified wine from days to months by style. Below: the timeline for each type, whether wine savers work, and when to pour it out.
How long does wine last after opening?
The short answer: Most opened red and white wine lasts 3 to 5 days if you re-close it and refrigerate it. WSET says up to five days. Sparkling wine lasts 1 to 3 days with a stopper, boxed wine 2 to 6 weeks depending on the source, and fortified wine from days to months by style. These are quality windows, not safety cutoffs.
For a complete pantry storage reference, see our Food Storage Guide. More wine and bar guides live in our Bar & Spirits Guide.
📋 How Long Does Wine Last After Opening: At a Glance
| Red wine | 3 to 5 days in most sources. WSET: up to 5 days re-closed in the fridge |
| White and rosé | Up to 3 days (Coravin) to up to 5 (WSET). Light whites about 2 days |
| Sparkling | 1 to 3 days with a sparkling stopper. WSET: up to 5 with an inexpensive stopper |
| Fortified | Days for fino sherry, months for tawny port and oloroso sherry |
| Boxed wine | 2 to 3 weeks (UF/IFAS) to up to 6 weeks (Black Box), refrigerated |
| Fridge | Re-close and refrigerate, red included. WSET’s up to 5 days is for a re-closed bottle in the fridge |
| Wine savers | The SAQ’s test found every system preserved wine well over 2 to 3 days |
| Safety | Penn State and Oklahoma State Extension treat vinegar and nail polish smells as a wine fault, not a health finding. No agency source found |
Key Takeaways
- Most opened still wine lasts 3 to 5 days in the fridge. Sources range from about 2 days for light whites to a week or more for some whites and higher-acidity reds.
- WSET says a red or white wine closed back up and kept in the fridge stays reasonably fresh for up to five days.
- Sparkling wine is the shortest at 1 to 3 days under a sparkling stopper. WSET says an inexpensive stopper can keep bubbles going up to five days.
- Fortified wine lasts longest: up to a week or two for fino sherry, 2 to 3 months for tawny port, and up to a year for Pedro Ximénez per Lustau.
- Boxed wine lasts 2 to 6 weeks once opened, depending on the source, longer than bottled wine because the bag collapses as you pour.
- Put the cork or stopper back and refrigerate, red included. The Missouri board calls the fridge the best place for an opened bottle, and WSET’s up to five days is for a re-closed bottle in the fridge.
- Wine savers help a little. The SAQ’s test found every system preserved wine well over two or three days, and only Coravin was a real option for weeks.
- We found no FDA or USDA figure for opened wine. The only university figure is UF/IFAS’s two to three weeks for bag-in-box. The rest come from educators, a wine board and makers, and they are quality guides, not safety cutoffs.
Still wine, sparkling wine, fortified wine and boxed wine run on different clocks. For unopened bottles and spoilage signs, see whether wine goes bad. For the fridge question, see whether wine needs to be refrigerated. Sparkling has its own guides on whether Champagne goes bad and whether Prosecco goes bad.
How Long Does Opened Wine Last?
Start with the style in your glass, because red, white, sparkling and fortified wine run on different clocks. Sources disagree, and by a lot for fortified and boxed wine, so the table shows who said what.
| Wine (opened) | How long it lasts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Red wine | 3 to 5 days in most sources. Up to 5 days re-closed in the fridge per WSET | WSET, Coravin, Missouri board |
| White wine | Up to 5 days per WSET, up to 3 per Coravin, 3 to 5 per the Missouri board | WSET, Coravin, Missouri board |
| Light white wine | About 2 days | Coravin |
| Rosé | 2 to 3 days | Coravin |
| Sparkling wine | 1 to 3 days with a sparkling stopper in most producer guidance. Up to 5 per WSET | Producer guides, WSET |
| Fortified wine (varies by style) | Days to months. Coravin gives 1 to 3 weeks as a broad figure, so use the sherry and port table below | Coravin, producers |
| Boxed wine | 2 to 3 weeks per UF/IFAS. Up to 6 weeks refrigerated per Black Box | UF/IFAS, Black Box |
How Long Does Red Wine Last After Opening?
