More often than not, we prefer to use the “free” approach to resealing a wine bottle: re-using the cork. But sometimes the cork gets damaged when you are removing it with a corkscrew. Unless you finish the entire bottle of wine within a few hours, you’ll need some way of closing up the bottle to extend its life after opening. This is where a wine stopper comes in handy. There are a quite a few wine bottle stoppers on the market - so many, in fact, that it can be overwhelming. Here, we’ll share a few of our favorites wine stoppers and tell you what we appreciate about each one.
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How to Get That “Free Wine Stopper” Back In The Bottle
Success! You’ve removed the cork from the bottle intact and it looks like it is sturdy enough to re-use. Here are the quick steps for re-inserting the cork when your drinking session concludes.
Set the wine bottle on a solid surface, like a table or deck railing.
Wipe the cork with a napkin to remove any debris (like a small hanging piece of cork).
Orient the cork into the same direction as it came out of the bottle (the portion that was in the bottle is what is should be going back into the bottle).
Ease the cork into the bottle by angling the cork so that a portion is inside the bottle and a portion is resting on the lip of the bottle
Twist and push down on the cork at the same time.
Insert the cork about halfway into the bottle.
If you break the cork while re-inserting it, you can either choose to push the cork portion into the bottle and insert a bottle stopper OR use one of these handy tools to extract the cork from the bottle.
Do I Need a Wine Stopper?
If you generally drink box wine or wine with a screw cap, then you really don’t need a wine stopper. If you tend to drink wine with a cork, you can re-use the cork that came with the bottle. However, it is sometimes difficult to get the wine cork back into the bottle. In the event that this happens to you, having a spare wine stopper around will come in handy. It’s also good to have one as a backup plan in case the cork falls apart while you are removing it from the bottle.
Will a Wine Stopper Prevent My Wine From Going Bad?
Great question!
If a bottle of wine is open too long, let’s say overnight, the wine might start to go bad. The wine will not hurt you, it will simply taste less pleasant.
Wine stoppers, regardless of type, primarily serve to minimize the amount of oxygen entering the bottle after the wine bottle is open (as exposure to too much oxygen will cause the wine to lose flavor and aroma). Most wine stoppers will not stop wine from coming out of the bottle if you lay it on its side in a refrigerator or cabinet. Some wine bottle stoppers, like the Repour Wine Saver , are designed to absorb oxygen when one desires to savor an expensive wine over weeks or months.
Where Can I Buy Wine Bottle Stoppers?
Wine bottle stoppers of all varieties can be purchased at wine bottle shops, gift shops, online, and in big box stores. Below, we share some of our favorite options.
Nine Best Wine Stoppers by Type
Want to have a wine stopper on hand for those times when the original cork fails its intended purpose? Have a festive occasion on the horizon for which a decorative wine stopper would be the perfect gift? There are plenty of wine stoppers available to fill all sorts of wine bottle closure niches.
Repour
This wine stopper type is good for wine lovers who occasionally splurge on higher-priced wines (say, $30 or higher) and want to savor the wine over several days, weeks, or months. The Repour is also great for wine bottle shops that pour premium or luxury wines over a period of days. Check our in-depth report on Repour here.
Best Unique Wine Stopper
There’s an endless supply of unique wine stoppers available online. We like this one because it combines our love of gardening and a little tongue-in-cheek humor about “opening up the tap.”
Best Personalized Wine Bottle Stopper
This is a great option if you live with roommates who also drink wine and need a personalized wine bottle stopper to identify wine among roommates. It also makes an inexpensive but thoughtful gift for any wine-loving friend!
Best Decorative Wine Stopper
Decorative wine stoppers are really a personal design preference. However, this handmade Italian made Murano glass bottle stopper will delight most wine lovers.
Best Vacuum Wine Stopper
The vacuum wine stopper is good for wine enthusiasts who want to savor a bottle of wine over several days, but don’t want to make an investment in the Repour. This is a good way to lengthen the drinking window of everyday wines.
Best Champagne Bottle Stopper
Most wine stoppers won’t work well in Champagne bottles. These specially designed sparkling wine bottle stoppers will increase the likelihood that any leftover Champagne will taste great the next day (or two!). That’s something to celebrate!
Best Cute Unisex Wine Stopper
These adorable wine stoppers will never ‘desert’ you. You’ll be glad you pricked these cacti!
Best Wine Stopper for Cat Lovers
Cats + wine = a timeless pairing. And this wine stopper tells it like it is. Curious cats will get into pretty much anything!
Best Game of Thrones Wine Stopper
Fans of the book series and HBO blockbuster will appreciate these well-crafted Game of Thrones wine stoppers designed to reflect the six sigils of the GoT houses. GoT-themed wine party, anyone?
Wine Stopper Wrap-Up
We prefer to re-use the cork that the wine came with to store any leftover wine under $30.
If we plan on drinking fine wine, we use the Repour wine stopper so that we can enjoy the wine over several evenings and with different foods. If we don’t have a Repour stopper handy we use the Vacu Vin.
If we damage the cork on a sub $30 bottle of wine, we keep on hand a few different bottle stoppers to close up the open wine bottle. We’ve accumulated a few different types of wine stoppers, including some that are decorative and unique. The options out there today are endless!
Happy sipping (and saving!).
Cheers!