What do you guys do with unfinished bottles after the first pour? Do you simply re-cork? Use a pump (e.g. Vacu Vin)? Pour remaineder into a smaller (e.g. 375ml bottle) bottle? Spray aragon gas (e.g. Private Reserve). I’ve been just popping the cork back on and putting the bottle back in the fridge. Assuming I’m finishing it the next day.
Some say using a vacuum doesn’t work. Most that have used CO2 or aragon gas say it works terrifically. Saving wine for almost 2 weeks. I couldn’t wait that long.
pour into a 375. Ideally right as you open the bottle if you know you won’t be finishing more than half of it. Recork with the original cork if possible, put in the fridge. Wine stored like this will keep for days. Inert gas does work, but is too much tech and fuss for me. I usually finish most of a half bottle of an evening if I open something, so my approach works fine. Only downside is that wines will come out cold and, in the case of reds, need to warm up quite a bit to be in the range where they should be.
Not really, no. Yes, the wine aerates when I pour it from one bottle to the other but I fill the 375 up so force out most of the air in the bottle. I can’t do much about the air that the wine gets when pouring, but that seems to me to be minimal and the cold temps of the refrigerator minimizes the chemical reactions.
What are your (any one) opinions on vacuuming O2 out of the bottle vs. using an aragon spray? Would the EuroCave SoWine not do it’s job based on an O2 vacuuming tech. I like the fact that you can store 2 bottles at different serving temps after O2 is sucked out from the bottles. Preservino, has a single bottle unit that uses Argon spray (which is proven effective). Too bad they don’t have a 2-bottle unit. So we can have a bottle of red and a bottle of white sitting on our kitchen counter. Ready.
I don’t believe in the vacu-vin (it does a VERY partial vacuum and doesn’t, I feel, maintain that all that well). I’m also leery of what that does to the more volatile aromatic components of a wine…
I’ve not used the inert gas systems. For me, the approach above works well and I don’t tend to have a lot of partials around. I usually finish a partial bottle within a day or two of it being open. Here’s a dirty little secret… if you need a red and forget to get it out… you can microwave it for 10 secs or so. Won’t hurt the wine at all. Bring the wine from 40 to 55ish and then pop it in a decanter…
Yeah. I don’t have that much faith really in a Vacu-Vin. But I bought one anyway not too long ago. I’m guessing the SoWine I provided a link to would provide the best vacuum? As it does use an electronic mechanism vs. the Vacuvin’s cheap manual pump. And the SoWine keeps the bottle top covered while kept in the machine. Dunno. Might consider it as an appliance to keep on my kitchen counter. That or get the Preservino Supremo (1 bottle only) which uses Argon ($190 @ Amazon.com).
The PlatyPreserve by Platypus is a plastic bag with a screwtop. Pour in the wine, replace the screwtop until it almost seals and a firm squeeze is required to expel the air. When the air is gone the flow will stop and no air will return when you stop squeezing and tighten the top. No air at all, unlike the Vacuvin.
You’ve heard of rinsing, yes? Look, if you want to just have toys, that’s fine. But rinse a 375 well. Invert to let water drain. It will be fine. Don’t take this wrong but you’re asking… and I’ve done this hundreds of times.
You mean I’d actually have to washout a bottle?? The HORROR!! Seriously. If I happen to have a 375ml bottle I’ll use it (or a bottle of similar size). Was considering doing just that any how. Just wondered what every one thought of pump vs gas. What they used or did with opened bottles.
Will try doing this. Though I wonder if there will always be residual aroma of the original wine (or vinegar…etc. or what ever bottle you have handy) no matter how much you rinse. Put the bottle in the dishwasher. ETC.
I think I’ll still be picking up the Preservino Argon spray as a backup. It’s quicker and less effort anyway. A few squirts and pop the cork back in. Done.
Argon gas. It doesn’t totally arrest oxidation but slows it down considerably. Useful for checking out young reds over time. Reds go back to a spot that is 62-68 F depending on the season. Whites go back in the fridge.
Glass is inert. There’s no residual aroma, etc. Use a wine bottle (not vinegar, etc) so that corks fit well in the neck. Don’t WASH (i.e. with soap), just rinse a few times with water and drain dry. As long as you want to save a half bottle and not significantly more or less it’s as good as any of the techy toys, esp if you put the 375 into the fridge. Where argon systems and the like pay off is if you want to have a single glass out of a bottle each night for a few nights.
Vacu-vin works pretty well. There is a dramatic difference in oxidation rate with and without it. I’m sure the other methods are better, but I have not been moved to use them because VV works well enough.
Having said that, temperature is critical. I put whites back in the fridge and reds in the cellar under VV. That works pretty well. If I leave them out at room temp (which my wife invariably does) they taste damaged within a day or two. At lower temperatures and VV some wines are surprisingly robust. I recently forgot a 2008 Monthelie (about 1/2 full under VV) in the cellar for two weeks and it seemed almost unchanged. Not the common case, though.
Speaking of 375ml bottles I don’t understand why all producers don’t offer them. Great way to allow people to sample their wines without feeling the need to finish a bottle we find out we don’t like. Or just wasting the remainder.
K&L Wines in LA sells a variety. I think I saw a bottle of Pontet Canet, Frog’s Leap…etc.
Wally’s in LA has an even more extensive selection of 375ml bottled wines. New world. Old world. Young and old vintages. Terrific. Will allow me to do more tasting when I’m in LA. As I said…ALL producers should offer 375ml sizes for ALL wines produced. Makes sense to me.
So the Platypreserv works. It is plastic. Same idea. And it’s good it doesn’t leave a plastic taste. As some plastic containers do have an aroma.
So basically we can go with a plastic container, glass bottle (e.g. 375ml wine bottle) or use Argon spray. I’ll probably be doing a combination of Argon spray and 375ml bottles (since I now see that many producers are offering their wines in 375ml bottles). Will be doing most of my “introductions” to various wines via the 375ml size. When available. Makes more sense IMHO.
And I think it’s great if you’re in the mood to sample bluechip producers and pricy vintages.
Slow oxing…do some of you decant then put the decant in your kitchen fridge for x# hours? Do you leave the mouth of the decanter open too? Or, do you use a decanter with a loose plug? Like something from Ravencroft (usually used for holding spirits).
Not sure if this plug is “air tight”…I like this decanter…
I’m guessing the SoWine I provided a link to would provide the best vacuum? As it does use an electronic mechanism vs. the Vacuvin’s cheap manual pump. And the SoWine keeps the bottle top covered while kept in the machine. Dunno. Might consider it as an appliance to keep on my kitchen counter. That or get the Preservino Supremo (1 bottle only) which uses Argon ($190 @ ![[scratch.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/42a16863a8714da3c1604419e3eb9206bb87aa50.gif "scratch"){kind=small}