How To Use a Wine Stopper (And Why You Should)

Wine stoppers are popular accessories, but how exactly do they work? If stored properly, wine can last months, years, and even decades. This, of course, is only if the bottle has never been opened. Once you open a bottle of wine, that’s another story. Even the most resilient wine can turn sour in a week.

Let’s talk about wine stoppers, corks, and ways to store your wine. We'll even cover what to do if you already poured it into your Grassl wine decanter, Zalto wine decanter, or carafe. 

How to Use A Wine Stopper With Grassl Decanter

Wine decanters and carafes can make your wine experience more enjoyable, especially with the help of a wine stopper to protect your leftover wine (and your Grassl decanter, too)! How do wine stoppers work? The purpose of a wine stopper is to protect the wine from its number one enemy: oxygen. 

Oxygen oxidizes wine, changing its color, flavor, and texture. It also allows for air-breathing bacteria to colonize your wine, most notable vinegar bacteria. Unopened bottles last so long thanks to their cork, a natural stopper that prevents oxygen from finding its way into the bottle (although, eventually, all wines oxidize). A wine stopper can preserve opened bottles of wine while preventing spillage. 

Your bottle’s cork is a good stopper already, so don’t toss it. Instead, reseal your bottle with its own cork. There are, however, better alternatives on the market.

Specialized wine stoppers are air-tight. Some come with a vacuum pump that allows you to extract the oxygen in the bottle. Some stoppers are inexpensive, while you’ll find sophisticated wine storage systems at any price point. Wine stoppers for decanters and carafes are less common, but just as useful—we’ll talk about those below.

How To Reseal and Store Open Wine Bottles

How should you store opened bottles of wine? Here are a few tips: 

Store your opened bottles of wine immediately after you’re done drinking. Seal your bottle with a wine stopper and store it in the fridge. When possible, use an air pump to extract the air inside the bottle. 

If you have less than half a bottle of leftover wine, consider transferring it to a smaller bottle — it will reduce the amount of air inside the bottle. 

If you poured your wine into a Zalto decanter, our Grassl decanters, or a carafe, use a Bouchon stopper to protect your wine from the air. This beauty is made with food-grade silicone, and keeps your wine safe from dust particles and moisture!

Pro tip: Protect your Grassl decanters and carafe with a silicone Bouchon, even when not using. That way, they’ll always be ready to use.

Different Types of Wine Stoppers

There are several types of bottle stoppers, and they all work similarly. An exception is the sparkling wine bottle stoppers, which come with clamps that prevent the pressure inside the bottle from popping out the stopper.

For decanters and carafes, the only reliable alternative is a silicone Bouchon. Efficient, practical, and beautiful, this wine stopper will keep your decanters in good shape and your wine protected. That’s a win-win in our book. Purchase your Grassl Silicone Bouchon today.