How do you carry your wine/spirits

[Joe]

Tassie tackle and outdoor can stock platypus bottles (and have in past). However...having talked to workmates and boss about them we stopped stocking them because they were delaminating badly and were too much of a hassle with returns. The better option is Nalgene versions thereof. I have one on order for myself but it is currently on back order.

If you really want platypus though and there is enough interest I *might* be able to organize a group buy situation for the forums...however be warned that we did have dramas with quality on platypus. **queue mountains of "my platypus is still fine after 20 years of soaking in solvent" posts**

[corvus]

So pleased to read that the Platy gets a thumbs up from experts one thing you need to know is that you require a dedicated Red and White one to ensure you don't get cross contamination
I am on my second Platy as regrettably wine does affect them over the years or perhaps some of the cardboard varieties are corrosive

[tasadam]

And Tasadam, you have way too much Google time. You must have finished that kitchen!

No kitchen yet. All work and no play makes tasadam a dull boy.

Trapper gets kudos for the idea and Natt gets kudos for finding their wine version.
I wrote to the Australian distributor of Platypus.
Their prompt response -

Just a quick note in response to your query about the new PlatyPreserve wine bladder.

The PlatyPreserve bottle is an 800ml bottle, will hold a standard bottle of wine and will be available in mid October in Australia (the first shipment is currently in transit from the US).

The PlatyPreserve is a little different to the standard bottle in that it is heavily tinted to exclude most light as reducing exposure to both oxygen and light helps maintain the taste of wine.

Can you tell me where you are in Tassie and I'll refer you to the nearest Platypus stockist as we don't sell directly to the public.

We are just about to send some promotional material to the stores so you are ahead of the curve!

I have googled and found there are a couple of places in the US that I can buy online. But the freight, even for a 1 ounce parcel, is over $20 US.
So we wait for Australian supply some time in October.
Did you see the weight? 26 grams!!

[corvus]

Oh I see a dedicated dedicated Platy however I do concur with TWF.C that Platypus did have delam problems and I returned the first one I bought for that very reason ,its replacement wore out and current one is standing up to all I pour in it so far( 5 years from memory) but will be interested in the new bit of gear nevertheless.

[Joe]

The other thing to keep in mind is that bacteria thrive in wine...so after you get home you will want to wash out the bladder in something like sodium metabisulphite to make sure the next bottle you drop in doesn't go nasty quick smart. Sodium bisulphate is just the stuff used to sanitise brew kits..and a $10 jar will last a lifetime.

[Joe]

Scratching my *&%$#! as I walked through the kitchen this morning I had a brainwave. On the counter top was a Coopers Home Brew Pet bottle from my last brew. These are UV resistant, non porous pet bottles. I cant think of a more ideal container for transporting wine. They are light as hell, tough as nails and UV resistant. You can half cap them and squeeze the air out to keep oxygen levels down...and they cost the grand total of $2 a bottle from your local healthfood store.

The majority of PET bottles are porous (a beverage held in PET will eventually go flat). However, Coopers PET bottles have a nylon barrier which helps to prevent both the ingress of oxygen and the loss of CO2 for up to 18 months. If you are wanting to make a big ale or stout and age it for 2 years or more, you may choose to use good quality glass bottles.

The re-usable caps have a tamper evident collar which breaks off after the first use. This does not affect the airtight seal. When the caps eventually wear out, replacement caps can be purchased separately.

[Joe]

I got my platypus preserver sample from work today. its a touch overrated methinks. Ok...but i think i still like the coopers pet bottle more.

[corvus]

Cant wait to hear the results of you field test ,though according to you initial reaction I dont expect much.

[tasadam]

Cant wait to hear the results of you field test ,though according to you initial reaction I dont expect much.