Red wine lasts about 3 to 5 days after opening if you re-close it and keep it cool. WSET’s guide to keeping wine fresh says a red or white wine closed back up and kept in the fridge stays reasonably fresh for up to five days. Coravin’s opened wine guide says three to five days in its body text and up to six days in its intro. The Missouri Wine and Grape Board says that stored and sealed correctly, most wines last 3 to 5 days after opening.
So 3 to 5 days is a reasonable planning number, and we found no official source for longer. Our guide on whether wine needs to be refrigerated explains why the fridge is the right place for red too.
How Long Does White or Rosé Wine Last After Opening?
White wine and rosé last about 2 to 5 days. Coravin says up to 3 days for white and 2 for light whites, and 2 to 3 days for rosé. WSET puts a re-closed white at up to five days in the fridge. The Missouri board gives most wines 3 to 5 days.
Those figures come from an education body, a wine board and a maker, and they are quality guides. We’d plan for 3 to 5 days.
How Long Does Sparkling Wine Last After Opening?
Sparkling wine lasts 1 to 3 days after opening if you seal it with a sparkling stopper and refrigerate it. Our guides on whether Champagne goes bad and whether Prosecco goes bad show most producer guidance at about one to three days. WSET says an inexpensive stopper can keep bubbles going for up to five days. WSET adds that traditional method wines like Champagne and Cava last longer than tank method wines like Prosecco.
Don’t use a spoon. WSET says a teaspoon in the neck of the bottle is ineffective, and The Comité Champagne, the Champagne trade body, calls the idea false and recommends a stopper made for sparkling wine. Inert gas systems work only for still wines.
How Long Does Fortified Wine Last After Opening?
Fortified wine varies widely by style. Some bottles lose their freshness within days or weeks, while certain sherries and ports keep their quality for months when stored properly. Coravin gives a broad 1 to 3 weeks for fortified wine in general, which is only a rough guide, so check the style in the table and follow the producer.
Vermouth is wine-based and has its own clock, covered in whether vermouth goes bad.
| Fortified wine (opened) | How long it lasts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fino or manzanilla sherry | Up to a week per the council, 2 weeks per Lustau. Keep it in the fridge | Sherry council, Lustau |
| Amontillado, palo cortado, oloroso | 3 months per Lustau. The council gives other sherry up to 2 months | Lustau, Sherry council |
| Medium and cream sherry | 10 months | Lustau |
| Moscatel and Pedro Ximénez | 12 months per Lustau. The council gives other sherry up to 2 months | Lustau, Sherry council |
| VOS and VORS sherry | 3 months | Sherry council |
| Ruby port | Best within a month, except vintage | Sandeman |
| Tawny port | 2 to 3 months per Sandeman, within 8 weeks per Graham’s | Sandeman, Graham’s |
| White port | Up to a month in the fridge | Sandeman |
| Vintage port | 2 to 3 days | Sandeman |
The sherry figures come from The Sherry regulatory council’s conservation guide, from the body that governs the Sherry designations, and from Lustau’s advice page, a sherry house. They differ, so the table shows both. The council’s periods assume the bottle is tightly corked in the fridge, and Lustau says to keep sherry in the fridge once it is open.
The port figures come from Sandeman’s guide to drinking port, published in October 2024, and Graham’s tawny port page. Both are port houses. Sandeman says to store opened port other than vintage upright in a cool, dark place, and puts only white port in the fridge.
How Long Does Boxed Wine Last After Opening?
Boxed wine lasts longer than bottled wine once opened, though sources differ on how much. UF/IFAS’s publication on wine packaging says newer bag-in-box designs have an oxygen barrier on the bag, spout and closure, and keep wine fresh for two to three weeks after opening. Black Box’s boxed wine storage page says an opened box stays fresh for up to six weeks and recommends keeping it refrigerated. The bag collapses as you pour, which limits the air that reaches the wine. UF/IFAS describes newer bag-in-box designs in general, while Black Box is a maker describing its own product, so we’d plan on the shorter figure.
We’d plan on the short end. Black Box says that without fridge space you should keep the opened box in the coolest part of your home, but it may shorten the life.
Does Refrigerating Opened Wine Help?
Yes, refrigerating opened wine helps, for red as well as white. WSET’s up to five days applies to a re-closed bottle in the fridge, and the Missouri board calls the fridge the best place for an opened bottle. We’d take a red out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before pouring so it isn’t ice cold.
