Wine & champagne stoppers

For champagne and sparkling wine you need a model that clamps on. The levers grip under the rim of the bottle mouth, where a champagne bottle has a thick ring. An ordinary cork stopper is simply pushed back out by the pressure. The versions in chrome, gold, copper and stainless steel all work the same way; the difference is in the finish.

For still wine a stopper that seals airtight is enough. Silicone seals smoothly and fits almost any neck size, while metal with a rubber ring sits tighter and looks neater on the table. If you really want to keep a bottle open for a week, draw the air out with a vacuum pump, manual or electric. The Zzysh system works the other way round and injects argon into the bottle, a heavy noble gas that lies on the wine like a blanket and pushes the oxygen aside.

Close the bottle right after you pour, not at the end of the evening. The damage happens during the hours the bottle stands open. Then put the bottle upright in the fridge, red wine included: cold slows oxidation down, and you simply let it come back up on the table for half an hour before serving.

With a vacuum pump, pump until you feel resistance and hear the click. Do not keep going to the limit, because along with the air you pull aromas out of the wine. Put a champagne bottle back in the cooler with the stopper on; the bubbles then stay usable for a day or two, enough for a mimosa or a bellini the next morning.

Stainless steel and chrome are dishwasher-safe, but take the rubber or silicone ring out first. Wine collects under that ring and starts to smell after a few weeks. Rinse the ring separately, let it dry and only put it back once it is completely dry.

Copper and gold are coatings that go dull from dishwasher tablets, so wash those by hand. Check now and then whether the rubber is still supple, because hardened rubber no longer seals and you only notice when a bottle turns out flat too soon. Replacing a ring or a stopper is cheaper than throwing away a bottle.

Keeping wine is one thing, pouring it another. A freshly opened red gets going faster in a decanter, and for water or house wine on the table there are the carafes. The glass does the rest: have a look at the red wine glasses or the champagne glasses. What you can still make with a last splash of bubbles is over at the cocktail recipes, where the classics with wine and champagne have their own section. If you are not sure which stopper fits your bottle, the frequently asked questions below will help.