Review: Wine Shield 6-Pak $5.95 (sample)

Newsflash... There is a certain someone who will be getting a six pak of wine shields in their Christmas Stocking!  I've been trying to review the Wine Shield Wine Preservation System since August. The problem is, now that I don't live alone, we don't have much any leftover wine.  While we are able to enjoy wine by the bottle, my poor vinegar barrel is starving.

In late August, I grabbed a bottle of our standby Dominio de Eguren Protocolo `08 $7.99 ***(*) and by day three with the Wine Shield, it was still great and I declared the Wine Shield a success.  It really is such simple technology, a food grade barrier that floats on top of the wine and protects it from oxygen and oxidation.

I wanted to REALLY put it to the test, so last week I grabbed a bottle of another standby Almez Garnacha and started trying to see what the outer limits of the Wine Shield would be (I hid the bottle in the baking cabinet to try and avoid finishing it on the first day).  By day three, the garnacha was good to the last drop. (oops - so much for testing longevity.  This is why I am not a scientist -  No impulse control. Oh, and the math...)

Why the Wine Shield will be a great stocking stuffer/hostess gift:

As popular as wine is, most Americans are very casual wine drinkers.  Over the weekend, I was visiting some friends who like wine but don't open a bottle very often, usually only for special occasions.  They have great taste and know their wines, but they are so casual that when we went to pull out a bottle from their rack, they could not remember when the '06 Merlot had been given to them "Was it when the second or third child was born?" (the kids are all in school now)

When we opened the bottle, the cork broke (so much for recorking).  From the lonely corner of a dark cabinet, I dusted off their beautiful red wine glasses and we poured the wine.

Over some great Merlot, we looked through baby pictures and reminisced.  But then the kids had to be put to bed and we needed to get some sleep.  I went to cork the bottle and realized that they had NOTHING to re cork the bottle with.

I was kicking myself for not having a Wine Shield with me.  There was nothing smaller to decant the left over wine into.  There was no vacuum pump system.  Even when they rifled through the cabinet and found other dusty wedding presents, all we could find was a beautiful silver and horn corkscrew still in the box.

 I ended up shoving a plastic baggie into the bottle to try and save it for the next day.    Seriously, for a casual drinker who wants to keep a bottle and not invest in sealing systems, why not just have a six pack of wine shields in the liquor cabinet. They are simple to use, they work and they don't take up much space. Stocking stuffer?  Hostess gift?  I wish that I had thought to throw one in my backpack - we could have saved a great bottle of Merlot.

Here are three great reasons to be too busy to drink wine....
(which is why mommy needs wine shields for Christmas. 
No wine should EVER go to waste!)