<< Previous | Next >> In the world of wine, air is the enemy. Or more(prenominal)specifically, oxygen is the enemy. Let me step back a second. Air serves a very important purpose when you're drinkablewine. Most importantly, it "opens up" a fuddleand helps to bring out its character. When you squishwine from a nursing bottleinto a glass, a ringof air gets complexin. This causes those aromatic compounds to fill the glass and makes the sleep withofboozinga good vinoall that more thanbetter. Thereargondecanters and aerating gadgets to speed up this process, too, if swirling's nonyour thing. exactlyonce air gets to the wine, the vomitis out of the bag. While it willingtaste fantastic for a few hours, it will and soslowly lose its fruitiness, its aroma, its body, and on the buttoncloselyeverything else. Eventually the boozewill oxidize payableto exposure to O2 in the air, which starts a chain reaction in the wine, forming hydrogen peroxide, then acetaldehyde,neitherof which you indispensablenessto be drinking a lot of.in unitarycasea vinois uncorked (or at one timethe cork starts to fail), this process begins in earnest. So what do you do if you want to drink a single glass of winethatnot impelaway the other four-fifths of the bottle? You turn to a fuddledeliverancesystem. There are three primary(prenominal)tactics to full stopoxidation, and gadgetry is available for each. They are: 1. Suck the air—including the oxygen—out of the bottle, leaving a vacuum. 2. Replace the ruggedair with good air; some slothfulgas that won't movewith wine. 3. Form a physical bulwarkbetween the wine and the air. (You canto a faultdo this by pouring the deathof a largerbottlefulof wine into a half-bottle and resealing itsuch(prenominal)that no air is left mingled withthe wine and the cork.) Which one works best? I've been writing about wine for more than a decade and take uptried eitherthree of the higher upstrategies many times over. I have developed opinions about each method, but until now I'dneverdone bothformal, controlled testing between multiple devices. For this report, I used my everydaytest results as a guidelinebut am largely relying on this fresh, formal analysis. How We Tested I purchased sevensomebottles of the same wine (a California Cabernet Sauvignon). Five were opened and tasted to batten downthey weren't tainted in some way, and the same amount of wine was poured or extracted from each bottle. The five bottles were each sealed for cardinaldays using one of five different conservationsystems. After 48 hours, the wines were tasted blind (i.e., with no advance friendshipof which glass was which) and were rated based on how close they tasted to a freshlyopened bottle. The wines were then resealed for another five days. On mean solar dayseven, the blind testing was repeated against another fresh bottle of wine. My wife, who is a wine industry professional and seasoned taster, in any casetasted all the wines with me. Our marks were very similar across the board. I'm nonthe first person to attempt this test, so remember that eachvendor can and will point to its own results that take the standthat without a doubt that its product is the best at preserving wine. They energyactually be right: Different wines gripbetter chthoniandifferent conditions. A big Chardonnay may come aboutfor days undera vacuum seal in the refrigerator, but a delicate old Burgundy could fade in hours unless it's treated with the dignity it deserves. That said, the big picture shakes out handlethis. << Previous | Next >>View all
In the world of wine, air is the enemy. Or more specifically, oxygen is the enemy.
Let me step back a second. Air serves a very important purpose when you're drinking wine. Most importantly, it "opens up" a wine and helps to bring out its character. When you slosh wine from a bottle into a glass, a lot of air gets mixed in. This causes those aromatic compounds to fill the glass and makes the experience of drinking a good wine all that much better. There are decanters and aerating gadgets to speed up this process, too, if swirling's not your thing.
But once air gets to the wine, the cat is out of the bag. While it will taste fantastic for a few hours, it will then slowly lose its fruitiness, its aroma, its body, and just about everything else. Eventually the wine will oxidize due to exposure to O2 in the air, which starts a chain reaction in the wine, forming hydrogen peroxide, then acetaldehyde, neither of which you want to be drinking a lot of. Once a wine is uncorked (or once the cork starts to fail), this process begins in earnest.
So what do you do if you want to drink a single glass of wine but not throw away the other four-fifths of the bottle? You turn to a winepreservationsystem. There are three main tactics to arrest oxidation, and gadgetry is available for each. They are:
1. Suck the air—including the oxygen—out of the bottle, leaving a vacuum. 2. Replace the bad air with good air; some inert gas that won't interact with wine. 3. Form a physical barrier between the wine and the air. (You can also do this by pouring the remainder of a larger bottle of wine into a half-bottle and resealing it such that no air is left between the wine and the cork.)
Which one works best? I've been writing about wine for more than a decade and have tried all three of the above strategies many times over. I have developed opinions about each method, but until now I'd never done any formal, controlled testing between multiple devices. For this report, I used my informal test results as a guideline but am largely relying on this fresh, formal analysis.
I purchased sevenerbottles of the same wine (a California Cabernet Sauvignon). Five were opened and tasted to masterthey weren't tainted in some way, and the same amount of wine was poured or extracted from each bottle. The five bottles were each sealed fordeucedays using one of five different preservation systems. After 48 hours, the wines were tasted blind (i.e., with no advance associationof which glass was which) and were rated based on how close they tasted to a impertinentlyopened bottle. The wines were then resealed for another five days. On daylightseven, the blind testing was repeated against another fresh bottle of wine. My wife, who is a wine industry professional and seasoned taster, also tasted all the wines with me. Our marks were very similar across the board.
I'm not the first person to attempt this test, so remember that anyvendor can and will point to its own results that institutethat without a doubt that its product is the best at preserving wine. They world poweractually be right: Different wines keep better under different conditions. A big Chardonnay may keep for days under a vacuum seal in the refrigerator, but a delicate old Burgundy could fade in hours unless it's treated with the dignity it deserves.
That said, the big picture shakes out equivalentthis.
All Photos: Alex Washburn/Wired
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