We’re all guilty of occasionally cracking open that second or third bottle of wine before quickly realizing that we’re a tad too tipsy for a Tuesday evening, but have you ever tried to get a cork back in the bottle?

It’s an exercise in futility, and without it, our sweet, sweet wine is going to deteriorate fast!

Considering we’re probably not going to be having another tipple until the weekend, when party time finally does roll around, that wine isn’t going to be worth even a single sip — What a waste!

But fear not, my fellow oenophile. Having happily done plenty of research in this area, I’m happy to present the 5 best wine stoppers on the market.

With one of these genius wine savers, you’ll never have to waste a single drop of the good stuff ever again!

Best Wine Stoppers: Reviews

Best For Limited Fridge Space — OXO Steel Expanding Wine Stoppers

OXO have come up with the ultimate modern wine stopper.

Featuring a low-profile metal cap, it’s both sleek and practical, permitting your opened wine bottles to live in the refrigerator without you shifting a bunch of food and shelves around.

It also puts up a spirited fight against oxygenation by way of the expanding ribbed silicone shaft that pushes out against the neck of the bottle, leaving no room for air molecules to slip by and deteriorate the wine.

During my tests, I also appreciated that this snug silicon fit stopped leaks in their track when my bottles were stored sideways, saving all my wine for slurping, and eliminating the need for any cleanups once I polished off the bottle.

What’s more, the silicone shaft is tapered, meaning that this stopper will fit literally all wine bottle mouths, and perhaps best of all, they come in pairs, so you can have two wine bottles on the go at once without worrying about one going to waste — Hooray!

Pros

• Expanding silicone — Tight seal reduces oxygenation and stops leaks
• Low profile cap — Permits storage in a refrigerator
• Tapered design — Fits all bottle mouths
• Multi-pack — Two caps means you can open two bottles of wine
• Price tag — Amazing value for money

Cons

• Preservation — Perfect for short-to mid-term storage but not for the long haul

Also available from Sfeldmanhousewares

Best For Pouring — OXO Steel Wine Stopper & Pourer

OXO has done it again with this amazing stopper/pourer combo.

Arriving with an integrated pouring flute, once this stopper is in your bottle of vino, you won’t have to remove it until you crack another, as you simply flip the clip shutter to release the seal and allow the wine to flow freely into your glass.

This does mean that it’s nowhere near as space-friendly as the low-profile design discussed above, but if you thought that an omnipresent pouring flute would be an eyesore (as I did), you’re sorely mistaken.

During the testing phase, I was shocked at how elegant this topper looked. The stainless steel finish and the subtle arching of the flute are truly inspired touches.

As for the practical side of things, the silicon shaft is tapered to fit all manner of wine bottles, and the clip shutter lever is nice and smooth, so don’t worry about sudden jerky motions disturbing the sediment.

It’s also super cheap so, you know… bonus!

Pros

• Integrated pouring flute — No need to remove it to pour your wine
• Attractive design — Looks fantastic on show
• Soft lever — Prevents trauma, keeping your wine as tasty as the day you opened it
• Tapered silicone shaft — Fits any bottle

Cons

• Form factor — It’s not going to fit in your fridge

Best For Preservation — Coravin Timeless Three Plus Wine By The Glass System

Marketed not as a wine stopper, but as a wine preserver, this Coravin offering is the best of the best for long-haul wine preservation.

It’s a little bit bulky, but for what it’s capable of, it’s amazing how sleek this product is.

Featuring a specially designed needle capable of piercing through natural cork and synthetic stoppers, you literally don’t even have to open your wine to drink it, and the release trigger makes pouring a total breeze.

Once you’re done pouring your glass of wine, argon gas enters the bottle to fill out the cavity so oxygen can’t get in and fast-track the deterioration process — It’s cutting-edge stuff!

I was a little intimidated by this product at the start of the testing process, but it ended up being incredibly intuitive. The price tag’s a little steep, but I can definitely see why.

