How to keep leftover grower Champagne fresh

Follow our expert-tested formula to prevent your favorite fizz from falling flat.

Fatcork grower Champagne is the perfect fit for all of life’s moments from snuggling into the sofa with your ride or die to al fresco picnics with your work family to finishing up the final load of laundry in glorious solitude. But celebrating every day means you might not finish your bottle all at once.

There are plenty of old wives’ tales about how to properly store your unfinished bubbles, but if you really want to preserve the precious fizz, fatcork’s Champagne experts have a tried-and-true formula that comes through every time: minimize the oxygen, seal the bottle tight and keep it cold.

1. Minimize the oxygen.

Fatcork founders Bryan and Abby Maletis swear by this trick, which is less about sorcery and more about actual science. When they have half a bottle or less that they want to keep for another day or two, the pair pours the leftover bubbles into a clean, empty half-sized or "demi" bottle that they keep on hand for such an occasion and then use this stopper to seal it up. The less oxygen that sits atop the Champagne in the bottle, the more your favorite drink retains its signature effervescence.

2. Seal the bottle tight.

Fatcork celebration specialists recommend a hermetic stopper (a stopper with one hinge and a silicon enclosure that forms to the mouth of the bottle) like this one. The air-tight seal keeps oxygen out to help your bubbles stay fresh longer.

3. Keep it cold.

Last but not least, fatcork experts advise storing the bottle upright in the fridge. Carbon dioxide is more soluble in cold liquids, so keeping the bottle chilled will keep your bubbles fresh for longer.

If stored according to this expert-tested blueprint, an opened bottle of fatcork grower Champagne (which is always at its peak freshness when it gets into your hands) will keep in the fridge for three to five days. If you’re feeling adventurous, try your bubbles on the third day, and then wait and see what happens to them on the fifth day.

Too late to save?

Even after the effervescence fades away completely, what’s left in the bottle is simply really good still wine. Pour it into your glass, give it a sip, and see what you think. If it’s not for you, there are still plenty of things you can do with what’s left:

Deglaze your pan after cooking flakey white fish, and pop a new bottle to enjoy with your meal.
Make ice cubes for sangria or a punch bowl.
Turn it into simple syrup.
Ferment it into Champagne vinegar.
Cook it down with some fruit for a delectable ice cream or cake topping.
Turn it into vermouth for a martini! "Wine Enthusiast" found the perfect recipe.

Cheers to not wasting a single drop!

Team fatcork