Wine Preservation Systems

[PLangfordJr]

Hi all!

I'm in the process of researching a wine preservation system (ie. Cruvinet) for my restaurant, and want to make sure that I get the biggest bang for my buck.

Other than price, I am concerned with durability, ease of use (ie. changing bottles/tanks) and ease of cleaning/maintenance.

Does anyone currently use a system that they could recommend, or do you currently use a system that you can tell me to stay the hell away from?

Any input would be appreciated.

Patrick

[KatieLoeb]

Patrick:

My understanding is that cruvinet sytems tend to need a lot of cleaning which may not get done as thoroughly or as often as needed. We have a scuba tank of argon behind the bar that I fill any open bottles that have been opened/served that evening with at the end of the night. It's easily refilled at the local gas sales place. Keeping the whites cold and the reds cool (we have a small two zone wine fridge for the reds that I keep at 59 degrees) helps a lot. And of course it depends on your turnover. If you're serving stuff often enough so that it isn't staying open for an eternity, you should be fine. You need to choose wines for your glass list that you know will move. That's a hell of a lot more important than anything else.