wrote:
> Hi,
> I've started drinking wine with dinner for the health benefits. The
> reason you can't just take a pill is because reservatol degrades as
> soon as it contacts oxygen. This also means that you get less
> reservatol the second day after you open the wine. Is there some kind
> of spout you can push through the cork, which would allow the wine to
> get out but no air to get it? thx.

You're seriously overestimating the rate of oxidation of resveratrol.
We made some resveratrol and stored it in a refrigerator for a month or
so. After that time, there was no sign of chemical degradation as
judged by NMR spectroscopy. Of course, we weren't leaving it exposed on
a countertop, but it's not strongly reactive with oxygen.

Nonetheless, it's always a good idea to keep oxygen away from an opened
wine. There's now an entry on how to do that in the alt.food.wine FAQ,
which I have copied below:

4. What is the best way to preserve an opened bottle of wine? How long
will it last?

The primary enemy of wine is oxygen (even though proper aging of wine
requires it). Once wine is opened, it starts changing due to its
interaction with the air. In some cases this is good (a wine "opening
up" in flavor over the course of the meal, or even overnight in the case
of some older reds), but it will always end badly if enough time elapses.
If you haven't finished a bottle and want to save it for later
consumption, the best thing to do is to retard its reaction with oxygen.
Putting it in the refrigerator slows down the reactions, so this is a
good idea even for reds. (they should be warmed up again before
serving). Just corked back up, whites could go for a day or three
(depending on the kind and quality of the wine, the amount left in the
bottle, and your own palate), reds might last a week that way.
Probably the best method is to rebottle the wine in a smaller bottle
(such as a half bottle whose bottle you saved), allowing very little air
between the top of the wine and the cork. (that area is called the
"ullage"). When inserting the cork, put the end of a paper clip, or a
nail, or a wire, partially into the neck of the bottle as you insert the
cork as a spacer, allowing air to escape (so that pressure doesn't build
up). Then remove the object, allowing the cork to spring back. Tilt
the bottle to wet the cork, but then store upright for some time (to
give the cork a chance to fully spring back. Be sure to label the
bottle! Some say that wine rebottled this way could be put back in the
cellar and left there another year. If you have smaller bottles that
have screwcap closures, they are even better for storing excess wine.
There are also several systems on the market to reduce the wine's
exposure to oxygen. One is a hand pump and rubber stopper arrangement
which reduces the pressure in the bottle. They are marketed under
various names, including Vac-U-Vin. Follow the directions and do not
pump the wine down too much, or the volitiles in the wine will also
evaporate, leaving a wine "dead". Opinion is divided on whether wine
preserved with these devices tastes the same, with some people feeling
that wine loses some of its aromatic character when treated this way.
Those who favor its use say that proper use can extend the wine's life,
allowing a red wine to be stored for as much as two weeks in the
refrigerator under some circumstances before it becomes less than
interesting. Your own reaction may be different, of course.
Another wine preservation device is a gas displacement system.
Typically the gas is Nitrogen or Argon; it is introduced into the
bottle, displacing the air that was there before, and then the bottle is
resealed. The cheapest version is a spray can filled with a mixture of
nitrogen and carbon dioxide. It will likely do only a little to
preserve the wine due to the difficulty in removing all of the oxygen
this way. Given a choice, argon is a better gas to use because, since
it's heavier than air it will settle in the headspace of the bottle and
also leach out of the sealed bottle more slowly (it's also much more
costly, though). Even so, don't expect to store wines using canned gas
for more than a few days. More effective devices use a bubbler (such as
is used in fishtanks) to bubble nitrogen through the wine and
incorporate it into a tight seal for the bottle. Such devices are
marketed under the name Winekeeper and are sold online through Wine
Enthusiast (http://www.winenethusiast.com) and International Wine
Accessories (http://www.iwawine.com). You can buy them in one-, four-
and eight-bottle sizes, though the latter two are so expensive and
elaborate that they are more suited for wine bars and restaurants than
home use. Wine stored this way can probably be kept for a few days
without serious degradation.


HTH
Mark Lipton