I see on some websites they say not to store Champagne in Refrig for more
than a couple days.

I have been storing for 4-5 months typically as my cellar space is primarily
for good reds.

My champagne has always been fine assuming not in refridge for more than a
year. Never problems with cork.

Why is Refridge for Champagne not good long term?

It's not a problem. Please repeat things they've heard without any
scientific basis.

Storing wine (or sparkling wine) at a lower temperature simply slows
down aging-- because, in general, chemical reactions slow down at lower
temperatures.

Refrigerators tend to be dry, so there is some possibility of drying a
cork out. However, keep in mind two things:

1. The humidity on the inside of a bottle of liquid is close to 100%.

2. If you store a bottle on its side, the cork stays wet.

I've stored Champagne bottles in the fridge for a couple of years and
have not noticed any deterioration in quality. There is some risk in
storing any wine long-term, though some wines last decades.

Non-vintage Champagne may not last as long as vintage Champagne simply
because N.V. often contains pinot meunier, which doesn't generally age
as well as the other two grapes common in Champagne (pinot noir and
chardonnay).

So, you can store Champagnes for a long time. But why would you? Stop
waiting for something monumental to celebrate-- celebrate today. Even
this usenet posting is worthy of celebration!

Another myth to deflate-- hanging a silver spoon in a bottle of opened
Champagne will not keep it from going flat. But-- if you have
left-overs-- they make special corks to seal Champagne. And if you
don't have one, some aluminum foil held onto the bottle with a rubber
band will even hold in much of the fizz for a day.

Enjoy!

Shaun Eli
www.BrainChampagne.com
Brain Champagne: Clever Comedy for Smart Minds (sm)

Thanks.

Last night we celebrated my sons college graduation with Cristal 1997 and a
bottle of 1988 Haut Brion that we brought with us to the local "The Palm".
They did not even charge us a corkage since they were impressed :-)

Yes..to the peanut gallery that thinks I am anti french wine. I am not.
However the Haut Brion could have been boycotted 5 more years and that might
have been better. :-)

Tonight we drank a 1994 Late Discorged Schramsburg. The Blanc de Noir.
GREAT wine.

We bought an extra refrid as I ran out of cellar space in my two Eurocaves.
I took all whites out that I planned to drink over next 6 months and placed
in new refridge. Someone told me that it was not a good idea...all the wine
is cold, tastes great!!!!

Thanks for your response.




"Shaun Eli" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> It's not a problem. Please repeat things they've heard without any
> scientific basis.
>
> Storing wine (or sparkling wine) at a lower temperature simply slows
> down aging-- because, in general, chemical reactions slow down at lower
> temperatures.
>
> Refrigerators tend to be dry, so there is some possibility of drying a
> cork out. However, keep in mind two things:
>
> 1. The humidity on the inside of a bottle of liquid is close to 100%.
>
> 2. If you store a bottle on its side, the cork stays wet.
>
> I've stored Champagne bottles in the fridge for a couple of years and
> have not noticed any deterioration in quality. There is some risk in
> storing any wine long-term, though some wines last decades.
>
> Non-vintage Champagne may not last as long as vintage Champagne simply
> because N.V. often contains pinot meunier, which doesn't generally age
> as well as the other two grapes common in Champagne (pinot noir and
> chardonnay).
>
> So, you can store Champagnes for a long time. But why would you? Stop
> waiting for something monumental to celebrate-- celebrate today. Even
> this usenet posting is worthy of celebration!
>
> Another myth to deflate-- hanging a silver spoon in a bottle of opened
> Champagne will not keep it from going flat. But-- if you have
> left-overs-- they make special corks to seal Champagne. And if you
> don't have one, some aluminum foil held onto the bottle with a rubber
> band will even hold in much of the fizz for a day.
>
> Enjoy!
>
> Shaun Eli
> www.BrainChampagne.com
> Brain Champagne: Clever Comedy for Smart Minds (sm)
>

Thank you for this posting! It got me motivated to take a wine I was
saving-- Tarlant Brut Zero Champagne-- and drink it.

I had been saving it for someone who would appreciate a Brut Non Dose
Champagne-- a very dry style since it's made with no added sugar (very
rare for a Champagne). It's probably been in my fridge for three
years; I bought it on a trip to the winery nine years ago.

The heck with finding someone who would appreciate it, and a time to
open it. Had it last night.

Wow. Wish I'd bought more. But then there was a limit to what we
could carry home-- and we brought home several bottles of Tarlant Cuvee
Louis-- perhaps all they had left of their first vintage of this wine
(we tried the second vintage at the winery and said it didn't taste as
good as the one bottle we'd had in the states; they explained it was a
new vintage and we asked for the prior one).

