Solo dining

[Mich the Tester]

Do any restaurants use those vacuum corks? Have them at home and they work wonders if you want a glass of wine with dinner each day. Easily get 4-5 days out of a bottle of red, with very little degradation.

Don't know. Actually, whatever process makes good red wines taste good the day after being opened would probably be stopped by using a vacuum cork or that nitrogen filling some others use. Just shove the cork back in and leave the bottle standing somewhere that it won't get heated up. Or if you must drink it all the first day then buy half bottles; too many restaurants have a very weak selection of half bottles and that will only change if people start demanding them. My current favourite restaurant has a good selection of half bottles of burgundy which are actually cheaper than half the price of a full bottle, because of this idea some people have that a half bottle is somehow inferior. Trouble is we have to drive to Friesland to eat there.

[Damon]

I recall am article that says if left open a bottle of wine will lose approx 40% of its alcohol in 24 hours....probably not a bad thing!

[d000hg]

Don't know. Actually, whatever process makes good red wines taste good the day after being opened would probably be stopped by using a vacuum cork or that nitrogen filling some others use..

Yes, that's the point I think one day isn't a problem myself.

[d000hg]

I recall am article that says if left open a bottle of wine will lose approx 40% of its alcohol in 24 hours....probably not a bad thing!

I think that's untrue, like the fallacy that heating mulled wine causes all the alcohol to "boil off".

[Damon]

I think that's untrue, like the fallacy that heating mulled wine causes all the alcohol to "boil off".

Seems so

Dear Dr. Vinny,
After you open a bottle of wine, does the alcohol in it start evaporating? If you leave an open bottle open for three hours, would the alcohol go from 14 percent to 12 or less?
—Daniel A., Panama
Dear Daniel,
Let’s start with how the alcohol content is determined. During fermentation, the sugar in the grapes is converted into alcohol. Once the wine is bottled, the alcohol content doesn’t change any further.
But once you open a bottle of wine and expose it to air, things start to change, and you’re right that evaporation comes into play. Both the water and the alcohol in wine are subject to evaporation, and typically the alcohol will evaporate somewhat faster than the water does. But it really depends on a lot of different variables, including the temperature, the airflow and how much of the liquid’s surface area is exposed to air. Also, the water would evaporate faster in dry air than in humid air.
In most cases, while some evaporation would take place, its effect would be negligible. It would take days, weeks or even longer to get any measurable difference in the alcohol content. Because wine doesn’t have much alcohol in it by volume—typically from about 12 to 16 percent—it’s not going to evaporate nearly as quickly as would the same amount of rubbing alcohol. In fact, wine that’s just sitting there evaporating would probably turn into vinegar before it would become alcohol-free.
If you want to speed up the evaporation of alcohol, you could increase the wine’s surface area, airflow and temperature. You could even put it in a pan and start to heat it up. And if you take three bottles of red wine and heat it, set it aflame and evaporate it by half, you’ll have a terrific red wine reduction sauce to braise short ribs in.
—Dr. Vinny

[Old Greg]

Seems so

If you're back in pizza express they have good offers (but not always in central London). Pizza Express: Vouchers, Deals and Offers - PizzaExpress Restaurants

[MarillionFan]

If you're back in pizza express they have good offers (but not always in central London). Pizza Express: Vouchers, Deals and Offers - PizzaExpress Restaurants

Tesco vouchers. You know it makes sense.

[d000hg]

Our vouchers go on Cafe Rouge, because it's the only way we'd ever go there at those prices.

[greenlake]

Solo dining

Mmmmm....Solo dining....

[Damon]

Beef Wellington at Malmaison, Leeds tonight.