If you really must... how to preserve leftover wine

Some of you may wonder why you would ever possibly need to preserve an open bottle of wine? Although having leftover wine may not happen frequently, it is still a good idea to be prepared just in case this tragic event shall ever occur!

So the question lies; what is the best way to keep that half bottle of precious wine still tasting as good, or even better in the next days to come?

There are various tools which can help preserve your wine.

 #1 – Vacuum pump wine savers

Because oxygen is wine’s enemy in preservation, these vaccum pumps are a fantastic and cheap means of pumping out the oxygen in the bottle. This should allow you to keep the wine for 3+ days while keeping its freshness.

It is argued however, that by taking out all the oxygen you are also extracting the light volatile aroma elements from the wine too.

#2 – Inert gas preservers

By adding the heavier inert gas Argon into the bottle, it lays on the surface level of the wine and creates a barrier between the wine and the oxygen.

This is about as far into chemistry as I like to get, but because Argon is a noble gas and doesn’t interact with anything, it does not alter or impart any other flavors into the wine whatsoever.

#3 – New technologies: Coravin

A brilliant and magical new invention, it is often called the “wine mosquito”. With this gadget’s medical size needle, it is inserted into the cork and extracts enough wine for a glass. At the same time, it is replacing the air with Argon gas.

Because the cork naturally closes back up, it may incredibly allow you to keep precious bottles of wine for up to 6 months and maybe even years without ever really opening the bottle! Restaurants and wine bars who want to serve top wines by the glass without quick spoilage will find this particularly useful.

In fact, the hefty price of about $300 is most likely too much for the average wine drinker and more attainable for professionals.

#4 – Simply close the bottle

Last but not least, simply remember to keep the bottle closed throughout your dinner when you are not pouring.

Keep a few empty 375 ml small glass bottles on hand, ready to use if you have any left over wine. Merely transferring the wine into smaller containers and storing it in the fridge, will hopefully give you a few extra days of good drinking.

I just recieved a Savino wine preserver which basically modernizes this idea and has a great name ;-)

So the moral of the story is to drink all you wine or at least respect it by preserving it right. What is your favorite way of storing undrunk wine?

Photo credit Imagined Reality