Cold slows spoilage. The Missouri board calls the fridge the safest place for opened wine and says the temperature slows aging and oxidation. We’d put the cork back in and refrigerate the bottle. Our guide on whether wine needs to be refrigerated covers serving temperatures.
Do Wine Savers Work?
Wine savers help a little, and the simplest ones work about as well as the fancy ones for a few days. the SAQ’s wine preservation test tested four preservation methods on a red and a white wine at 30 hours, 4 days and 9 days. It found that over two or three days, every system preserved wine well. It found that the AntiOx system preserved the red well but the white lost its expression. At nine days, only the Coravin-preserved wines kept their initial character, and the SAQ said nothing else was genuinely pleasant to drink by then. That was one small test of four systems, not every wine saver on the market.
On vacuum pumps, the SAQ found Vacuvin kept wine well in the short term but wines deteriorated over the long term.
WSET notes that Vacu Vin promises up to two weeks extra life, and that Coravin says its screwcap option can keep wine fresh for up to three months. Those are maker claims. Coravin’s preservation systems page says its Pivot keeps still wines fresh for up to four weeks, which is also a maker claim. The SAQ adds that Coravin can’t be used with screw-cap wines, unlike the other systems it tried.
| Method | What the sources say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cork or stopper, then the fridge | The baseline. Re-close it and refrigerate. WSET gives up to five days for red or white | WSET |
| Vacuum pump | Good for a few days in the SAQ test, weaker after. Maker claims up to two weeks extra | SAQ, WSET |
| Inert gas spray (Private Preserve) | Held body in the SAQ test but dulled aromas. Works for still wines only | SAQ, WSET |
| Needle-style system (Coravin) | The only real option for weeks in the SAQ test, but not for screw caps. Maker claims up to four weeks | SAQ, Coravin |
| Smaller bottle | Pour leftovers into a smaller screwcap bottle to cut the air. The less full the bottle, the more air sits above the wine | WSET |
| Spoon in a sparkling bottle | Doesn’t work, per WSET and the Comité Champagne | WSET, Comité Champagne |
Why Does Opened Wine Go Bad?
Opened wine goes bad mostly because of oxygen. WSET’s guide to common wine faults says oxidation happens when wine is exposed to too much oxygen, and lists an opened, partly drunk bottle left for a number of days as one cause. A half-empty bottle holds as much air as wine, which is why WSET suggests pouring leftovers into a smaller screwcap bottle.
The fridge only slows the process. A vinegar smell is a different route. WSET ties it to volatile acidity, made by certain bacteria in the presence of oxygen.
How Can You Tell If Opened Wine Has Gone Bad?
Check the color and smell before you pour. A brown tinge with smells of bruised apples, nuts and honey is oxidation, and a vinegar or nail polish smell is volatile acidity, per WSET’s faults guide. We don’t suggest tasting to test. Our guide on whether wine goes bad has the full chart of faults.
Opened wine usually fades gradually rather than failing all at once. We found no source on how many days it takes for an opened bottle to turn to vinegar.
Is It Safe to Drink Old Opened Wine?
Old opened wine looks like a quality problem more than a safety problem, based on what we found. Penn State Extension’s volatile acidity page and Oklahoma State Extension’s volatile acidity fact sheet both treat volatile acidity as a wine fault, with a vinegar or nail polish remover smell, and neither says anything about health. A smell like that signals a fault, not a safety test. We found no FDA, USDA or extension statement on drinking old opened wine. We’d skip any bottle with mold or a smell that makes you hesitate.
How Long Can Opened Wine Sit Out?
We found no source that gives a number of hours for an opened bottle left on the counter. WSET lists an opened bottle left for a number of days as a cause of oxidation, and the Missouri board says the fridge slows aging and oxidation. We’d re-close it and refrigerate it the same evening. If you forgot overnight, check the smell and color before using it.
What Can You Do With Leftover Wine?
Use wine that has faded but still smells fine in cooking. Cooking is a way to use up wine that has lost some freshness, not a way to make a questionable bottle safe. A wine-glazed ham or a red wine summer sangria takes a few ounces. You can also freeze leftovers in ice cube trays, and our guide on whether wine goes bad covers how, including leaving room because wine expands as it freezes.