The great Champagne motivated me to replace the stock art on my website
with some original photos-- Champagne bottles, corks and glasses. I
have to redo the photo of the bottles and corks (still learning to use
the merging software that came with my new digital camera). Learned
the hard way that it's really hard to take photos of a glass of
Champagne using a flash. Ended up using overhead lighting. Anyway,
the results are on my website.

Shaun Eli
www.BrainChampagne.com
Brain Champagne: Clever Comedy for Smart Minds (sm)

On 15 May 2006 15:32:52 -0700, "Shaun Eli"
> wrote:

>Another myth to deflate-- hanging a silver spoon in a bottle of opened
>Champagne will not keep it from going flat. But-- if you have
>left-overs-- they make special corks to seal Champagne. And if you
>don't have one, some aluminum foil held onto the bottle with a rubber
>band will even hold in much of the fizz for a day.

The aluminum foil will be about as effective as the spoon (and, I
suspect, the special resealing corks). Probably good to put SOMETHING
over the opening though, to stop stuff falling in.

The truth is the Champagne will retain a lot of its fizz anyway, Just
make sure the bottle stands undisturbed. It's shaking the bottle
around that will really cause the Champagne to go flat.

--
Steve Slatcher
http://pobox.com/~steve.slatcher

In message >
Steve Slatcher > wrote:

> On 15 May 2006 15:32:52 -0700, "Shaun Eli"
> > wrote:
>
>>Another myth to deflate-- hanging a silver spoon in a bottle of opened
>>Champagne will not keep it from going flat. But-- if you have
>>left-overs-- they make special corks to seal Champagne. And if you
>>don't have one, some aluminum foil held onto the bottle with a rubber
>>band will even hold in much of the fizz for a day.
>
> The aluminum foil will be about as effective as the spoon (and, I
> suspect, the special resealing corks). Probably good to put SOMETHING
> over the opening though, to stop stuff falling in.
>
> The truth is the Champagne will retain a lot of its fizz anyway, Just
> make sure the bottle stands undisturbed. It's shaking the bottle
> around that will really cause the Champagne to go flat.
>


Whilst on this thread I pass on to anybody who does not already know
(I suspect few in this group) the tip never to use detergent of any
kind on Chmpagne glasses but simply to wash them in very hot water.
Detergent is said to coat the tiny imperfections inthe glass so as to
reduce the bubbling of Chmapagne. I was sceptical till I poured tow
glasses -one detergent washed but rinsed afterwards and one simply
washed in very hot water.

Tim Hartley

Tim, does that matter other than for appearance? I'd imagine that
bubbling in the glass is less relevant to taste than the bubbling which
will occur once the Champagne reaches your tongue. Any bubbling in the
glass before you drink it reduces the amount of carbonation remaining
in the Champagne when you do drink it.

As far as the aluminum foil not being effective, the foil (or, probably
better-- plastic wrap) held on tight with a rubber band will seal the
bottle somewhat from decarbonation. It will also reduce evaporation.
But the special corks made for Champagne do work. Of course the less
wine remaining in the bottle, the more air at the top and thus faster
decarbonation. If you have only a glass and reseal the bottle it'll
last longer than if you leave only a glass in the bottle.

Shaun Eli
www.BrainChampagne.com
Brain Champagne: Clever Comedy for Smart Minds (sm)

In message . com>
"Shaun Eli" > wrote:

> Tim, does that matter other than for appearance? I'd imagine that
> bubbling in the glass is less relevant to taste than the bubbling which
> will occur once the Champagne reaches your tongue. Any bubbling in the
> glass before you drink it reduces the amount of carbonation remaining
> in the Champagne when you do drink it.

It depends whether you can seperate your visual impression from your
palate and/or overall enjoyment of the wine.

There may be other areas of enjoyment (and I'm not thinking of song)
where, in theory, outward appearance does not matter if all other
aspects of performance are equal! - but I remain to be convinced.

Flat Champagne does not inspire me with desire.

Tim

The English like their bubbly with some age---is that still true?
"Timothy Hartley" > wrote in message
...
> In message . com>
> "Shaun Eli" > wrote:
>
> > Tim, does that matter other than for appearance? I'd imagine that
> > bubbling in the glass is less relevant to taste than the bubbling which
> > will occur once the Champagne reaches your tongue. Any bubbling in the
> > glass before you drink it reduces the amount of carbonation remaining
> > in the Champagne when you do drink it.
>
> It depends whether you can seperate your visual impression from your
> palate and/or overall enjoyment of the wine.
>
> There may be other areas of enjoyment (and I'm not thinking of song)
> where, in theory, outward appearance does not matter if all other
> aspects of performance are equal! - but I remain to be convinced.
>
> Flat Champagne does not inspire me with desire.
>
> Tim

In message >
"Joe \"Beppe\"Rosenberg" > wrote:

> The English like their bubbly with some age---is that still true?

If it‘s good enough to start with — fizzy vinegar gets no better with
age.

Tim