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I was highly disappointed to read this: "Whatever you do, please don’t buy a VacuVin or anything resembling such a device that allows you to “pump out the air

I was highly disappointed to read this: "Whatever you do, please don’t buy a VacuVin or anything resembling such a device that allows you to “pump out the air from the bottle.” These devices just don’t work as advertised. Sure, they remove some air, but not enough to truly protect the wine." So I guess we'll just finish the bottle!

odonnellryan 6y ago
They work absolutely fine actually. Weird.
jxramos 6y ago
I'm not so sure, I think vacuvins do make a difference. They certainly make a vacuum too because you hear a noticeable air rush when you break the seal. Maybe I'm fooling myself but it did seem to keep the wine fresher than just leaving the bottle open or corked up.
- GekkePrutser 6y ago
  That doesn't mean it's a vacuum inside. Just that it's lower pressure than outside. The question is how much lower :)
  - jxramos 6y ago
    I'm curious now what the volume per cylinder pump is. It normally takes several pumps before you start hearing the little spring clip noise thing communicate that the max vacuum has been achieved by the device. The more wine that has left the bottle the proportionally increased number of pumps to max out the device.
kibibyte 6y ago
You just have to set realistic expectations. Some internet people have done tests and concluded that it does extend the life of a wine by a couple of days, and some internet people have not found a difference. Based on anecdotes from a friend, it works better on some wines than others. I haven't searched hard to enough to come across anyone claiming that it makes things worse. For a $12 thing, it's not a huge investment to get one and see for yourself whether it works or not.
ThrowawayR2 6y ago
Sounds like someone needs to create a product to do nitrogen flushing / CO2 flushing for wine bottles for consumers. It's a technique already used commercially to protect food freshness, including wine; e.g. https://www.winespectator.com/articles/why-is-nitrogen-used-in-wine-bottling-process-56642 https://www.winespectator.com/articles/why-is-nitrogen-used-...
- fsckboy 6y ago
  consumer nitrogen gas flushing solutions already exist, they've been around a long time.
- Godel_unicode 6y ago
  The most popular version that is currently used is called a coravin, and is discussed extensively in the article.
Scene_Cast2 6y ago
There are alternatives that pump in a gas. The cheap ones are ~$15 and last for 40 bottle "refills".
djrogers 6y ago
I disagreed with this - although it may be a matter of expectations. We use our vacuvin to keep partials for a day or two, and they keep much better with it than with a cork. I’m not trying to keep wine for a week, and I prefer to keep reds out on the counter - fridge cold red tastes horrible to me, and who wants to wait for it to warm up? That said, reading about the eto has sent me down a rabbit hole on Amazon. I’m seriously considering ordering a wine squirrel now!
- pwarner 6y ago
  You don't have to wait for it to warm up. Microwave it. Really. Try it. For best results, use the smaller bottle trick, but the refrigerator adds same extra level of protection and warming it up takes 12 seconds. I drink a fair amount of the same wine (I make it) so I can assure you the fridge + microwave trick tastes the same as a fresh bottle.
leemailll 6y ago
Well, if you think about it, vacuum created with such a device can't be real vacuum due to the power of the device and the environment vacuum created in. It can make the wine last a bit longer but not much. Fill the air gap with an inert gas heavier than air is a better option.
rsync 6y ago
""Whatever you do, please don’t buy a VacuVin or anything resembling such a device that allows you to “pump out the air from the bottle.” These devices just don’t work as advertised. Sure, they remove some air, but not enough to truly protect the wine."" That may be the case, but I can assure you that a very inexpensive "brake bleed kit" with a vacuum gauge attached will, indeed, vacuum the headspace and maintain that vacuum. Again, you have a gauge with mmHG or whatever and you can verify that the vacuum is unchanged. I speak elsewhere in this HN thread about displacing air in primary fermenters with CO2 but I have also removed air with a hand vacuum (brake bleed kit).
jnurmine 6y ago
I didn't get the vacuum pump hate either. Such a pump is really great! What I have noticed is that some bottle necks are slightly too large or of a weird form for the corks, letting the vacuum escape. When everything is OK the cork makes a pleasantly sharp "ssssshhhhup" sound when releasing the vacuum. For some bottles there's just a faint sloppy "shh" or perhaps even nothing, and for sure the taste isn't optimal then. After pumping I always put the bottle to the fridge. If storing a pumped wine at room temperature I suppose the wine would quickly end up tasting like donkey. Then later, when it's time, I open the cork and let the wine warm up (!) to the required temperature. A pumped wine won't hold for months of course, but I've kept more robust red wines up to a few weeks max, and they are OK for my tastebuds. So, after any decanting and airing I usually test the bottle with the pump + cork, to see that it gets sealed properly, if I plan to pump it. Probably all Frenchmen and Italians are rolling their eyes and writhing in agony now but hey, it works for me...

odonnellryan 6y ago

They work absolutely fine actually. Weird.

jxramos 6y ago

I'm not so sure, I think vacuvins do make a difference. They certainly make a vacuum too because you hear a noticeable air rush when you break the seal. Maybe I'm fooling myself but it did seem to keep the wine fresher than just leaving the bottle open or corked up.

