Wine has a particular appeal to men. It is like golf, cycling or music in that there is always more to learn, and it can quite easily become an obsession. Organising a cellar has parallels with creating playlists on iTunes or an elaborate filing system for your old-school vinyl. And like those other pursuits, there is a vast amount of paraphernalia to buy that you do not need. A good old waiter’s friend (the best one is here) is the most efficient way to remove a cork from the bottle. Yet oenophile friends of mine have a whole battery of weapons ready to be deployed, many of which cost hundreds of pounds. None perform the job any better than the five-quid option. I have draws full of un-loved wine thermometers, strainers, cellar tags, etc. all given to me by well-meaning relatives. None of them improve my enjoyment of wine. The latest gadget is the Coravin and it aims to solve the age-old preservation problem. Greg Lambrecht, whose day job is running a company specialising in spinal implants, brought his medical knowledge to bear and came up with a nifty idea: he figured that the best way of preserving wine is to not open the bottle at all.

A hollow needle is inserted through the cork and argon gas (inert and heavier than air) is pumped in under pressure; wine is forced out and replaced by the gas. In theory (early reports are encouraging) you can then go back to the same bottle six months later and it will still be as the maker intended it. It is not yet available in the UK, but will be early next year and costs $300 in the States. I am not sure many people need one of these things (who takes six months to polish off a single bottle of wine?), although need and want are two different things when it comes to men and their gadgets. And if the Coravin works, you will definitely find a sommelier appearing at a tableside soon clutching his or her new toy. But if you don't fancy spending a couple of hundred quid, and can't wait till next year, how else can you best preserve an open bottle of wine? My wife and I might well have a bottle of each colour on the go during the week, and there are a few things you can do maximise your chances of having a decent glass left on day five.

If you are lucky enough to have bubbly, do not hang a teaspoon (the old wives tale stipulates it should be silver) in the neck. It does not work. Instead, reseal with a wine cork which will help re-pressurise the bottle and thus save the fizz. For still wine, a young bottle is a good place to start. It will evolve rather than fade over the week - you might well find that day two’s glass tastes better than day one's. good wine to cook with redBear in mind that, generally speaking, red lasts longer once open than white. best red wine to drink for health benefitsI also find that robust grapes like Shiraz or Chardonnay stand up fairly well to prolonged exposure to air; good wine bars in portland or

the delicacy and perfume of Pinot Noir or Riesling, on the other hand, often suffer. Cork in or cap on is a must, but should you leave the wine in the fridge or keep it out? The wine will oxidise more quickly at a higher temperature (unrefrigerated), but it is easier for oxygen to be absorbed at lower temperatures (in the fridge). I take the practical approach and keep white in the fridge (after all when you want a glass, you don’t want to have to wait and chill it), while reds sit on the side, although on particularly hot days I will stick them in the fridge as well. best wine to cook with redOf the cheaper preservation systems around the Vacu Vin (rubber stopper; annoying pump to take the air out) is ineffective, the best is WineSave, a canister that delivers a blanket of Argon gas into an opened bottle. where to buy wine in paris france

Better still, track down some good half bottles. Best advice of the lot, finish the whole bottle in one sitting. Hamish Anderson is the head sommelier at TateThe wine will stay just as fresh at room temperature. With a bottled wine (red or white) you should refrigerate any left over wine after opening. Refrigerating an open bottle will slow down a chemical reaction called oxidation that spoils the wine. best wine organicOxidation occurs because the wine inside the bottle is exposed to air when it’s opened. With Black Box, the wine is not exposed to air when it’s opened so there’s no oxidation to slow down. The wine will stay fresh for at least 6 weeks after opening. This is because our box contains a vacuum-sealed bag, which prevents the oxidation that spoils bottled wine a few days after opening. The internal bag (pouch) protects the wine from being exposed to air after it is opened. As you pour the wine, the bag collapses preventing air from getting into the container (similar to a Playtex baby bottle).

The wines are at their best within the first year after packaging. The date the wine was packaged on is stamped on the bottom of the box. To determine the shelf life of the wine add 15 months to the packaging date for white and red wines. A bag-in-box wine has a shorter shelf life than bottled wine. This is because, over time, microscopic amounts of oxygen actually pass through the surface of the bag and into the wine. Exposure to oxygen ages the wine. This also happens in bottled wine, but at a much slower pace. It won’t hurt you to drink a boxed wine older than this, but the flavors will have faded. Our distributors and retailers will normally pull a wine that’s too “old” off the shelf, but occasionally that does not happen. If you try one of our wines and it does not taste right, please return it to the retailer. We would greatly appreciate it if you could also let us know about it. The last thing we want is a below optimal product on the shelves. Air probably got into the vacuum sealed bag.

No air can be allowed to enter the bag inside the box. If air gets into the bag the wine will deteriorate (oxidize) the same as an opened bottle of wine. The only way that air can get into the bag is if the spout is opened when the box is on its side or upside down. Sometimes air will get into the bag when there is only a glass or so of wine left in the bag. This is caused by the remaining wine not sitting over top of the spout and the bag being at its limit of maximum contraction. If this is the case you’ll hear a gurgling sound caused by air entering the bag (when the wine is poured). There's not much you can do about it. Just don’t expect the wine to stay fresh for more than a couple of days if there is less than a glass left. Simply tilt the box forward and the remaining wine will pour faster. The wine pours slowly when you get down to the last couple of glasses because it is under a vacuum and there is not a lot of weight left to push the wine out. There’s a trick to getting the last couple of glasses of wine to come out quicker, but this trick will expose the wine to air thus causing it to oxidize the same as an opened bottle of wine.

If you’re down to the last bit of wine in the box and you are sure you are going to finish it, turn the box upside down and press the spout button. This will allow air to enter the bag, releasing the vacuum seal. The remaining wine will now easily pour out. Again, make sure that you plan on finishing the wine because it has now been exposed to air and will become stale in a couple of days. Another option is to pull the bag out (through the spout hole in the box) and squeeze the remaining bit of wine out of the bag. Drink the wine now, aging will not improve it. A bag-in-box wine will age more rapidly than a bottled wine. This ages the wine. This also happens in bottled wine, but at a much slower pace. It is a bit of a misconception that wines get better with aging. The vast majority of wines are not built to age and will begin to deteriorate about 18 months after bottling. Do not age your wine unless the winery gives a specific recommendation to do so. The best way to let any red wine (boxed or bottled) breathe is to pour it into your glass (or decant it into a pitcher) and then let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes.

If you don’t want to wait, pour your glass only half full and then swirl the wine around in the glass. Swirling the wine will expose it to oxygen much quicker. The act of both pouring and swirling aerates the wine, causing it to open up and release it’s aromas and flavors. In general, wines should be stored in a cool, dark, dry place. Store the wine at room temperature or cooler. Do not let wine get above 90 F or below 34 F. The spout should be pointing straight down. If not, you can twist it in order to rotate it to the correct position. Yes, remove the bag and recycle the box with your paper products. Low yields in recent vintages have led to sourcing constraints. In order to maintain the same high quality standard of Black Box Wines, we sought out other premiere wine growing regions that could offer exceptional value and superior quality. We found that in Chile where we have long standing relationships with growers and an experienced team of winemakers that span the country.