Customer Reviews

Vacu Vin Wine Saver Blister Pack -1 Pump 1 Stopper

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Looking at the reviews of this an other Vacuvin products, you see reports that are deeply contradictory. It's interesting that there is such a divergence of experience with such a simple product. The ideas behind Vacuvin are pretty simple.
First, air is the enemy of an open bottle of wine. Bacteria in the air want to turn alcohol into vinegar. The air itself oxidizes and dulls the taste of all but the most robust wines.
Second, you can remove some of the air with a simple pump and thereby slow down the rate at which wine deteriorates.

Why then, do we have both no-star and five-star reactions to this product?
Maybe the biggest source of disagreement is expectations. Vacuvin slows the deterioration of wine in the bottle, but it doesn't stop it.

Another possible reason for all the disagreement might be a question of temperature. The biochemical reactions that kill your wine are temperature sensitive. They proceed faster when the wine is warm and slow down when it's cool. Putting a pumped-out bottle in the refrigerator or wine cooler will slow down the spoilage processes and make Vacuvin more effective.
A third issue is the way the wine is handled before the Vacuvin plug goes in. If wine has a lot of air dissolved in it by being poured from decanter to bottle, there's no system that will keep it fresh.

For more info on wine storage, check out my book, New Short Course in Wine,The

--Lynn Hoffman, author of New Short Course in Wine,The and bang BANG: A Novel from Kunati Books.

I've been using this product for a quarter century or more. It's always worked well for me, and i can keep a bottle of red wine (at room temperature) for a week, sometimes two, with it.

Recently i had an opportunity to compare what the wine would taste like without using this product because, unbeknownst to me, my pump stopped working. The next day, i noticed a strikingly unpleasant shift in the taste of my bottle of wine. I blamed it on a bad stopper, so rotated it out. Another bottle of wine, same thing. After figuring out it was the pump, not the stoppers, which had failed, i bought a new pump. My next-day bottle of wine started tasting nearly as good as a freshly uncorked bottle. It was a striking difference. So i can reaffirm that this product does indeed work very well.

Some people seem to have less luck with it than i do. Every wine is of course different. But i suspect the biggest difference may be in how people use it. Firstly, i never rebottle decanted wine. Secondly, i pour the wine immediately upon decorking, and recork and vacuum the air out *immediately*. Thirdly, i pump enough to ensure that all the air is out, not just some. If the bottle is nearly empty, or i'm working with a 1.5L bottle, i have to do a lot more pumping (as there's more air in the bottle which needs to be removed).

I suspect those who report poor performance are either rebottling decanted wine, let their bottles sit open for a while, or aren't pumping out all the air they should.

It should be noted that this product won't work with sparkling wines like champagne. Such wines off-gas carbon dioxide, which will break the vacuum and vent out through the stopper's valve (which is designed to prevent airflow in the opposite direction).

There are those who suggest refrigerating red wine once opened. I've never found the need to do that, when using this product as i've described above.

I've just recently purchased a new pump (with the new style, single-rib stopper). The new pump works well with my old style three-rib stoppers. In fact, the pump design is improved over my older pump: it gives an audible click when the air has been evacuated from the bottle (no more pumping beyond what's necessary "just to be sure.")

Many reviews i've seen elsewhere say the old style stoppers work better than the new ones. I haven't yet used the new style stopper, so can't comment on that. As long as they hold the seal, they should be as good. Most of my old style stoppers are about 25 years old, and are still working great, so will probably continue to use them as long as i have them. Three ribs seem better than one, and i like how they work. If it ain't broke, don't change it!

Easy to use, even for my frail hands. Definitely better than just putting in a stopper, and I love that it doesn't require a separate charger pack. We'll be purchasing the extra set of 4 stoppers so we can keep a number of bottles fresh, especially handy after a dinner party!

It is easy and it does what it claims to do. Preserves those partially open bottles of wine for the next time you need it. Creates a good vacuum in the bottle. You can also purchase additional stoppers. Highly recommend.

What an excellent product for all of us wine drinkers. The vacuum remains in the bottle for days (maybe weeks).

If you enjoy bottled wine this is essential. by pumping all the air out of the bottle my wine stays fresh. I might have several bottles of wine open at a time to go with different meals, I can saver a $35 bottle of wine throughout a few weeks of meals and not feel I need to drink it right up.

My daughter told me about this item. Her and her husband are big wine lovers and they said this is the best solution for recorking wine. It's simple, easy to use, reasonably priced and IT WORKS!
For me one of the coolest things is how easy the "cork" comes back out. Just a little flick of the center of the top and VOILA! What a clever design.
What more can you ask for. I'd get the extra corks in case you have more than one bottle open at a time. Buy two, give one to a friend. They will love you for it.

I have owned this system for a few years now, using this for every wine, champagne, or other such bottle possible. Durability is great, and the product works very easily - you do not need to be in great shape or a rocket scientist to use this. I can say this will last a very long time - great purchase!

Great little wine saver. Easy to use, inexpensive, small enough to easily store or take alone on a trip. I like the little pop noise it makes when the vacuum is in place. It works too.

Love this product keeps wine great - they changed the stoppers not quite as good as older stoppers but still a good buy