Just Say No To Oxygen

If you’re like my family these days, you’re eating more leftovers.  It’s probably what we should have been doing all along, but better late than never.  As I prepared to dive into my third night of meatloaf recently, I thought about what might make it taste better – or at least what might help me forget I was eating the same thing again:  “Wine,” I decided, “but what?”  I glanced toward the kitchen counter next to the sink, and there I saw the answer--“counter cabernet” as my husband refers to it.

In our family, “counter” wine is the name given to whatever wine we currently have open – our wine leftovers.  With an open bottle already available, I knew I couldn’t open another.  Unfortunately, the counter bottle had sat too long and the cabernet was virtually undrinkable.  Since I couldn’t bring myself to drink it, and I couldn’t justify tossing it out in favor of opening a new bottle, the bad wine went down the sink, and my meatloaf went wine-less.  I resolved to put a little more effort into saving my leftover wine in the future, if for no other reason than to have something to make the leftover dinner more palatable!

The methods of preserving wine are similar to the methods of preserving food:  You want to create conditions that make it difficult for bad things to happen to your wine or your food.  In the case of food, that typically means covering and refrigeration to slow the growth of bad bacteria.  In the case of wine, it also means covering and refrigeration, but instead of bacteria, the danger is oxygen.

Oxygen is the number one enemy of an open bottle of wine.  A little bit of oxygen can make a very young, really tannic wine more approachable.  But a lot of oxygen can ruin just about any bottle of wine.  Add a little heat to a lot of oxygen, and the breakdown speeds up dramatically.  The fruit flavors disappear first and then in a lot of cases, the wine turns to vinegar – and it’s usually not the really good vinegar!

So what’s the best way to protect wine?  The most practical method is to close it.  You can use either the original cork or buy one of the many commercial stoppers available on the market or reapply the screw top.  Re-corking the wine keeps more oxygen from getting in and it also prevents unpleasant smells (like the kind that can occur in a fridge full of leftovers!) from getting in.  For additional benefit, you might also consider repouring into a smaller bottle—on the theory that the less space there is in the bottle, the less oxygen can get in it.  Regardless of whether you choose to use the original bottle or something new, the principle of stopping the inflow of oxygen is the same.

Although I often just replace the original cork in the bottle for everyday drinking wines (those that didn’t cost more than about $8-10) or wines that I know we’ll finish the very next day, I use something fancier if the wine is really special or if I want to save it more than a day.  In such cases, I use one of two methods that help to remove oxygen from a bottle. 

The first method is a vacuum system.  You’ve probably seen them at a local grocery or discount store for less than $10.  The system comes with a couple of pliable stoppers (I honestly don’t know if they’re rubber or plastic or something in between) and a small hand vacuum that mildly resembles a turkey baster.  You put the stopper in the bottle, put the pump on the top of the stopper and pump it up and down a few times until it won’t go anymore.  Some serious wine lovers I know won’t use this system, claiming either that it can’t get all the oxygen out or that the vacuum sucks out some of the volatile compounds that give wine its complex aromas.  My experience tells me that unless you’re drinking $500 bottles of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, you’re not going to worry about losing some of the subtle aromas – they probably weren’t there in the first place anyway!  The vacuum does seem to extend the life of the wine by a couple days.

The second method of removing oxygen is a nitrogen canister.  These canisters are about the same size and shape as a bottle of furniture polish and cost about $10.  They typically have a small straw that you put into the opening of the bottle and the opening of the canister.  You then spray 3-4 quick bursts of nitrogen into the bottle of wine and quickly re-cork the bottle.  The nitrogen displaces virtually all of the oxygen and the cork or other stopper keeps it in place until you’re ready to re-open it.  I use this method when I have a bottle I really care about and I know I need to store it for more than a couple days.  I suspect it would preserve the wine for two weeks or more, but I’ve never tested it for more than about 10 days.  The typical canister will last for more than 10 uses.  Incidentally, when you first get the can, you will think it is empty because it is so light.  It isn’t.  Nitrogen is lighter than oxygen and the aerosol can will get heavier as you empty it.  Once it feels full, it’s probably time to replace it!

Regardless of what method you choose to close your half-empty bottle, the next step is refrigeration.  Refrigeration is just as good for protecting wine as it is for protecting food.  It can’t save the wine forever, but it can keep it good for some period of time.  My rule of thumb for the fridge is typically that a bottle of white wine will stay in the fridge without significant damage for 2-3 days (I notice that sweet wines last longer).  Red wine will usually last a couple days longer.  If you’ve carefully sealed it with a vacuum or nitrogen, it will last several days longer.

Saving, conserving, stretching and preserving are the new chic in these tough economic times.  Lengthening the life of a bottle of wine is just another common-sense budget strategy.  With a little effort and a few inexpensive tools, you, too, can join the newly fashionable ranks of the budget conscious, while ensuring that there’s always something available to help wash down the meatloaf!