Saving the Wine

In warmer weather I like to start the evening with a glass of white wine before I move to red with dinner. Problem is –I end up with two open bottles of wine and may not get back to them for a few days, or more. Then the next time I go to have a glass of that wine–it’s oxidized and I have to toss it out.

Oxidation occurs when wine comes into contact with air A chemical reaction happens
that results in a loss of fruit and freshness and can cause the wine to taste flat. More severe oxidation results in a high level of acidity and eventually transforms the wine into vinegar.

I don’t know about you – but my wine habit is expensive enough without having to pour my purchases down the drain, so I wanted to take a look at the wine preservation mechanisms on the market and see if they work and how they compare.

Here’s what I found:

( $0 ) Put the wine in the fridge- That’s right, but the cork back in it, white or red and put it in the refrigerator. The cool temperatures will slow down the oxidation and it should last a day or two.

($13 ) Take the air out –The Vacu Vin or Concerto Wine saver removes the air from opened bottles. You place a pump over a reusable stopper and pump out the air. This one time purchase will get you a reusable pump and two stoppers, but wont keep your wine fresh much longer than an extra day.

($12) Gas It! With a product like Private Reserve where a Harmless Nitrogen (N2), Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Argon (Ar) gas is sprayed into the open bottle. This gas blanket of inert gases slows down the spoilage of wine by about 5-7 days. 12 full uses per can.

($200 ) Individual Bottle Preservation System – New to the market in 2004, the PEK Wine Steward preserves an open bottle of wine by flooding it with inert Argon gas. The bottle easily goes in the airtight chamber and the system prevents oxidation and controls the temperature of the wine. I found that it kept the opened bottle of wine as fresh for two solid weeks!

($1600- $6000) Preservation Cabinet System–Inert nitrogen gas preserves the wine as it dispenses. This is a superb wine preservation system but it costs thousands of dollars and takes a lot of kitchen or counter top space, so isn’t an option for most consumers.

My friend, James beard-winning chef Danielle Custer, (translate - has a good palate) and I were discussing this topic with she reminded me “ Some wines do wonders with a little oxygen”

So true –I had a glass of DeLille D2 three days after it had been opened–granted there was only one glass out if it, but it was nowhere ready to toss down the sink. It tasted fabulous, rich and had the texture of silk.

If you don’t have a wine preservation system, and your wine didn’t oxidize as gracefully as DeLille’s -- you can always make vinegar!

How to make vinegar from wine:
Take a wide-mouthed glass jug whose capacity is at least a gallon and pour a quart of wine and a cup of vinegar into it. Keep the container covered most of the time, but open it for a half hour every day. In a couple of weeks the madre, a viscous starter, will have settled to the bottom of the jug, while the vinegar above it will be ready for use. Add more wine as you remove vinegar to keep the level in the jug constant.

WOW of the month:
I ‘ve been advised to always buy 6 of every wine and age it for 5-10 years. Not being the diciplined type, that has seldom happned. On memoprial day weekend I wanted to bring a special wine on our trip to Ore. On Sunday night we had the server open the 1999 Kenwood Articst Serices Cabernet that I’d purchased at auciton 5 years prior. It’s a siky, suptious, rich wine with a huge lingering finish that had us gushing. And as we sipped the last of the bottle we didn’t have that sinking “gone forever” feeling because there are 5 more in cellar! Dicipline rewarded!





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