GekkePrutser 6y ago
That doesn't mean it's a vacuum inside. Just that it's lower pressure than outside. The question is how much lower :)
- jxramos 6y ago
  I'm curious now what the volume per cylinder pump is. It normally takes several pumps before you start hearing the little spring clip noise thing communicate that the max vacuum has been achieved by the device. The more wine that has left the bottle the proportionally increased number of pumps to max out the device.

kibibyte 6y ago

You just have to set realistic expectations. Some internet people have done tests and concluded that it does extend the life of a wine by a couple of days, and some internet people have not found a difference. Based on anecdotes from a friend, it works better on some wines than others. I haven't searched hard to enough to come across anyone claiming that it makes things worse. For a $12 thing, it's not a huge investment to get one and see for yourself whether it works or not.

ThrowawayR2 6y ago

Sounds like someone needs to create a product to do nitrogen flushing / CO2 flushing for wine bottles for consumers. It's a technique already used commercially to protect food freshness, including wine; e.g. https://www.winespectator.com/articles/why-is-nitrogen-used-in-wine-bottling-process-56642 https://www.winespectator.com/articles/why-is-nitrogen-used-...

fsckboy 6y ago
consumer nitrogen gas flushing solutions already exist, they've been around a long time.
Godel_unicode 6y ago
The most popular version that is currently used is called a coravin, and is discussed extensively in the article.

Scene_Cast2 6y ago

There are alternatives that pump in a gas. The cheap ones are ~$15 and last for 40 bottle "refills".

djrogers 6y ago

I disagreed with this - although it may be a matter of expectations. We use our vacuvin to keep partials for a day or two, and they keep much better with it than with a cork. I’m not trying to keep wine for a week, and I prefer to keep reds out on the counter - fridge cold red tastes horrible to me, and who wants to wait for it to warm up? That said, reading about the eto has sent me down a rabbit hole on Amazon. I’m seriously considering ordering a wine squirrel now!

pwarner 6y ago
You don't have to wait for it to warm up. Microwave it. Really. Try it. For best results, use the smaller bottle trick, but the refrigerator adds same extra level of protection and warming it up takes 12 seconds. I drink a fair amount of the same wine (I make it) so I can assure you the fridge + microwave trick tastes the same as a fresh bottle.

leemailll 6y ago

Well, if you think about it, vacuum created with such a device can't be real vacuum due to the power of the device and the environment vacuum created in. It can make the wine last a bit longer but not much. Fill the air gap with an inert gas heavier than air is a better option.

rsync 6y ago

""Whatever you do, please don’t buy a VacuVin or anything resembling such a device that allows you to “pump out the air from the bottle.” These devices just don’t work as advertised. Sure, they remove some air, but not enough to truly protect the wine."" That may be the case, but I can assure you that a very inexpensive "brake bleed kit" with a vacuum gauge attached will, indeed, vacuum the headspace and maintain that vacuum. Again, you have a gauge with mmHG or whatever and you can verify that the vacuum is unchanged. I speak elsewhere in this HN thread about displacing air in primary fermenters with CO2 but I have also removed air with a hand vacuum (brake bleed kit).

jnurmine 6y ago

I didn't get the vacuum pump hate either. Such a pump is really great! What I have noticed is that some bottle necks are slightly too large or of a weird form for the corks, letting the vacuum escape. When everything is OK the cork makes a pleasantly sharp "ssssshhhhup" sound when releasing the vacuum. For some bottles there's just a faint sloppy "shh" or perhaps even nothing, and for sure the taste isn't optimal then. After pumping I always put the bottle to the fridge. If storing a pumped wine at room temperature I suppose the wine would quickly end up tasting like donkey. Then later, when it's time, I open the cork and let the wine warm up (!) to the required temperature. A pumped wine won't hold for months of course, but I've kept more robust red wines up to a few weeks max, and they are OK for my tastebuds. So, after any decanting and airing I usually test the bottle with the pump + cork, to see that it gets sealed properly, if I plan to pump it. Probably all Frenchmen and Italians are rolling their eyes and writhing in agony now but hey, it works for me...