According to the professional, this device makes the wine fresher than a traditional wine cork

If you love wine, opening a new bottle is always a special experience. And while it’s fun to pop an entire bottle (or two) with friends, there are definitely times when you just can’t get through it all. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck when it comes to enjoying your vacation – you just need to know how to make it last properly so you can enjoy it another day. This usually means keeping it in a temperature-controlled environment and away from sunlight, and making sure it has as little oxygen and airflow as possible.

Probably the most important point in extending the life of your wine is to limit the amount of oxygen it comes into contact with. The introduction of oxygen helps the wine open up and express its flavors and notes as much as possible in the short term, but in the long term, oxidation also causes the wine to lose its freshness and begin to spoil. Of course, there are many great ways to store wine at home, from investing in a nice set of stoppers (or simply pushing the cork back in) to using a vacuum sealer. To learn more about the best methods for storing open wine, we talked to Dave Thompson, owner of Chicago winery and bottle shop Deep Red Wine Merchant, and his colleague, Spencer Jones.

Thompson is a big fan of using vacuum pumps to protect wine from premature oxidation. “When you open a bottle of wine and expose it to oxygen, a stopwatch starts,” he explains. “We use pumps every night at Deep Red. They are helpful, but not bulletproof. When storing at home, they can be helpful, but remember that once the wine is opened, everything will be ready.” For casual wine lovers who don’t open expensive or rare bottles every night, Thompson favors Vacu Vin, a $17 pump that removes oxygen from an open bottle and seals it to ensure freshness.

Vacu Vin vacuum wine stopper

Thompson says the next step beyond Vacu Vin will be the more intense Coravin, which is a widely respected tool in the industry. “If you like (Vacu Vin) and want to get a little more serious, go to Coravin, especially if you’re a collector or you’re about to open a special bottle you’ve had your eye on for a while,” he says.

The main advantage of Coravin is that you can suck the oxygen out of the bottle and still pour the wine without sealing it. “This is why you see people in the wine industry carrying around Coravins: instead of oxygen, they push an inert gas into the bottle and release flavor. That way they can get more mileage out of the bottle.”

Coravin Timeless Three+ Wine preservation system

Even with a high-quality vacuum cleaner or cork, there is a limit to how long you can enjoy your wine in its freshest form. Thompson said a large amount of wine will be fine for two to three days, although it really depends on the wine – some low-intervention wines may only be good for one day due to the lack of added preservatives, while wines with higher acidity and higher tannin content wines may last longer. “Some very tannic red wines can be opened for five days and still taste good,” Thompson says. “Wines produced with minimal sulfites may also have a shorter shelf life, but that just means you can drink it all!”

Ultimately, Thompson said wine corks were fine, but he preferred pumps. “Can you put a cork or cork in it overnight and everything will be fine? That’s what he said. But by investing in the $17 Vacu Vin, you’ll be able to ensure less oxidation, so you can enjoy your precious bottle for days.

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