Vacuvin

[RonC]

My French sommelier friend always gives me a hard time when he sees my Vacuvin - chastising me for creating the vacuum in the bottle.

What's your opinion? Of course, it's probably academic anyway since an open bottle never stays around more than a day.

Thanks,

Sidecar Ron

[WhiteTruffleGirl]

Personally, wine never stays around long enough in my house to make a difference either. But, I do have a Vacuvin and do occassionally use it. I have found that it does help to extend the life of wine by a couple of days. And, btw...I am studying for my Sommelier certification...

[RonC]

Thanks WTG. I probably use the stopper (sans vacuum) when the bottle will stay open less than a day, and remove a little air on those rare occasions when it might last a couple of days -- hmmmmmm has that ever happened?

Sidecar Ron

[bleachboy]

I use my Vacu-vin all the time, and I think it's great. Why would there be a problem with using a Vacu-vin? I think it's gotta be certainly a better option than leaving a recorked bottle to sit for 24 hours until you can finish it.

[Brad Ballinger]

Yes or no? No. A cork or stopper will do much the same for next day drinking. The vac-u-vin sucks the volatiles out of the bottle that sre still part of the wine.

Edited July 26, 2005 by Brad Ballinger (log)

[winesonoma]

A cork and into the refer. Very rare to have it happen though.

[RonC]

Hmmmm, guess this is a topic of some debate. Probably my best hope is to consume the entire bottle at one setting. Worse solutions are probably out there but probably not nearly as enjoyable.

Sidecar Ron

[winesonoma]

A cork and into the refer. Very rare to have it happen though.

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Remember that the best place to store leftover wine is in your stomach.

[Rebel Rose]

Sometime around 1994 I remember that Wine Business Monthly did a semi-scientific tasting of wines that had been stored using VacuVin, Private Preserve, corked and stored at room temp, and corked and stored in the fridge. There may have been other methods I don't recall. They tasted the wines when opened, and (I think) twice the next day, and once a day over the next few days.

I may have most of the minor facts wrong, but I DO recall, because it was so simple and so startling, that refrigerating the wine was most effective in preserving the wine's fruit and balance. (Points to winesomona.) Apparently it simply slows down the molecular activity, and hence the oxygenation.

I think Brad is right about the VacuVin, and a winemaker told me once that the nitrogen sprays like Private Preserve need to be re-applied daily because the gas becomes ineffective quickly.

Argon is a heavy gas that wineries sometimes use to protect wine in partial containers, because it sinks and layers itself onto the wine like a blanket--but it is not sold commercially because of inherent dangers in it's use. For instance, if I were to accidentally inhale a whiff (or three) it would sink to the bottom of my lungs and possibly suffocate me, unless my SO were to pick me up by my ankles and shake it out of me. Which is getting less likely with every bottle of wine . . .

[ingridsf]

I've used a VacuVin quite a bit and thought it worked great. I can only drink maybe one full glass with a meal or I'm feeling it too much, esp on a work night. One bottle can last me more than a week. (Yes, there are advantages to being a miniscule person.) I can't dispute the science cause I don't know it but I've thought the wine tasted better when I created the vacuum. Guess the refrig will help it even more.

[Andre]

The Vacuvin is great with medium to full bodied wines but seems less eficient when it comes to lighter bodied wines.

I am very much for the use of Vacuvin also when combined with refrigiration. Pumping more than a few times may lead to loss of the fresher aromas in the wine. That can happen when the bottle of wine is nearly empty or when taking out small amounts from the wine.

Smaller containers or "always full" are a good solution as well.

It is important to note that once we pored from the bottle, oxygen had been invited in and change will be slower due to colder temperatures. In case of full bodied wine this controlled measure [once Vacuvin is used]may be welcome also at room temperature.

[ctgm]

RonC - you shouldn't alway listen to French sommeliers. While there are undoubtedly plenty of good ones, I find that there are plentywho have a rather inflated opinion of their knowledge which i think comes down to them thinking that because France makes (some of) the best wine in the world, it is natural that the French should be more in touch with wnie than the rest of the world. No offence meant to be given to your friend.

From personal experience, I am with Andre on this one. I don't put my reds in the fridge but when I haven't finished a bottle of white I will just put it in the fridge and it seems to be good for a day or two afterwards.

With reds, I leave them in a relatively warm place (or rather my wife puts them by the cooker!) and I find that if I do not use the Vacuvin then they are more oxidised than if I did use it.

I do find wines from the Rhone seem to be able to last better than others. I have a declassified Gigondas that gets better after 2 days and when I had a dinner party I actually opened it the night before. I presume that the more heavy bodied the wine the longer it will remain unoxidised or is this rubbish? I rarely find Pinot very nice to drink the day after.

[carswell]

a winemaker told me once that the nitrogen sprays like Private Preserve need to be re-applied daily because the gas becomes ineffective quickly.

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According to the product's website, Private Preserve is a mixture of inert gasses (apparently including nitrogen). As the gasses are inert and heavier than air, how can they become ineffective quickly?

Blind trials in my own home have shown Private Preserve to be the most effective system; wines (of any colour) stored up to three weeks in the fridge under gas have not suffered in the slightest. (Note that I typically transfer the wine to an approriately sized screwcapped bottle before gassing it.) Freezing comes in second place, the main problem being its tendancy to cause some red wines to throw a deposit. VacuVin comes a distant third and then only for short-term storage (less than 24 hours).

It's worth noting that many of the best wine bars also favour inert gas.