Wine that smells like vinegar, damp cardboard or struck matches is a different case. We found no source on cooking with it, and we’d skip it. Our guide on what to use instead of wine in cooking covers other options.
Signs Something Is Wrong
- A vinegar or nail polish smell. WSET ties this to volatile acidity.
- A brown tinge with bruised apple, nut or honey smells. WSET ties this to too much oxygen.
- A damp cardboard smell. WSET ties this to cork taint, which was in the bottle before you opened it.
- Mold in the bottle or on the cork. We’d skip it.
- Flat bubbles in sparkling wine. The fizz is gone and the window is over.
These follow WSET, and we found no agency checklist. A bottle with none of these signs may still be past its best. We don’t suggest tasting to test.
Normal Things That Aren’t a Problem
- A red that feels cold straight from the fridge. We’d give it 20 to 30 minutes before you pour.
- Small crystals in a chilled bottle. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says wine diamonds pose no health risk and do not impact the taste of the wine.
Quick Storage Reference
- Still wine: Re-close and refrigerate. 3 to 5 days.
- Sparkling: Sparkling stopper, fridge. 1 to 3 days.
- Fortified: Days to months by style. Fridge for sherry and port.
- Boxed: Fridge. 2 to 6 weeks, depending on the source.
- Smaller bottle: Less air, less oxidation (WSET).
- Avoid: A spoon in the neck of a sparkling bottle.
| Situation | What to Do |
|---|---|
| Opened red, re-closed and refrigerated for 2 days | Within every window we found. Take it out 20 to 30 minutes before you pour. |
| Opened white, in the fridge for 4 days | Within WSET’s up to five days. Smell it first. Coravin’s up to 3 days for white is shorter. |
| Opened rosé, in the fridge for 5 days | Past Coravin’s 2 to 3 days, though WSET allows up to five for white. Check the smell and color. |
| Opened red, on the counter overnight with the cork in | Check the smell and color. We found no source on room-temperature hours, and we’d refrigerate it from now on. |
| Opened red, in the fridge for 8 days | Past the 3 to 5 days most sources give, and past the 7 days of the most generous. We’d cook with it only if it still smells fine. |
| Opened Champagne, 4 days later with a stopper | Past the 1 to 3 days most sources give, though WSET says up to five with a good stopper. Expect it to be flat. |
| Opened fino sherry, 2 weeks later | Past the up to a week the Sherry regulatory council gives, though Lustau allows 2 weeks. Smell it first. |
| Opened tawny port, 6 weeks later | Within the 2 to 3 months Sandeman gives, and within Graham’s 8 weeks. |
| Opened boxed wine, 5 weeks in the fridge | Past UF/IFAS’s two to three weeks, but within the up to six weeks Black Box gives. Smell it first. |
| Wine that smells like vinegar after a week | Don’t serve it. WSET ties that to volatile acidity. |
| Wine you pushed the cork back into and left in the fridge | Within the usual window if it went straight to the fridge. WSET gives up to five days for a re-closed bottle. |
In October 2026 we read WSET’s guides on keeping wine fresh and common wine faults. We read UF/IFAS’s 2024 publication on wine packaging, Penn State and Oklahoma State Extension’s volatile acidity pages, and Coravin’s opened wine guide and preservation systems page. We read the SAQ’s preservation test. We read the Missouri Wine and Grape Board’s storage page and the Sherry regulatory council’s conservation guide. We read Lustau’s advice page, Sandeman’s and Graham’s port pages, Black Box’s boxed wine page. We read the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s wine diamonds fact sheet and the SAQ’s decanting guide. We found no FDA or USDA figure for opened wine, and the only university figure we found is UF/IFAS’s two to three weeks for bag-in-box. Where we found no source we say so, and our own suggestions say we’d or we suggest. This article is general information, not medical advice.
How Long Does Wine Last After Opening FAQ
How long does red wine last after opening?
Most sources say 3 to 5 days if it is re-closed and kept cool. WSET says up to five days in the fridge.
How long does white wine last after opening?
WSET says up to five days re-closed in the fridge. Coravin says up to 3 days, and 2 for light whites. The Missouri board says 3 to 5 days for most wines.
How long does rosé last after opening?
Coravin gives rosé 2 to 3 days. WSET groups it with white at up to five days in the fridge. We’d plan for 3 days.