Pros

• Needle — Never opening your wine keeps it fresh for as long as you need
• Argon gas — Fills empty space so oxygen can’t get in
• Release trigger — Pour wine without taking this stopper out
• Aesthetic — It may be a highly functional stopper, but it looks very high-tech chique

Cons

• Price — Wine-saving gear like this doesn’t come cheap
• Bulk — You’ll need plenty of fridge space

Also available from Coravin

Best For Sparkling Wine — Le Creuset Champagne Crown Sealer

Partial to a bit of bubbly? Then ignore everything we’ve discussed thus far and grab one of these Champagne crown sealers from Le Creuset.

Featuring a switch-style valve, you can lock all those lovely bubbles in so every time you return to your bottle you get the same fizzy finish you did when you first popped the cork.

I put this to the test, and lo and behold, three weeks after opening my bottle, it was just as fizzy as it was the first time around!

Completely airtight, it’s also a great choice if you’re short on fridge space and you need to store bottles on their side.

It’s quite modern but in no way garish. In fact, the sleek metal finish is really quite fetching, and it’s durable too, as evidenced by the 10-year warranty.

Pros

• Switch-style valve — Maintains carbonation like nothing else on the market
• Airtight rubber seal — No spills and minimal oxygenation
• High quality metal build — Lasts a lifetime

Cons

• Price — But it’s a great product and Le Creuset is a reputable brand

Also available from QVC

Best Vacuum Seal — Vacu Vin Wine Saver Pump & Vacuum Bottle Stoppers

Whereas the Coravin masterpiece discussed earlier fills wine bottle cavities with inert gas to maintain quality, this novel contraption sucks oxygen out using a pump all while securing a vacuum seal in the bottle mouth so oxygen can’t work its way back in after the fact.

It won’t preserve your wine for as long as the Coravin stopper — you get roughly 10 days — but get this… you can pick the Vacu Vin up for about one-seventh the cost of that fancy pants preserver!

The vacuum seals have a universal-fit form, so no matter what kind of bottles you buy, they’ll be nice and snug, but bear in mind that drastic changes in temperature can cause pressure to build up and the seal to pop off.

This didn’t happen to me… just something I heard on the grapevine.

Pros

• Vacuum seals — 10 days of fresh wine
• User-friendly — Couldn’t be easier to use
• Universal fit — Seals fit any wine bottle
• Price — Very reasonable indeed

Cons

• Pressure problems — Word on the wire is the seal may pop off in extreme conditions — Incredibly unlikely, though

Also available from Kissthecook

Buyer’s Guide

A wine stopper seems like a relatively simple concept, right? Wrong!

As you’ve seen from my reviews, there is an insane amount of variation across the market, not just in general design, but quality too.

So, before you buy one, here are the things you should be considering.

Preservation

Preservation is the primary duty of any wine stopper, but did you know that some may only keep your wine in tip-top condition for an extra day, while others will preserve wine indefinitely?

However, as you might expect, the fancy stoppers that completely prevent the deterioration process can come with pretty hefty price tags.

In light of this, you should consider the caliber of the wine you like to drink. For instance, if you’re only ever picking up the $5–$10 stuff (nothin’ wrong with that!), spending over $100 on a stopper doesn’t make all that sense.

On the other hand, if you have expensive taste where wine is concerned, a more technologically advanced stopper will be a worthy investment.

Form Factor

Traditional stoppers are usually very ornate, extending inches above the lip of the wine bottle, which is great if you want something aesthetically pleasing, but, unfortunately, we’re not all blessed with infinite fridge space.

Without throwing all our snacks in the bin and removing the majority of our refrigerator shelves, we’ll never fit that stag’s head wine stopper in there.

But we wine enthusiasts needn’t choose a decadent wine stopper.

There are now loads of intelligent, low-profile stopper designs on the market that offer fantastic preservation while also providing a space-friendly solution to our refrigeration pickle.

This isn’t just essential for white drinkers. You red drinkers should always refrigerate your open bottles after your last glass too!

Quantity

There are some of us who’ll drain one bottle of wine at a time, but there are many who prefer a little bit of variety, opening multiple bottles before draining a one of them.

If you subscribe to the latter tipple tribe, you’re going to need numerous wine stoppers.

You can purchase them individually if you’d prefer, but you’ll save a few bucks if you spring for a multi-pack of wine stoppers.

Some arrive in pairs, while others arrive in packs of four, which is very handy; however, usually, the price you pay for the convenience is a dip in quality or features.

