Got a lot of opened wine bottles from the Easter long weekend? We can’t blame you! Pairing wine with food is the way to go if you want to enjoy the flavours of the meal more, and have a decadent dining experience. However, an opened bottle means that your leftover wine has had contact with oxygen, which will eventually affect its taste and quality.

But wait, there’s no need to panic! Leftover wine has many other purposes to bring to the table! Here’s what we at Access do whenever we have leftover wine at home:

Freeze It

One way to prolong your wine’s shelf life is to freeze it; it’s effortless and easy. All you need to do is pour the leftover wine into ice cube trays or muffin tins, and put it in the freezer. 

These cubes are useful when cooking, and you don’t have an opened bottle to pour a splash into your sauce or soup. Another useful tip for the ice cubes is to put them in your next glass of wine, to make sure it won’t get watered down or diluted in flavour.

Make Wine Syrup or Jelly

Give your ice cream, pancakes or even fruits an extra layer of flavour and texture with wine syrup or wine jelly.

To make wine syrup, all you need to do is mix the leftover wine with sugar and reduce it until it has the same consistency as syrup. Meanwhile, you can transform your wine syrup into jelly by adding pectin to let it have that jelly consistency.

Cook Delicious Recipes

If you enjoyed drinking it, you’d surely enjoy eating it, too! There is a tip often told when cooking with wine: adding it to your dishes intensifies and enhances the flavour of your food. The alcohol will evaporate as your food is cooking, leaving behind its rich essence. 

Consider wine as a seasoning used in cooking: add the perfect amount so it complements the other ingredients’ flavours instead of competing with them. 

Make a Marinade

Wine is a great ingredient when making marinades for meats. It’s an acid ingredient responsible for tenderising the outside of the meat and keeping your meat moist while cooking. Other than that, wine gives additional flavour to your meat.

Mix a Jug of Sangria

An excellent way to get rid of some of the half-bottles of wine you have lying around it to mix up a large jug of sangria for your next picnic or event! Because of the added juice and fruit, you don’t have to worry about mixing in a combination of red wines. Just grab a large jug, cut up your fruit (we like oranges, apples, and berries), add orange and lime juice, some sugar, ice, and done! A true crowd favourite, made with whatever you have leftover.  

Wine and its Many Uses

Celebrations are extra festive and meals become fancier when there’s wine around. 

Besides enjoying a cold glass of rosé or enjoying a luxurious steak with a cabernet, wine can also be used as an ingredient to your next culinary masterpiece. High-quality wine can help enhance your meal to the next level. Find that bottle of wine you would want to drink with and without a food pairing and use it as an ingredient. Check out the premium wines Access has partnered with to bring you a “better life.”

Burge Family Winemakers

Established in 1928, the award-winning Burge Family Winemakers is proud of its heritage and tradition when it comes to winemaking. With its minimalist and hands-on approach, Burge Family always aims for the best possible sugar, acid and flavour balance of its wines. 

Pauletts Wines

Known to be the home to the best Riesling in the world, Pauletts Wines carries a proud family tradition of producing regional wines that are true to the Clare Valley. Every sip of their wine showcases the elegance and intensity of the region. Both locally and internationally, Pauletts wines have received many awards and accolades.

Vandenberg

The brand was founded in 2013 as a continuation of a rich family tradition. Geared with the belief of a shared effort, Vandenberg considers all the tiny details. The secret to their high-quality wine is experience, shared vision and passion, and combined skills from everyone on board, especially the core team.

Robert Oatley

Founded in 2006, Robert Oatley focuses on wines from Margaret River and McLaren Vale. The winemaker’s vineyards are organically tended, while the wines are made with little intervention as possible. Meanwhile, when it comes to awards and accolades, Robert Oatley is no stranger, consistently reaching 90 points with the critics and collecting medals and trophies for their wines.

Aside from these wines, we also have other brands that you and your family will love. From beauty to wellness and lifestyle, there’s the perfect brand for every member of the family. Our exclusive shopping platform, VTN, has launched in Australia and New Zealand this year. Make sure to browse the range of high-quality brands and products that we are proud to offer at VTN today!