Wine Preservation

It's a feeling that invokes nightmares in the best of us: the evening is over and you've just realised there is still wine in the bottle and no one left to drink it.  We've all tried to save it for later, but all too often it is forgotten, only to be found days later, vaguely brown in tint, smelling of vinegar and completely undrinkable.  In this short period of time, oxidation has occurred; that is, oxygen has seeped into the wine and caused a chemical degradation.  There just has to be a way to slow down this process, hasn't there?

Preservation Systems

A wine stopper  is the simplest (and most likely the cheapest) way to keep further oxygen from getting into your wine and spoiling it.	The Pek Wine Steward  uses inert argon gas to preserve wine. It is said to prevent oxidation for up to a week and also controls the temperature of the bottle.	With Private Preserve , you spray nitrogen into the bottle and then cork it.  This method of inert gas preservation forces oxygen out and protecs the wine.	The Vacu-Vin Wine Sealer  allows you to pump out air from open bottles.  It allegedly claims to make a vaccuum seal; scientists, however, remain less than convinced.

Note: Spend all you like, but be aware that Consumer Reports has tested these and determined that there is no clear need for a fancy and expensive preservation system.  According to their study, wine that is simply corked and refrigerated for a week does not noticeably deteriorate any more so than wines preserved with the other above methods.  To find out more, check out their results.

Related Guides

Wine Guide	Wine Glasses Guide	Food and Wine Matching Guide	Analysing Wine from A to Z	Wine Classifications Deciphered