It's so pretty, how can it ever be leftover?

I’ve just sat here for the last five minutes staring vacantly into space and trying to remember a time when I’ve had a problem with leftover wine.

I can’t.

I cannot remember a single time when there has been a bottle of wine left on the table and I’ve thought ‘oh shit, I can’t possibly drink that. What on earth am I going to do with it.’

I do realise however that there might be people out there who do have such a problem sometimes, some people who possibly drink slightly more sensibly and sometimes make the hard decision that they have had enough, or who are driving later and just want one glass to drink.

If you find yourself in such a tragic position, then don’t panic. There are in fact a number of clever (and sometimes not so obvious) ways to keep your wine from being wasted.

1. Keep it in the fridge

Whether it is red or white, the principle is the same, cooling down the wine means that oxidisation and the chemical reactions that turn the wine bad take place more slowly. Just remember to let red wine warm up again before you want to drink it, as it loses all of it’s depth and warmth of flavour when it is cold.

2. Use a pump

Vacuum pumps are designed to suck the air out of a bottle of wine and then reseal it. Obviously if there is little or no oxygen in the bottle, then little or no oxidisation can take place.

There are different kinds of pumps on the market, I don’t know much about them as I’ve never used one. I would recommend the type bought from a wine merchant rather than a sex shop though.

3. Decant it into something small

It’s exactly the same concept as using the pump. If there is less space between the wine and the top of the bottle/jar/whatever, then there is less space for air and therefore there is less oxygen to react with the wine.

4. Freeze it in cubes

Pour the left over wine into ice cube trays and freeze it.

The next time that you need some wine in a dish you are cooking, you can just use a cube or two straight from the freezer instead of opening a new bottle, and then having to suffer the trauma of drinking what you don’t use.

5. Pour it in the bath

Now, this is where it all gets a little less obvious, try pouring leftover red wine (NOT white) into your bath water.

Red wine contains polyphenols which can do all sorts of healthy things for you. They give your circulation a bit of a kickstart, improve your skin elasticity, and can even boost skin cell renewal.