How do you store Prosecco?

The full answer

Store unopened Prosecco somewhere cool and dark, away from heat and sunlight. Once opened, keep it upright in the fridge with a sparkling-wine stopper. A beautiful bottle deserves a good home, but the sunny kitchen windowsill is not it.

You buy a bottle for Saturday. By Tuesday it has become part of the kitchen arrangement, between the olive oil and a vase someone gave you. It looks lovely. Unfortunately, the wine has different priorities from the décor.

Heat, light and large temperature swings are the things to avoid. A little thought about where the bottle lives protects the wine you chose in the first place.

How to store unopened Prosecco

Choose a suitable cool, dark storage space away from warm appliances and direct sunlight. Follow any instructions supplied for the particular bottle.

The Conegliano Valdobbiadene consortium recommends cool, dry storage away from light and heat for its Prosecco Superiore. It also explains that youthful fruit and floral character changes over time. Keeping wine longer does not automatically make it better.

If you are buying Bella Principessa for an occasion, plan the storage and chilling along with the food. There is no need to give the bottle a permanent display position before it reaches the table.

What changes once you open it?

The refrigerator and a proper sparkling-wine stopper become the useful combination. Reseal the bottle and keep it upright. WSET recommends a suitable sparkling closure and explains why a still-wine vacuum pump is the wrong tool: it removes the bubbles you are trying to keep.

The teaspoon in the neck can retire. It is not an effective closure.

A stopper helps protect the remaining sparkle. It cannot undo the afternoon the bottle spent open on the table. Our keeping Prosecco after opening guide explains what to expect.

How should Prosecco rosé be stored?

Store unopened Prosecco rosé in a cool, dark place away from heat and sunlight. Once opened, reseal it with a sparkling-wine stopper and keep it upright in the fridge. Follow any storage instructions for the bottle, and chill it for serving separately.

Are you storing it or serving it tonight?

Those are different jobs. A bottle waiting for a future occasion needs protection from heat and light. A bottle for dinner needs time to reach its serving temperature. Give it that time before the guests arrive, while the fridge is still yours to organize.

If you are putting bottles away for later, read how long unopened Prosecco can be kept. If dinner is tonight, start with Prosecco serving temperature. Our serving Prosecco guide brings opening, glasses and pouring together.

Sources

Consortium storage and service guidance, for Prosecco Superiore; WSET on preserving opened wine.