No need to dump the leftover bubbly…at the end, you’ll know exactly how to store champagne when opened and save your bubbles!
How come we never think twice about opening a bottle of red or white wine? And the thought rarely crosses our mind, “What happens if I can’t finish it?” We know we can re-cork it and it’ll be good for several more days or that we can use it while cooking in the next few day.
But when it comes to sparkling wine, that’s not the case. So many people tell me they don’t like to open a bottle of bubbly because if they can’t finish it, it all goes to waste. And that certainly doesn’t have to be the case.
Three questions I get asked all the time:
- How long does an open bottle of champagne last in the fridge?
- How do I store champagne when opened?
- Will I lose the bubbles?
Sparkling wine should never ever (never….I mean it, never) be saved only for special occasions or celebrations. If you’ve learned nothing else from Bubbly Side of Life, you should have learned that there is ALWAYS a reason to celebrate and the time is RIGHT NOW!
So, let’s talk about options to POP a bottle of bubbly whether you’re by yourself, hanging with your significant other (or your pup) or it’s girls’ night.
Sparkling Wine Splits–187 mL
Of course your first option is splits. Each split is a single serving of bubbly. Splits are sometimes hard to find, although the good news is there are more and more wineries who are making their bubbly in splits for this purpose. Check out your bigger liquor stores (Wine and More, BevMo, Binny’s Beverage Depot) and be sure to ask your favorite wineries if they have them.
Now I will have to warn you, it never fails that when I open a split because I just want one glass of bubbly, I inevitably want a second one. And by the time you’ve opened two splits, you might as well have opened a full bottle.
Half Bottle of Sparkling Wine-375mL
The next option is a half bottle. You will find half bottles or 2 glasses of bubbly in your typical glass bottle, but also in cans. Sparkling wine cans really made an appearance and became quite over the last few summers and you can find them in your bigger liquor stores and even the grocery stores.
Now some of the canned bubblies are simply where carbonation was injected into the can, but when you love all bubbles as much as I do, that doesn’t matter. Actually some of these canned bubbles are pretty tasty.
Full Bottle of Sparkling Wine-750mL
And of course, you can just POP a normal bottle of bubbly. And here’s the good news, you don’t have to finish it in one day or dump the remaining and waste it.
A bottle of bubbly will last in your fridge from 1-3 days, but of course you can’t just put your bottle in the fridge and hope for the best.
How to Store Champagne When Opened
3 Ways to Save your Bubbles:
- A sparkling wine stopper that locks down around the neck of the bottle. A normal wine stopper will work as well, but don’t be surprise if you here a bit POP in your fridge at some point. This has happened to me on more than one occasion, so if you’re looking for a specific sparkling wine stopper, check out our Bubbly Side of Life Amazon Storefront. We’ve linked our favorites there and now I learn to travel with them because you can never find one at an Airbnb or hotel.
- A Spoon! YES, a spoon. If you take a spoon and put the handle inside the bottle and put the bottle in the refrigerator just like that. The metal from the spoon helps to cool the air inside the bottle and because of that, the air is more dense creating a blanket over the surface of your bubbly so that your bubbles can’t escape. These make great gifts and you can grab them right in our shop.
- When all else fails, grab a piece of aluminum foil and wrap it securely around the neck of the bottle. This is certainly not the best, most ideal way, but I have for sure done this while traveling when that was my only option.
Now, of course, you will lose some of your bubbles the longer it’s open and in your fridge, but it will still be drinkable and enjoyable the next day and even the day after that. I wouldn’t keep the bubbly much longer than 3 days opened and in the fridge. And I think you will be surprised at how many bubbles are still present.
Now I do know people who don’t drink sparkling wine because they hate all carbonation. These people don’t drink anything that bubbles: soda, sparkling water, nothing. And they do like sparkling wine on day 2. Why? Because it’s a lot less bubbly. So, if you are like that or have friends like that, day 2 bubbly is certainly a good option, but so is serving it in a coupe. We have a whole blog post on the different champagne glasses, so be sure to check it out.
Bubbly Recipes
And if all else fails, you can cook with that leftover bubbly. Just like you cook with wine, there are some great recipes that you can add bubbly to. And honestly, since it’s less bubbly, the good news is you can take some shortcuts that you wouldn’t be able to do otherwise, like put the ingredients in a blender.
Some of our favorite recipes with bubbly are:
- Bubbly crepes
- Homemade Sparkling Whipped Cream
- Bubbly Sweet Cream Cheese Dessert Dip
- Bubbly Cheddar Cheese Appetizer
With summer approaching, what better way to quench your thirst than a perfectly chilled bottle of bubbly while soaking up the sun?! Speaking of chilled, I love my bubbly really, really cold, so I will chill it to 40 degrees and even a bit colder if I know I am going to be hanging outside.
So now you have no excuse and no need to worry about wasting perfectly good bubbly! POP that cork and enjoy!
By the way, the Bubbly Side of Life Amazon Storefront has all of our favorite items for all your bubbly drinking needs. Go check it out.