As such, I’d recommend purchasing one multi-pack for your lesser bottles, and at least one fancier stopper for that expensive celebration bottle that’s been gathering dust on your wine rack in waiting of a special event.

Features

Most modern wine stoppers bring something unique to the market. For example, some will use a vacuum system to form an airtight seal over your wine to keep oxygen at bay.

Others will have an integrated pouring flute for seamless decanting, while others still are specially designed to maintain carbonization.

To decide which wine stopper is right for you, you need only think about your wine choice and drinking habits. Do you drink mostly cava, prosecco, and Champagne?

Then a stopper that protects those beautiful bubbles is a no-brainer.

Do you drink wine to unwind after a long day? Then a stopper with an integrated pouring flute will make your evening as effortless as the day was arduous.

Do you want to maintain body and flavor at all costs? Then a vacuum seal stopper or gas injector stopper will be just the ticket.

Bottle Size

Most wine bottles follow the 750 ml standard, but within this category are various bottle designs, some with slightly wider necks and mouths, some with slightly thinner necks and mouths.

Unfortunately, a stopper that works well with one size mouth isn’t necessarily going to fit right in another.

So, if you often dabble with weird and wonderful bottles, you’ll need either a lot of wine stoppers or a set of tapered stoppers that suit all manner of mouth sizes.

Aesthetics

Wine is an elegant drink, and thus, aesthetics are inevitably always a part of the storing, drinking, and sharing of our favorite grape-derived tipple, but herein lies a problem.

The more decorative topper options normally aren’t the most useful, and vice versa, so it might be a case of finding a balance between style and practicality.

I’d recommend having a few great-looking stoppers as well as a few highly functional stoppers, as you can use the former to keep wine fresh out in the open over short periods, all while beautifying your living space, and you can use the latter to prolong the quality of wines you intend to keep in storage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Don’t Corks Go Back In Wine Bottles?

The original cork can be used to reseal an open bottle of wine, but it’s a remarkably trying task, often riddled with pitfalls.

One of the reasons they’re so hard to replace in the mouth of a bottle is that once they’re out, they’re no longer compacted by the glass, and thus, start to expand — It’s always a bit of a squish trying to force them back into place.

Cork is also a very textured material that generates a lot of friction, even on smooth surfaces such as glass.

This friction creates a lot of resistance when you’re trying to push a cork back into a wine bottle.

The force it takes to reuse the cork will often damage it, and the last thing you want is cork crumbling into your wine, and even if you were fine pouring your next glass through a strainer, once a cork is compromised, it’s going to let in far too much air to keep your wine fresh.

So, in summation… a wine stopper is by far the easiest and most effective option for preserving your wine.

Do Wine Stoppers Keep Wine Fresh?

Keeping wine fresh is the very reason wine stoppers exist, but not all of them are made equal. It all depends on how efficiently they combat oxygenation.

Some will act as a rudimentary physical barrier between the air and the wine, which is fine for a day or two, but stoppers that create a vacuum seal or force out oxygen with inert gasses are much better at keeping our wine drinkable over long sipless periods.

Is A Wine Stopper Better Than A Cork?

Wine stoppers aren’t necessarily better than corks, and it’s not even that they do different jobs, rather, they do the same job very differently at different times, meaning they’re both useful in their own ways.

Corks are ever so slightly air-permeable, meaning they allow a very small amount of oxygen to pass through the wine within the bottle over time.

This is essential for mature wines, as they get better with age, and oxygen is the very thing that facilities the aging process. However, there is such a thing as too much oxygen.

Once a bottle is opened, the flood of oxygen isn’t just going to age wine, but completely destroy it… enter the wine stopper.

Once the cork has been popped, a wine stopper is essential for maintaining the quality and character of the wine.

Final Thoughts

Wine is quite possibly one of the best things in this life, and whether it costs $5 or $10,000, it must be protected at all costs, which is why I highly recommend picking up one or more of the game-changing wine stoppers discussed in this post.

I’ve done my very best to curate a highly versatile list that will appeal to all kinds of wine appreciators, from the single glass slurpers to the full bottle bingers, from the budget wine buffs to the modern vanguards of vintage vino.

Simply tailor your stopper choice to your drinking habits and take your passion for wine to the next level!