Wine bottle stoppers: Are there any good ones?

[Robin Garr]

Okay, let's jump past the jokes about "What is leftover wine" and assume that screw caps aren't in play. You've got half of a bottle of wine left over, you can't squeeze the cork back in the bottle, and you need to pack the remains to enjoy at your next stop down the road. Do any of you have favorite accessories or tricks and tips that work?

This seems to be one option:
http://www.amazon.com/Zyliss-leak-proof ... B000V4NW96

But I'm not sure how leak-proof they really are.

Got suggestions? Let's hear 'em!

I've not used that brand, but I have similar stoppers that usually work well. Because they expand, they fit most bottles and will even hold bubbles overnight for champagne (not something I've had to do often).

At least you can't beat the price, Robin. I usually just invert the old cork and push it back in the bottle, or into a half bottle if I am going to keep the wine over night. I do have a leaking issue with synthetic corks if the screw went all the way through and I can't stand the bottle upright, say in the fridge or something.

I have used those or something very similar 15 years or so ago when I worked the tasting room for a winery. They work very well but they don't last all that long. We broke lots of them due to fatigue. Not sure how much if any design improvement is done on an item that retails for $2.

At home these days I use something that resembles this http://www.favorcreations.com/Murano-Swirl-Color-Wine-Stopper_p_1778.html The tapered end works for any size bottle and the rubber forms a good seal. Best of all they don't break.

ok, so there is the refrigerator that won't oblige. those shelves are adjustable.
for red wines you might not refrigerate, the only criteria is that it keep the fruit flies out. that crystal thing works great; but so do leftover T corks, siran wrap, etc.
i've given up putting anything to close the mouth of white wine in the frig. doesn't seem to matter.

At least you can't beat the price, Robin. I usually just invert the old cork and push it back in the bottle, or into a half bottle if I am going to keep the wine over night.

I've been known to do this, but tend not to with older corks with mouldy tops

On the whole I tend to use one of two bottle stoppers we have that have a lever to pull down to grip/seal. Picked them up as all-purpose bottle stoppers a few years ago from a kitchen store.

I have a couple of wine stoppers, the one I use the most is a metal stopper shaped a bit like an ice cream cone, with 3 rubber/plastic gaskets on the cone. But mostly I reuse the cork.
I generally try not to invert the cork anymore, even with a visually clean cork, if there is any chance of the wine touching the cork. TCA is not distributed uniformly through corks. I once (for a dinner with Robin!) double decanted a bottle of I think 83 Poyferre, inverted the cork, then when opened it was horribly corked. Why take the chance?

We keep a screwtoped half bottle in the pantry, and haul it out and sanitize on those rare occasions it is necessary. One time a year or so ago I forgot about one that had worked it's way to the back of the fridge. Open it up about six weeks later and the wine, a Finger Lakes Merlot, was fine. I do fill the thing to the tipy top, before closing.

Agree, pour into half bottle and chill overnight.

If the goal is just to cover the opening then a piece of plastic wrap, or a baggie, will do.

I have never, but I suppose one could freeze the rest and get to it later.

I use the rubber stoppers that came with my Vacu Vin. I don't use the vacuum device these days, but feel the stopper does a fine job of sealing the wine.

JB

I use Vacu-Vin and put the bottle in the fridge. I'm not convinced that the vacuum does as much to keep the wine fresh as does the fridge but maybe a few hours are gained. I've heard it suggested the the vacuum device scalps the bouquet but I've no real evidence of that.

Fridge is the main thing, I think.

I have found that maybe 8 seconds in my microwave brings red wines up to cellar temperature, in case you forget to bring it out ahead of time.

Fridge is the main thing, I think.

I have found that maybe 8 seconds in my microwave brings red wines up to cellar temperature, in case you forget to bring it out ahead of time.

And those 8 seconds do no perceptible damage? Conventional wisdom would deplore such rapid warming .

I use Vacu-Vin and put the bottle in the fridge. I'm not convinced that the vacuum does as much to keep the wine fresh as does the fridge but maybe a few hours are gained. I've heard it suggested the the vacuum device scalps the bouquet but I've no real evidence of that.

I use the Vacu-Vin and had some success keeping an opened bottle "fresh". I have found, however, that the white wines tend to last longer under this system than do the reds.


Just my two cents....

Fridge is the main thing, I think.

I have found that maybe 8 seconds in my microwave brings red wines up to cellar temperature, in case you forget to bring it out ahead of time.

And those 8 seconds do no perceptible damage? Conventional wisdom would deplore such rapid warming .

I regularly use the microwave to "warm" a refrigerated bottle with no adverse affects at all. Give it a try and I think you will agree. Just be judicious. It only takes a few seconds to bring a wine up to cellar temp, so experiment. You can always give it a few more seconds.

Fridge is the main thing, I think.

I have found that maybe 8 seconds in my microwave brings red wines up to cellar temperature, in case you forget to bring it out ahead of time.

And those 8 seconds do no perceptible damage? Conventional wisdom would deplore such rapid warming .

I wasn't aware of any wisdom, let alone conventional, regarding microwaving wine, so I'll depend on my experience, which has been excellent. I never remember to get the wine out of the fridge ahead of time.

I've had good results with the microwave as well. I've never noticed any problem with the wine, assuming I've been careful about the time in the microwave.