Once a bottle of wine is opened, it’s very likely that it will also be emptied that same night (or afternoon, for that matter). However, on the rare occasion that it isn’t we’ll pretty much do anything to make sure that it sticks around till the next day. In college that meant hunting for the nearest cork, or constructing elaborate plastic wrap covers when the cork was inevitably nowhere to be found. Unfortunately those janky methods do not savor the flavor of the wine, so let’s class it up a bit.
If you have about $300 to spare you can invest in a high-end wine preservation device like the Coravin. But for most of us that’s probably not in the budget, so here’s a list of five (inexpensive) ways to keep your precious unfinished bottle of vino fresh and ready to go for tomorrow:
1. Marbles: Free (potentially)
If you have a bunch of glass marbles lying around, this option is free. The idea is pretty simple: fill a tupperware container with your leftover wine and enough (clean) marbles so when the container’s closed there’s no air space left. Without the air, the wine theoretically won’t oxidize (which is what causes it to go stale).
2. Private Preserve Spray: $9
A blend of gases Argon, Carbon Dioxide, and Nitrogen. Spray it into your unfinished bottle of wine, then re-cork the bottle. Because the gases are heavier than oxygen, they will create a layer between the surface of the wine and any oxygen left in the bottle.
3. Metrokane Rabbit Electric Wine Preserver: $40
This nifty device electronically removes air from your bottle. Just place it on the top of bottle, press the button, and let the Rabbit do the rest of the work.
4. Freezer: Free (hopefully)
Pop that unfinished bottle in the freezer and the sub 32° temperatures will freeze the left over wine. The freezing process doesn’t damage the wine and should prevent oxidation from taking place. Just remember to leave enough time for defrosting the next day.
5. Vacu Vin Wine Saver: $10
This manual pump is cheap, easy to use, and—based on reviews from a number of satisfied wine guzzlers— a relatively effective solution. It comes with a stopper that is placed on the mouth of the bottle. Attach the device to the stopper, give it a few pumps, and the excess air is removed from the bottle.
Try these out and let us know what you think. We’ve listed them in order of effectiveness based on the expert opinion of The Wall Street Journal’s Wine Columnist, Lettie Teague. Happy drinking!