The Auswine Forum

Does it actually work?

I've found it works very well. The use of argon gas to stop wine from oxidising is not new; the thing about Winesave is that it can deliver the gas in a small canister for domestic purposes.

Hi Guys. it would be good to see the issue of wine preservation in general get some air play. In talking with restaurauteurs and wineries, the people who are focused on running their business to the highest standards, get in a heartbeat just what a boon winesave is. A lot of these people are familiar with very expensive wine preservation cabinets, the best of which use the same inert gas - argon - that we do. The beauty of winesave is that there is no significant capital expenditure involved, no eqipment to break down, etc, AND it works very very well with sparkling wines when used in conjunction with a good sparkling stopper.

Some of the world's best restaurants now use winesave to protect the wines they serve by the glass eg:

London: Roka and Zuma
Singapore: Waku Ghin by Tetsuya Wakuda
Sydney: Marque and Quay restaurants
Melbourne: Rockpool B + G, Movida, Movida Aqui etc

It's interesting that consumers at restaurants and wineries have not been as quick to reject oxidised wines served by the glass as what they do now with cork tainted wine. When the warmer weather eventually arrives - if ever - oxidation rates will increase exponentially and then unfortunately we'll certainly see some "sick" unprotected wines being served.

If any one EVER buys a can of winesave and they are not more than satisfied with its performance, I'll refund their cost in heartbeat, no questions asked.

A very merry xmas to all and a joyous new year rich will great bottles.

Frank

I grabbed a can today off the website after wasting half a $40 bottle during the week. So I'm hoping it will pay for itself from the odd occasions where I don't finish a bottle. I think I paid $30 for it delivered so if it lasts for the 50 shots as they say it will have saved me at least $1000 worth of wine. ($40 x 1/2 x 50 assuming each bottle is $40 which I reckon is fair enough as I wouldn't use it on cheapy stuff).

If I get it before Xmas I'll no doubt get a chance to try it over the break with the numerous family get togethers so will report back my findings.

Hi Dave, my recommendations are that aftyer wine-saving, keep the bottle standing in a cool place. I keep my white wines standing in the fridge door, and my reds are standing in one of the deep shelves of a large Vintec wine cabinet. I think you will be delighted with your results. Tim White did a very nice mention of us in last weekend's Financial Review in which he mentioned that at the START of the bottle, he decants off enough to fill a clean half/soda bottle, gives that a shot winesave, and then enjoys it at a latter date. That's a really good strategy. I understand entirely your comments about the cost of wasting wine. For a lot us, there aren't many nights now which are not school nights and the difference the next day between having consumed just enough as distinct from one too many, can be significant. Let me know how you go. vbr frank

Has anyone compared this to Winepreserva's? My only reason for hesitating with the Winesave is that I assume you have to reapply the gas after each new pour, unlike the preservas which can happily float on the top of the bottle until it's empty....

Simply using a vacuvin and then placing the wine in the fridge (red or white; just bring it back to room temperature if it's red) will preserve the wine very satisfactorily for 5 days or so at the very least, IME.

The other thing of course is to keep an empty half bottle and screw-cap (or better still, cork), which will allow you to store a half bottle in the fridge for some time.

orpheus wrote:Simply using a vacuvin and then placing the wine in the fridge (red or white; just bring it back to room temperature if it's red) will preserve the wine very satisfactorily for 5 days or so at the very least, IME.

The other thing of course is to keep an empty half bottle and screw-cap (or better still, cork), which will allow you to store a half bottle in the fridge for some time.

In most cases, but not all, it will preserve satisfactorily if you like drinking oxidised wines. And we know that even Orpheus failed to bring back the dead...
GW

Gary W wrote:

orpheus wrote:Simply using a vacuvin and then placing the wine in the fridge (red or white; just bring it back to room temperature if it's red) will preserve the wine very satisfactorily for 5 days or so at the very least, IME.

The other thing of course is to keep an empty half bottle and screw-cap (or better still, cork), which will allow you to store a half bottle in the fridge for some time.

In most cases, but not all, it will preserve satisfactorily if you like drinking oxidised wines. And we know that even Orpheus failed to bring back the dead...
GW

Harsh, Gary! Don't remind me, I was just getting over it, the music I was playing was no longer inciting the people to stone me, and there was a flicker of a fresh romance.

