Any wine lover knows that you have to be careful once you open your bottle up. When a wine is exposed to air it begins to change.
Oxidation causes the wine’s carefully bottled flavors to start to decay, and if you leave an uncorked bottle out for too long you might find that soon enough the wine tastes completely different, even spoiled.
One solution is to place the cork back onto the bottle, but through the years a better solution has been created – Bottle Stoppers! Whilst it might seem like you can just buy any old stopper, not all of them are created equal.
If you’re considering buying a wine bottle stopper, then you might find yourself overwhelmed by all of the different options. That’s where we come in!
Below is a comprehensive list of the 5 best Wine Bottle Stoppers we could find on the market today. We’ve created this list to cater to different types of wine and have included stoppers that are better for red and white wine, as well as a stopper perfect for keeping your champagne from going flat!
We’ve also made sure to include a total buyers guide that will help you understand some of the reasons for our picks, as well as a short FAQ to answer any questions you might have leftover.
Let’s get into it right away, there’s no time to waste when it comes to wine!
The Top 5 Wine Bottle Stoppers
Best Overall – Vacu Vin Stainless Steel Wine Saver
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First up we have a simple and effective Bottle Stopper that looks great for a modern kitchen. It’s a universal product meaning it’s likely to fit almost every kind of wine bottle and uses a vacuum sealing design to keep your wine safe.
Using one of these is simple, all you have to do is place the stopper inside the bottle and use the pump until you hear a clicking sound. This click means that there is now an airtight seal for the liquid inside, which is sure to keep your wine fresh.
This stopper is suitable for both red and white wine, and works with both cork or screw-top bottles. They are made of stainless steel meaning that they are more durable than plastic stoppers and will last much longer.
This pack also comes with one pump and three stoppers, meaning you’ll have some to spare if you lose one, or if you’re prone to open up more than one bottle of wine at a time. There are also options to buy larger packs of 5 or 7, which would be perfect for an event such as a wine tasting.
Pros
- Air Tight Design – with a click indicator that lets you know when your bottle is properly sealed off.
- Versatility – works for both red and white wines, cork, and screw-top bottles.
- Material – Stainless Steel is durable and sturdy.
Cons
- Champagne – this product has not been designed to keep champagne bubbly.
- Carboy – it doesn’t fit carboy wine containers, only bottles.
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Best Bottle Plug – ERHIRY Wine Bottle Plug
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If you’re looking for something much more studier and much more secure, then you might want to consider a Bottle Plug. Bottle Plugs differ from Stoppers in the way that they fasten onto the top of a bottle.
The shaft of this product is strong stainless steel, which can be leveraged to seal the top of a wine bottle, and a silicone gasket. This product can keep the wine fresh for up to ten days.
It’s suitable for nearly all 750ml wine bottles but doesn’t extend to either sparkling wines or champagne bottles.
We found one of the best features of this product to be that there is no separate pump needed in order to seal the wine tight, instead, there is a small lever on the top that allows you to easily seal your bottle. It also comes with a lifetime warranty should anything go wrong!
Pros
- Design – subtle, stainless steel design
- Lever – built into this small stopper instead of separate.
- Seal – an impressive seal that stops leaks even if you flip your bottle upside down.
Cons
- Champagne – is not suitable for champagne or sparkling wine.
- Seal – Silicone seal can wear out if not properly taken care of.
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Best Silicone Stopper – Silicone Wine Stoppers
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If you don’t want one of those more hefty metal stoppers, then there is an alternative! These silicone wine stoppers are an inexpensive, simplistic choice that will cut out a lot of the difficulties you might encounter with metal stoppers.
Because of the tight nature of their material, they fit almost any wine bottle perfectly. You might have some problems with irregular, smaller than usual bottles, but generally, these fit perfectly to anything you’ll have at hand.
These are also more versatile than other stoppers, and you’ll be able to use them as a cover for other beverages as well as wine. They’re not completely leakproof depending on the size of the bottle you’re covering, but they are generally tight enough to protect any bottle.
Pros
- Color Choice – A choice of six different colors, suitable for any kitchen or wine bottle you might have.
- Silicone – lightweight and easy to manage.
- Reusable – these are extremely easy to wash and reusable.
Cons
- Sealing – we found these not to be as tightly sealed as other stoppers.
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Best For Champagne Or Sparkling Wine – KLOVEO Champagne Stoppers
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When it comes to anything with bubbles, you’re going to need to get a different product. Classic bottle stoppers aren’t going to stop your champagne, spritz or sparkling wine from going flat. Thankfully there is a solution!
This product from KLOVEO is perfect for keeping sparkling liquid good so that you don’t have to finish a bottle right away. It’s manufactured in Italy and comes with a WAF patented seal system, an easy to use safety clip and a leak proof design.
It’s made out of stainless steel and is perfect for any kind of bottle. One nice thing about this is that it dosen’t require the use of any pressure pump to use. You simply snap it on the top of your bottle and you’re good to go!
It is worth noting that it won’t keep your champagne or other fizzy beverage from going flat forever, but it will buy you a lot more time before you take a sip and are disappointed.
These are especially good if you’re looking to use them over the course of an evening or two, and in this case it’s unlikely that you’ll notice any difference once a few hours have gone by.
Pros
- Stops Oxidisation – meaning that it will also work well for red or white wine.
- Ease of Use – No need for external component, simply click onto you bottle.
- Leak Proof Design – no spills even if you tip the bottle the wrong way.
Cons
- Time limit – we found there is still a time limit and after four or five days your beverage will still go flat.
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Most Simple – Rabbit Wine Bottle Stoppers
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If you’re looking for something classic and simple, then you should consider these Rabbit Wine Stoppers. They’re small and easy to use, and will give you a quick solution when you need it. Their body is made of stainless steel, surrounding with food-grade silicone.
