Resealing home bottles [General]

2009 Dec 7
(I tried searching under various terms on the forum and came away empty-handed, but if it already exists, just point me to the thread. :))

I'm looking for a good, cheap and simple way to reseal corked bottles that I open at home. I'm especially interested in finding toppers (if that's the term) that are the least height possible. I have various ice cider bottles, which seem to have a characteristic narrow shape and long neck for most makers, that have trouble fitting upright in my fridge once they've been opened and have the original cork sticking mostly out in an attempt to reseal it as best I can.

(I figure the one bottle that's 33cm high won't fit with any stopper, when the available fridge space is 33.5cm...)

It seems the bottles are all 2cm wide, and that it's the standard wine size.

Is there any place that sells these contraptions for home use, which work reasonably well?

2009 Dec 8
If you search under "corker", you should come to the thread about OZ per pour. Apparently they are available at Defalco's for about $25. Sorry, I can't figure out how to link directly to the thread, but hopefullly Food & Think (or someone) will jump in to tell me.


2009 Dec 8
Niall - There are certainly a variety of ways that you can reseal a corked bottle... beyond struggling to put the old cork back in. There are a couple of closures the type that spring load (for lack of a better term), you flip the handle down and the top snaps in place (this method of closure is commonly seen in wine bars around town = www.epromos.com

The second type is a top and pump that creates a vacuum (this method is commonly used by Wineries in Niagara) and I use this system at home, mine is made by Trudeau = www.uxsight.com

Unfortunately both of aforementioned will "add height" to your bottle as the closure sits on top of the bottle. You might want to check out a place like Defalco's - Defalco's they sell Bottle Corkers and corks, and you can just close the bottle with a new cork and it will be flush with the top of the bottle (I have used a Double Level Corker when I made wine). www.defalcos.com

2009 Dec 8
Gardener Mom: I did see the thread in question, but that wasn't exactly what I had in mind.

**Food & Think:** Thanks, the flip-handle one was more what I was looking for. I know it'll add height, but I think much less than the vacuum pumps. And re-corking is not something I trust myself doing, after having trouble just uncorking...

2009 Dec 8
Defalcos should sell whisky-style corks that have a plastic end on them and are really easy to apply and pull out again. I bought them there quite a few years ago but they should still sell them.

2009 Dec 8
i don't understand, unfinished wine? never had that problem ;)

i use the vacuum pump or a metrokane champagne stopper. the champagne stopper is great, but adds even more height than the vacuum stopper. i have also just left wine in the decanter and it has been fine for the shortterm.

here are pics of the champagne stopper i use www.metrokane.com

be wary of some stoppers, they let in a lot of air and are more decorative than useful. this will not prolong the life of your wine - which i am assuming you are trying to do.

and finally, in a pinch (or if you are having wine and cheese fondue late one night in a chalet in gatineau park....), you can simply wad up a ball of saran wrap and push it into the bottle. this stops the air from getting in, doesn't take up any space.

2009 Dec 8
Ok, if we are talking wine here (can't speak to cider, as I don't know enough about it, but lets for the sake of argument say that the issue is the same)... HipFunkyFun is right what you want to achieve is the least amount of air exposure as possible. This can be achieved in a variety of ways:

1- Just cut off the flow of air (recap the bottle) using whatever method that you wish (even saran wrap). This will stop the movement of air over the wine, but of course doesn't account for the fact the bottle already has air trapped inside.

2- Remove the air from the inside (stopper & vacuum pump). Usually regarded as the best method for preserving the quality of wine to the closest point of when you last drank it (remembering that wine will be different from when you opened it to when you close it, because it has already reacted with air... also known in wine terminolgy as "Opened Up").

3- Store the wine with the least amount of air possible. This can be done by finding a container that the wine can fill more fully... so that there is even less air circulating against the surface of the wine. This is a "trick" that I learned from a Wine Judge at the Ottawa Food & Wine Show... he told me that he specifically keeps on hand some clean used half-bottles just for this purpose (or smaller when he can find them... such as the size that the airlines use)... the best ones will be those you can find with screw tops.