Seriously though, it depends upon the wine. I have found less oxidisation than you might expect, but only if the wine is kept in the fridge. And I am an oxidisation fiend; it is regularly an issue in places that sell wine by the glass, and I'm constantly sending them back.

IMHO, any of the "pump" systems have more of a placebo effect on the "pumpee" than they have beneficially on the wine. Certainly, keeping the wine in the fridge is a BIG plus as oxidation rates are exponential to temperature. That said, it is now generally accepted that argon is THE gas of choice for any winery and thus any consumer. If a winery doesnt use argon, it will most likely be due to existing legacy systems as well as a lack of appreciation as to how argon needs to be applied, thus leading to the sometimes incorrect conclusion that argon is a far more expensive solution. For those who would like to know more technically on the virtues of argon vis a vis anything else, please click http://www.vinovation.com/ArticleArgon2.htm

winesave wrote:IMHO, any of the "pump" systems have more of a placebo effect on the "pumpee" than they have beneficially on the wine. Certainly, keeping the wine in the fridge is a BIG plus as oxidation rates are exponential to temperature. That said, it is now generally accepted that argon is THE gas of choice for any winery and thus any consumer. If a winery doesnt use argon, it will most likely be due to existing legacy systems as well as a lack of appreciation as to how argon needs to be applied, thus leading to the sometimes incorrect conclusion that argon is a far more expensive solution. For those who would like to know more technically on the virtues of argon vis a vis anything else, please click http://www.vinovation.com/ArticleArgon2.htm

You are probably right. I have to admit the unfinished bottles are not that frequent around here! Certainly I agree that it is the fridge which slows down the oxidation. I will have to try the winesave system.

dave vino wrote:I grabbed a can today off the website after wasting half a $40 bottle during the week. So I'm hoping it will pay for itself from the odd occasions where I don't finish a bottle. I think I paid $30 for it delivered so if it lasts for the 50 shots as they say it will have saved me at least $1000 worth of wine. ($40 x 1/2 x 50 assuming each bottle is $40 which I reckon is fair enough as I wouldn't use it on cheapy stuff).

If I get it before Xmas I'll no doubt get a chance to try it over the break with the numerous family get togethers so will report back my findings.

OK took 3 bottles of wine to a NYE party with friends. (Chardy/Rose/Shiraz) with the aim to drink a few glasses out of each..anyway I drank half the Chardy all of the Rose and all of the shiraz. So I gave it a 1 sec squirt into the Chardy. It's a bit unnerving as it doesn't seem like anything is happening. Everyone was like 'is it doing anything? I can't see anything...' anyway got it home without upsetting it and put it in the fridge. Decided to try it today with my bacon sarny (as you do) and basically this stuff works, and it works well. Wine was just as when I had finished off drinking it. No evidence of sourness you usually get from opened whites after a few days. I'm excited!!

Now I don't have to worry about taking 5-6 bottles 'to try' with a couple of friends and having to wade through them all on the one night, we can have 1-2 glasses from each and save the rest for another day. I reckon it will be great for offlines as a lot of the time you end up with 10 bottles with about 3" in them and you know you won't want to drink again for at least another day and when you do, most of them are just porty/sour vestiges of what they were.

dave vino wrote:

dave vino wrote:I grabbed a can today off the website after wasting half a $40 bottle during the week. So I'm hoping it will pay for itself from the odd occasions where I don't finish a bottle. I think I paid $30 for it delivered so if it lasts for the 50 shots as they say it will have saved me at least $1000 worth of wine. ($40 x 1/2 x 50 assuming each bottle is $40 which I reckon is fair enough as I wouldn't use it on cheapy stuff).

If I get it before Xmas I'll no doubt get a chance to try it over the break with the numerous family get togethers so will report back my findings.

OK took 3 bottles of wine to a NYE party with friends. (Chardy/Rose/Shiraz) with the aim to drink a few glasses out of each..anyway I drank half the Chardy all of the Rose and all of the shiraz. So I gave it a 1 sec squirt into the Chardy. It's a bit unnerving as it doesn't seem like anything is happening. Everyone was like 'is it doing anything? I can't see anything...' anyway got it home without upsetting it and put it in the fridge. Decided to try it today with my bacon sarny (as you do) and basically this stuff works, and it works well. Wine was just as when I had finished off drinking it. No evidence of sourness you usually get from opened whites after a few days. I'm excited!!

