Save unused champagne with a few simple techniques.
Sparkling wines like champagne and lambrusco add fizz, life and bubbly enthusiasm to any event. Prepare for your next dinner party or holiday event by purchasing your favorite brand of bubbly beforehand and storing it in a cool dry place away from direct sunlight until you're ready to open and drink it. If you've already held your party, enjoyed the wine, sent the guests home and realized that you have more than half a bottle left over, don't throw it away; find out how you can cover sparkling wine until you're ready to finish drinking it.
Instructions
1. Save the cork after opening a bottle of sparkling wine. Store it in a clean, safe place where it can be re-inserted into the bottle later. If you have already discarded the cork, see step three.
2. To store the wine, re-position the saved cork on the bottle opening. Using gentle force and steady pressure, wiggle the cork from side to side back into the bottle. The cork may have expanded after popping. Reusable rubber corks with vacuum pump seals may also be used for this step, and are available at kitchen stores or online.
3. If you discarded the original cork and don't have a reusable rubber cork available, place a small piece of plastic wrap over the bottle opening. Wrap a rubber band around the plastic wrap on the bottle neck until the wrap is tightly secured to the neck of the wine bottle.
4. Store the re-corked sparkling wine in a refrigerator for up to five days after opening, after which the flavor of the wine will change and be undesirable.
Tags: after opening, bottle opening, cork have, into bottle, plastic wrap, sparkling wine