This article in the Asia Sentinel describes a new affordable and effective method of keeping wine fresh once opened – so a glass of wine at a time does not mean the rest of the bottle is wasted if not drunk within a few days. The product is from a company called Winesave.

I am a fan and owner of a Vacu Vin, a device which the author of this article, Curtis Marsh, calls “the most commercially popular alternative to displacing oxygen without using an inert gas”. This device simply pumps air out of the bottle and creates a vacuum so that the wine does not spoil. It also helps if the bottle is then refrigerated until needed. Marsh states that it is used in 30 million households in more than 75 countries.

While I often promote this device to friends it is true thaat it does not accurately measure the pressure so it is a bit “hit and miss”. However, it is also true that once you have one it never runs out!

The new device by a company called Winesave uses argon, a naturally occurring gas that is heavier than air, and has the advantage of being resistant to bonding with anything – therefore a small squirt into an open wine bottle sees the argon sink to settle between the wine and the air, forming a protective layer. Marsh states that “with the bottle kept upright and relatively cool, will preserve wine for weeks, indeed months”. He has tested it on young an old wines, on a range of wines styles and varietals and says thaat all were fine after two months.

The argon can be obtained easily through liquefaction of gases and fractional distillation. It is a natural product, environmentally friendly, comes in a recyclable can and the argon ultimately returns to the atmosphere, where it came from.

A canister retails for A$28 in Australia and the manufacturing company Winesave suggests that each canister has at least 50 applications.

Read the full article here