Now I don't have to worry about taking 5-6 bottles 'to try' with a couple of friends and having to wade through them all on the one night, we can have 1-2 glasses from each and save the rest for another day. I reckon it will be great for offlines as a lot of the time you end up with 10 bottles with about 3" in them and you know you won't want to drink again for at least another day and when you do, most of them are just porty/sour vestiges of what they were.

Hi Dave, delighted you gave it a try and are happy with the results. PM me with a postal address and I'll send you one of our new mini cans - about the size of a roll-on deodorant - which has 10 shots in it. Perfect to take with you to a dinner, byo restaurant etc as you can just stick it in your pocket and sparge the remaining wine then and there.
Best wishes Frank

Been using this for a little while and they work well IF you don't move the bottle around.....dose it and either pop it straight in the fridge or elsewhere and don't touch it until you need to open it for another slug. The waste factor is a bit of a concern....if you were a real wine geek you'd get an account with Air Liquide or BOC and get a canister of argon and a sparging unit...it would work out to be way cheaper and good for the planet as the canisters are reusable

DaveB wrote:Been using this for a little while and they work well IF you don't move the bottle around.....dose it and either pop it straight in the fridge or elsewhere and don't touch it until you need to open it for another slug. The waste factor is a bit of a concern....if you were a real wine geek you'd get an account with Air Liquide or BOC and get a canister of argon and a sparging unit...it would work out to be way cheaper and good for the planet as the canisters are reusable

wine preservation:

Dave, there are issues/complexities associated with using large cylinders w sparging units on small vessels (bottles.) Some wineries have attempted to do the same thing with their cellar door wines and found the results haven't been been terrific. Basic problem is that the delivery of the argon into the bottle is critical, lest the tubulence created result in the argon spiraling out as fast as its being put in.

Oh btw, the mt winesave can is recyclable.
vbr frank

winesave wrote:Oh btw, the mt winesave can is recyclable.
vbr frank

So is the wine, at the very least for cooking a favourite dish some days later.

I'm struggling to drink the wine i want to try for cellaring.
I have a healthy young collection and don't always want to drink the test wines within three days. They are just a little too full on and i have nice older wines to drink too.

How long will a wine keep (in the fridge) with a winesave and where do i buy it to try it?

With the *Perth "Off line" coming up i would like to crack a bottle of something and keep it for a few days to sample on the night with a fresh bottle for comparitive testing.

* More wine lovers than forum members.

xsorxpire wrote:I'm struggling to drink the wine i want to try for cellaring.
I have a healthy young collection and don't always want to drink the test wines within three days. They are just a little too full on and i have nice older wines to drink too.

How long will a wine keep (in the fridge) with a winesave and where do i buy it to try it?

With the *Perth "Off line" coming up i would like to crack a bottle of something and keep it for a few days to sample on the night with a fresh bottle for comparitive testing.

* More wine lovers than forum members.

My experience at home is when I have had enough of the wine for the occasion, I apply a one-second shot of winesave, immediately recork or replace the screwcap, and then leave standing up in either the fridge door for whites, or for reds, into the Vintec cabinet (standing up). As a good average, I'd say 7-10 days will see the wine remain in vg condition following the above method.

As an alternative you could do what Tim White said in a recent Financial Review article ( its on our blog here http://winesave.com/blog/page/2 ) When you first open a bottle to taste, immediately pour off into a half bottle/soda bottle etc, enough to fill it to within an inch or so of the top and give it a one-second shot of winesave and reseal immediately. (make sure the winesave hose is not "in" the wine as you will cause a "geyser" effect with the "heavy" winesave forced into the bottle at pressure ). Keep under similar conditions to that I described above, and you will probably see the wine remain in good to vg condition for weeks.

Here is a quote worth noting:

"I opened a bottle of Hunter Shiraz to taste in late November and immediately closed with winesaveâ„¢. Just opened it to have a look (2.5 months later) and the wine is as fresh as a daisy."

Ben Edwards, President, Sommeliers Australia, Consultant sommelier, Editor The Wine Guide

In regards to purchasing winesave, I'm sure the guys at Auswine can mail a bottle to you. If you are in Perth and needed a can in a hurry, then I know Steves of Nedlands or La Vigna are big fans of winesave.

Good Luck with the "offline"
Frank

I think I will have to "borrow" a balloon of high purity argon from the lab every now and then.