Whereas most of those who follow the Jewish and Christian faiths have ten commandments, Frenchmen have eleven, the final one to the effect that once having opened a bottle of wine it is a grave sin not to finish it. For better or for worse, not all of us are French, and many have pondered long and hard as to how to best salvage the remaining wine that remains in our bottles after we have finished our repast.

The worst enemy of wine is air, which causes oxidation, and when half consumed the average bottle contains 375 ml. of air, quite enough to destroy the charms of the wine overnight. Simply pushing the cork back in is to no avail, for the oxygen in the bottle will do its damage no matter what. Some believe that putting the wine in the refrigerator will help but this is nothing more than a myth. There is hope, however, and two general systems are now competing for their efficiency. The first of these systems involves a miniature pump, generally small and quite attractive, that creates a partial vacuum in the bottle, thus eliminating at least for a few days, the possibility of oxidation. On the local market one can easily find the products of French companies VacuVin and L'Atellier du Vin, both of which are simple to use and both of which will actually keep wines nicely for one, two or even three days after they have been opened. Also available, in this case via the internet at www.creative-ideas.net is E-Z Vac, a Californian invention from Creative Ideas Marketing Co. that not only vacuum seals your bottle but also provides a pouring spout. The major problem with these products it is that the creation of a partial vacuum trends to remove some of the volatile chemicals from the wine, thus reducing aroma. Despite that, all of these work and work well. I do, however, suggest ignoring the claims that any of these gadgets can keep wine for three or more weeks after opening. My own rule is that two days should be the maximum for storing wine once opened. Both VacuVin and the vacuum pump of L'Atellier du Vin cost about $8 - 10 each, including two stoppers for wine bottles. Extra stoppers are available at about $3.50 for 2. E-Z Vac on the other hand, will cost you about $12 and you will need a separate contraption for each bottle of wine you wish to store.

The second system for storing wine involves a spray can filled with nitrogen and other inert gasses. It is true that such gasses are used to preserve wines for long periods of time while the wines are in huge stainless steel vats at wineries. Unfortunately, the spray can simply does not work that well, for much of the gas inserted into the open bottle is forced out by the pressure of the spray, leaving what is probably a mixture of half-inert gas and half everyday air in the bottle. My own experiments have shown that gas sprays are no more or less effective in saving a half empty bottle of wine than simply pushing the cork back into the bottle.

( Note from Art & Betsy ) ... our way of doing this is to save old 1/2 ( 375ml ) bottles and when we have some left over from a full bottle, we pour it off into the 1/2 bottle

© Daniel Rogov