4- Also chilling wine will slow down the oxidation, so putting it in the fridge (or better yet the freezer... remembering that wine will freeze & expand). Then when you want to drink it, just bring it out and let it warm up to the right temperature. This last method, I find changes the quality of the wine more than the other methods, but is the best one if you don't plan to drink the leftover wine within 24 hours... in my mind at least, the quality of wine deteriorates signficantly after 24 hours in Options 1, 2 and 3 to surpass that of Option 4. If that happens, then I just use the leftover wine for cooking (for which there is no timeframe).

Niall - I have had good success with Option 3 for Ice Wine (which I would think has at least some similarities to Ice Cider). Ice Wine is not something I can typically consume all in one sitting (unless we are having a Dinner Party and can divy up all of the 12 ounces = 8 x 1.5 oz pours). Ice Wine has a longer life than regular wine (up to 2 weeks in the fridge) so being able to remove as much air as possible works to preserve the quality.

HipFunkyFun - "Unfinished Wine"
Ya I know sounds odd... but as I've become more wine knowledgeable, I've discovered there are actually more and more occasions where this is applicable. Situations like Take Home the Rest, times when we open a second bottle because we want another glass each (but not really another 2-1/2 each), times when we've featured different wines with different courses, etc.

--- --- ---

Take Home the Rest - Anyone who has been following this topic and also checked out the Oz of Wine per Glass in Restaurants - www.ottawafoodies.com ...the corkers that we've been trying to get Restaurants around town to invest in (so that they can flush top the corks) is the one from Defalco's Such a corker means there will never be an issue with a bottle not meeting the "flush to top" requirement, nor a bottle that cannot be recorked (screwtops).

And to answer the age old argument - NO SPECIAL LICENSING IS REQUIRED for an establishment to become part of the Take Home the Rest Program. The misconception lies in the fact that the legislation was introduced at the same time as the BYOW Progam, but the two are entirely independent of each other. Anyone can participate in the THTH Program, from the Smart Serve Ontario website = smartserve.org/faq_byow.asp

Infact offering THTR is a good move as there is certainly a good chance that it will improve the sale of wine for an establishment in that patrons will purchase a more expensive wine by the bottle, than a cheaper wine by the glass.

Wine Service - To improve wine service in Ottawa (and the quality of wine served), we are also encouraging places that sell wine by the glass to invest in either the Spring Loaded or Vacuum Pump Closures.

2009 Dec 8
Zymurgist: a whisky-style cork is exactly what I was looking for! I found it on Defalco's online site (item 3411) once I knew what to look for. One of the ice ciders already has such a cork, so it's easy to restop properly. (Domaine Pinnacle's 1849, a blend of their Signature ice cider and their own apple brandy. To treat with the utmost respect. I tend not to have more than 1/4 of a shot at a time unless I don't plan on doing much the next morning.)

I do believe the high sugar content of ice cider makes it last a lot longer than wine. I do not really have wine, because by myself I tend not to drink much - a single glass of red will leave me noticeably buzzed. Two will affect my balance. Last weekend I had most of half a bottle (semi-dry Riesling) with a friend, and it certainly affected me the next morning (not in a positive way).

Hipfunkyfun: I may use the saran wrap for the tall Signature bottle - along with a doubled-up broccoli elastic around the overflow on the neck to help the seal.

Another reason I want to reseal is that since I tend to offer tastings to various friends at various times of my ice ciders (and soon sakés, though I know those have a limited shelf life once open), we're not going to finish the bottles in one sitting. If we did so, not many people could walk home. Those things are sneaky, what with the sugar content... :) I've had many ice cider bottles open for a while before and the taste never noticeably altered - it was just awkward to find place for the cork, and I was never sure how well it was resealed. With the plastic-top corks, it should be a cinch now.

2009 Dec 9
Yup, the plastic-top corks worked great! Though it seems ice cider bottles generally have 1-2mm smaller openings than wine bottles; see the leftmost two bottles where the cork doesn't fit in fully, but it is sealed. And quite surprisingly, the rightmost bottle of Signature actually fit fully and stands upright! barely. :)

Thanks everyone!