-
Wine Jobs
Assistant Manager
Assistant Cider Maker
Viticulture and Enology...
-
Wine Country Real Estates
Winery in Canada For Sale
-
Wine Barrels & Equipment
75 Gallon Stainless Steel...
Wanted surplus/ excess tin...
Winery Liquidation Auction...
-
Grapes & Bulk Wines
2022 Chardonnay
2023 Pinot Noir
2022 Pinot Noir
-
Supplies & Chemicals
Planting supplies
Stagg Jr. Bourbon - Batch 12
-
Wine Services
Wine
Sullivan Rutherford Estate
Clark Ferrea Winery
-
World Marketplace
Canned Beer
Wine from Indonesia
Rare Opportunity - Own your...
- Wine Jobs UK
- DCS Farms LLC
- ENOPROEKT LTD
- Liquor Stars
- Stone Hill Wine Co Inc
5 Tactics for Preserving an Open Bottle of Wine
Mar 25, 2016
(Vivino) - You've done it. You've finally opened that bottle you've been squirreling away for a special occasion—but you and your date can't finish the entire bottle (admittedly, we have a hard time imagining a universe where this might happen, but it happens). Now what?
Here are five options to preserving that bottle of wine:
1. Push the cork back into the bottle
The Pros: It's too easy, right? Yes, it's easy, and surprisingly many wines benefit from direct contact with oxygen. The rapid oxidation that occurs over the span of 24 hours softens big sturdy reds with firm tannins and high acidity. This is especially true of young Old World reds from Spain, France or Italy. Sweet dessert-style wines like Sauternes, Barsac or Tokaji also fare well with this laissez-faire approach because their high sugar content buffers them from oxidation.
The Cons: Not every wine can stand up to prolonged contact with air. This method isn't ideal for delicate reds like Pinot Noir or aged wines. These wines tend to fall apart quickly once opened and require more care.
2. The Savino Carafe
The Pros: The new kid on the block, the Savino Carafe works by creating a simple barrier between the wine and air with a float that sits on top of the wine. Large stainless variable capacity tanks used to store wine work precisely this way—with a lid that floats on the surface of the wine.
The Cons: This handy but stylish little carafe will set you back about $50. Further it disassembles into five separate components after use. If you're don't mind washing dishes, this might be the tactic for you.
3. Private Reserve Spray
The Pros: The Private Reserve spray can deploys a blend of inert gases, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and argon, which are heavier than air, and when sprayed directly into an open bottle, forces the air out. A simple and convenient solution, cans of argon have a long shelf life, and we've found this tactic to add an extra 2-3 days of life to an already opened bottle.
The Cons: Canned air used for cleaning keyboards seems to last an eternity compared to a can of Private Reserve, which feel empty even when they're new. Aside from this fact, it's impossible to know if you've sprayed enough gas into the bottle to displace all of the air.
4. The NitroTap System
The Pros: If you like beer on tap, and you have a wall mount for your mountain bikes in the living room, wine on tap might be for you. NitroTap contains a spigot and regulator that mounts to the top of the bottle. The spigot attaches to a recyclable nitrogen canister. In fact, the canisters look exactly like the green propane tanks sold with Coleman camp stoves.
The Cons: If you're looking for a stylish solution, equipment resembling something from an REI catalog might not be for you, and those canisters are pricey at $80 for a pack of four.
5. The Coravin
The Pros: The ultimate in wine accessories, Coravin is the Rolls Royce method for trying out wines while preserving the contents of the bottle. Founded by Greg Lambrecht, a medical device inventor, the Coravin works by plunging a hollow needle through the cork, exchanging wine with argon gas as wine drips into your glass. So cool, you'll feel like donning a lab coat every time you use it.
The Cons: If you don't mind forking over $300 for the Coravin itself, take into consideration the cost of the argon capsules, priced at $10 apiece, they make coffee capsules look like child's play.
Comments:
Anton Blignault, FMS Wine Marketing
Mar 28, 2016
Christine, I appreciate your explanation on preserving wine as it's often frowned upon for various reasons. I would like to give you more insight into the gas option. Firstly, the gas is not meant to replace the oxygen. That is what the wine pumps claim - which is entirely without merit as it's impossible. Gas mixtures such as nitrogen with CO² and other blends are added for only one reason, to make the resulting blend thick enough to allow packaging in an aerosol can. But nitrogen is not inert and nor is it heavy enough to totally displace the air below it and lay across the surface of the wine. So CO² is added to give it weight. However, CO² tends to make the wine fizzy. Furthermore, anaerobic organisms can metabolize CO² and produce a range of unwanted chemicals. 100% Argon gas is 2.5 times heavier than air, and totally inert. The gas drops down on top of the wine, forming a barrier between the wine and the oxygen. You only need 1-second of pure Argon gas to preserve wine for up to 10 weeks. This (winesave) has been tested by Ben Edwards, President, Sommeliers Australia. It is also approved by all the top international wine critics and producers. You don't mention a price for Private Reserve Spray, but winesave is available at $20 for a large can with 100-130 1-second applications, FOB Cape Town South Africa. Have a look on http://www.fms-wine-marketing.co.za/news.php for full info.
Scott
Mar 26, 2016
It's Private PRESERVE...with a "P", not Reserve. This is the original product (many attempts to copy), since 1986! Wines have been successfully preserved for as long as 4 plus years, using the inert gases in proprietary combination, that are used to produce and bottle wine. Approx. 120 full uses for pennies from the empty feeling can, it is empty when it stops "hissing", and can be used on bottles, carafes, and sealable container. Works on fine cooking oils, herbs& spices etc., as well as coffee, tea.