They fit almost all 750ml bottles, with the silicone material around the centre forming an air tight seal with the lip of the bottle.
We personally found these perfect for when you need to cork a bottle up between pouring glasses. They’re not quite as air tight as some of the others on this list, but stills do their job, and they are also dishwasher safe.
We also liked the inclusion of these as a 4 pack, since that allows you to have a few for multiple bottles.
Pros
- Ease of use – as simple as it gets, simply slot into place and you’re good to go!
- Materials – sturdy stainless steel and food-safe silicone that dosen’t wear out easily.
- Versatility – they also work for other bottles such as soda, vinegar or oil bottles.
Cons
- Seal – not as tight as others you might find with a pump or with a specialised clip seal.
- Sparkling wine – only for red or white wine.
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Buyers Guide
Now that we’ve taken you through 5 of the best Wine Bottle Stoppers on the market, we’re going to explain the reason for our choices with an extensive buyers guide. Once you`ve opened your favorite bottle of wine you`ll need hard to break plastic glasses to share some wine with your friends.
This is not only to explain why we picked those that we did, but also to give you some advice for when you’re shopping for bottle stoppers either online or in person. Below are some tips to keep in mind.
The Type Of Wine You’re Drinking
This is the first thing you need to consider when shopping. What kind of wine are you looking to seal? Some bottle stoppers are perfect for flat wines such as Reds or Whites, but if you’re looking to cover sparkling wine or champagne, you’re going to need something with a much tighter seal.
Thankfully, the Bottle Stopping industry knows how important this distinction can be, so there are some things you can do to tell before committing to a purchase. Make sure you take a look at the product details listed next to a Bottle Stopper.
Does it say that it’s suitable for champagne? If it dosen’t, then it’s fairly likely that it won’t be. Having the kind of wine you’re going to be drinking most often in mind is a great way to ensure you get the right bottle stopper for you.
Size
Most wine bottles come with a similar size opening. This means that a lot of bottle stoppers you’ll come across are going to fit almost all of them perfectly. Generally products will list this – but you need to watch out for one word: Universal.
If you come across it you might be wondering what it means. Generally it just means that the boittle stopper in question will seal any bottle that is 750ml.
This is important because although most wine bottles conform to this size, you might have one that is different. For example, carboy wine containers will often not be sealed by most stoppers and you’ll have to search for something more specific.
That said, if you’re drinking wine from traditional bottles, most of the stoppers you’ll find are going to work for them
Pump Or No Pump
In order for the seal to be air-tight, you’ll often find Bottle Stoppers that come with a pump. This pump properly seals the gap between the stopper and the bottle, meaning that no air can get in.
Whilst pumps can be a great feature as they assure that no air can get into the bottle, they are more of a pain to use than something that has a clip already attached to it. Consider how important this feature is to you before committing to a purchase.
Materials
One of the most important things to consider here are the materials used to make the bottlestopper. You may have noticed two very specific materials listed in almost all of the products we chose above – stainless steel and silicone.
Stainless steel is a durable metal that is often used for kitchen utensils as it is easy to clean and hardly ever breaks. Silicone is often food safe and can be used to help seal bottles up.
So what about plastic? Well, plastic bottle stoppers can vary in durability. How good they are depends on the composition of the plastic and how well the stopper has been designed. Generally we would suggest staying away from plastic.
You’re much better off spending a little more money to get something that will last you for a long time. Bottle Stoppers can last for a long while if you get a good one!
Design
Depending on the type of person you are, this is either going to be a dealbreaker, or not something that you’ll care all that much about. Consider the design of the bottlestopper you’re getting.
Does it look good? Fit in with your kitchen? There are a wide variety of different bottle stopper designs available ,and you can even get some really silly or goofy versions that can be a great laugh.
However, you’re going to want to make sure that it fits in with your home and the bottles of wine you’re buying.
If you are getting a bottle stopper for a more formal event – say a dinner party – you might want to get one that fits in with all of the utensils around this. As mentioned before, it might not be a dealbreaker for you, but if it is – just know that there are a lot of different options out there available.
Many companies offer multiple colors of the same product, so it’s worth looking out for this!
Frequentlly Asked Questions
Can I Use Bottle Stoppers For Oil?
You absolutely can. Although oil dosen’t go sour as easily as wine, it’s still important to keep it sealed. A lot of oil bottles will have the same opening size as a bottle of wine, so the stopper you buy is likely to fit it also!
Can I Use A Cork?
Well corks work fine enough to cover the wine, but once they are uncorked, they no longer form an air tight seal. This is where specifically designed bottle stoppers come in. There is no real comparison between a cork and a bottle stopper. However, a cork does work as a short term alternative.
How Long Does Red Wine Last Once Opened?
Red wine will typically last 3-5 days if it is covered and left in a cool place. Bottle Stoppers will buy you more time providing they are made right. The wine will spoil eventually either way, but it’s worth investing in a bottle stopper if you want to stretch this time period out.
What Are The Main Ways To Stop The Oxidisation Of Wine?
There are two main things you can do here. One is to properly cork or seal the wine as we have written extensively about above. The other is to make sure that your wine is stored in a cool place.
Oxidation happens when a wine is exposed to air, and there are a list of chemical reactions that happen. Typically, this is ethanol converting into acetaldehyde.
Final Thoughts
We hope that this has given you some ideas for the kind of bottle stopper you’re looking to buy, and that you now feel a lot more confident about how you can choose one.
Bottle Stoppers are a vital piece of equipment for any wine lover, and can stop countles litres of wine from being spoiled providing you get the right one!