How long does wine last in the fridge after opening?
WSET says a red or white closed back up and kept in the fridge stays reasonably fresh for up to five days. The fridge slows oxidation but does not stop it.
Why does wine go bad after opening?
Mostly oxygen. WSET says oxidation happens when wine meets too much oxygen, and lists a partly drunk bottle left for a number of days as a cause. A vinegar smell is volatile acidity, made by certain bacteria.
Can you drink wine that has been open for a week?
We found no official source that supports a week for red or white. WSET says up to five days re-closed in the fridge. We’d check the smell and color first, and skip it if it smells sharp.
Can you drink wine that has been open for two weeks?
We found no source that recommends it for table wine in a bottle. UF/IFAS puts bag-in-box at two to three weeks, and some fortified wines last longer, per the tables above.
Can you drink wine that has been open for a month?
We found no source that recommends it for table wine in a bottle. Boxed wine can last up to six weeks per Black Box, and some fortified wines last months.
Is it safe to drink old opened wine?
We found no agency statement. Penn State and Oklahoma State Extension describe vinegar and nail polish smells as a wine fault, not a health finding, so we’d skip any bottle with mold or an off smell.
Does opened wine need to be refrigerated?
Yes, red included. The Missouri board calls the fridge the best place for an opened bottle, and WSET’s up to five days is for a re-closed bottle in the fridge. See whether wine needs to be refrigerated.
Can you just put the cork back in?
It works for a few days. WSET says a re-closed bottle in the fridge lasts up to five days, and the Missouri board calls the fridge the safest place for opened wine.
How long does Champagne last after opening?
About 1 to 3 days with a sparkling stopper in the fridge, though WSET says up to five. See whether Champagne goes bad for the producer figures.
How long does Prosecco last after opening?
Similar to Champagne, about 1 to 3 days with a stopper. WSET says tank-method wines like Prosecco last less time than Champagne. See whether Prosecco goes bad.
How long does boxed wine last after opening?
UF/IFAS says newer designs keep wine fresh two to three weeks. Black Box says up to six weeks. Keep it refrigerated.
How long does port last after opening?
Sandeman says ruby is best within a month, tawny lasts 2 to 3 months and white up to a month in the fridge. Vintage port is 2 to 3 days. Graham’s says to enjoy tawny within 8 weeks.
How long does sherry last after opening?
The Sherry regulatory council gives up to a week for fino and manzanilla and up to two months for other sherry, tightly corked in the fridge. Lustau is longer for some: 2 weeks for fino, 3 months for oloroso, 10 months for cream and 12 for Pedro Ximénez.
How long does vermouth last after opening?
It has its own guide. See whether vermouth goes bad.
How long does cooking wine last after opening?
Cooking wine is a different product. See whether cooking wine goes bad and whether cooking wine needs to be refrigerated.
How long can wine sit in a decanter?
We found no source on leftover wine in a decanter. The SAQ says an hour or two lets most wine open up, and four to six hours helps some. For leftovers we’d pour it back into the bottle, re-close it and refrigerate it.
Does a vacuum pump keep wine fresh?
Briefly. The SAQ found Vacuvin kept wine well in the short term but it deteriorated over the long term. Makers claim up to two weeks extra.
Does Coravin work?
Coravin says its Pivot keeps still wines fresh for up to four weeks. The SAQ’s test called it the only real option for weeks, but it can’t be used with screw-cap wines.
Does a spoon keep Champagne bubbly?
No. WSET says a teaspoon in the neck is ineffective, and the Comité Champagne calls the idea false. Use a stopper made for sparkling wine.
Does opened wine turn into vinegar?
WSET ties a vinegar smell to volatile acidity from acetic acid and related compounds made by certain bacteria. We found no source on how many days that takes.
Can you freeze leftover wine?
Yes. Leave room in the container, because wine expands as it freezes, and use it for cooking. See whether wine goes bad for what to expect.
What is the best way to store opened wine?
Re-close it, refrigerate it and use it within 3 to 5 days. WSET suggests pouring leftovers into a smaller screwcap bottle to cut the air.
What can you do with wine that is a few days old?
Cook with it. A wine-glazed ham or a red wine summer sangria takes a few ounces. Hosting? Our Thanksgiving wine pairing guide covers what to pour.
Further Reading
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