I have one too, and have planned a decent and fair review of it - after all this is a subject that is close to me...
I just need to do a day walk so I can take some wine...
What I have in mind is to take 3 wines to a wine tasting group I am in - decant one bottle into the PlatyPreserve, decant another bottle into the first bottle (so that two wines are given the same air contact), and leave a third unopened.
Or maybe four, as taswaterfalls.com suggests take a coopers bag as well.
Leave all four for three days or so - to give them a chance to suffer their own fate if they are going to, then have the wines assessed by the wine tasting group.

Stay tuned...

[Son of a Beach]

I have one too, and have planned a decent and fair review of it - after all this is a subject that is close to me...
I just need to do a day walk so I can take some wine...

As soon as I read the above, I thought, "So how much wine would have to be consumed for a test to be considered authoritative?"...

What I have in mind is to take 3 wines to a wine tasting group I am in - decant one bottle into the PlatyPreserve, decant another bottle into the first bottle (so that two wines are given the same air contact), and leave a third unopened.
Or maybe four, as taswaterfalls.com suggests take a coopers bag as well.
Leave all four for three days or so - to give them a chance to suffer their own fate if they are going to, then have the wines assessed by the wine tasting group.

Ah... 3 bottles. Sounds fair then.

Stay tuned...

I'll be looking forward to hearing the results.

How much more expensive are these things, than a plain clear platypus bladder? If the only difference is that they keep out the light, and you keep your clear platypus in your pack anyhow, I wouldn't think that they ought to cost much (any?) more.

[tasadam]

Standard platy's are, I think, 1 litre.
These are 800ml and retail locally for around $25.
They aren't clear, but you can still tell the colour of the wine in them.

The big thing about them is that you can squeeze out all the air as you do it up so it doesn't leave the wine in contact with air for extended times - oxygen contact is the main problem.

[corvus]

My latest dedicated wine carrier is a Platy clone Scource brand nice blue plastic 1lt and whilst I do exclude the excess air its never in there long enough to Oxidize .My spirits are carried in a recycled 350 ml single use PET bottle the only problem I have with that is its a bit small

[Joe]

My latest dedicated wine carrier is a Platy clone Scource brand nice blue plastic 1lt and whilst I do exclude the excess air its never in there long enough to Oxidize .My spirits are carried in a recycled 350 ml single use PET bottle the only problem I have with that is its a bit small

I know this is hotly debated in another topic...but i would be a bit concerned with putting spirits in PET...they are a solvent afterall and if you have ever seen serious solvent (like fuel) put in PET you will know why Im concerned. Not really a health concern...just worried you might lose your spirits

[corvus]

Like my wine carrier the Spirits are not in the bottle long enough to cause a problem other than to the immediate drinker and I have been using my current one for at least six months

[tasadam]

Like my wine carrier the Spirits are not in the bottle long enough to cause a problem other than to the immediate drinker and I have been using my current one for at least six months

Standing at the kitchen sink for 6 months trying to pour spirits into the PET bottle, but keeps missing the PET bottle and pouring into your gob?

[corvus]

Just realised that I am PET owner again !! here botti botti botti

[tasadam]

Just realised that I am PET owner again !! here botti botti botti

Corvus that is sad...

[Joe]

Just realised that I am PET owner again !! here botti botti botti

I hope you are a responsible pet owner....from what you have said about filling them wiht vodka perhaps the RSPCA should be called

[Singe]

I carry a steel hip-flask for spirits. May not be as light as a PET bottle, but it just wouldn't feel right pouring good scotch into a coke bottle!

[wallwombat]

Being more of a climber than a bushwalker nowadays, most of the wine I buy already comes in a bladder.

[spider]

I know that this is an old thread but as the subject matter is of such importance I thought it was worth revisiting.

I try to get the best bang for my bottle so usually go with a 600ml PET of rum. This has the added bonus of leaving 100ml to sample while preparing the rest of my food and packing the pack. Dark rum is truly a comfort with lashings of hot, sweet, black tea on a chilly alpine evening. The final outcome is that you have a spare water bottle when the contents have been consumed, which is just as well as the extra water is often needed for morning rehydration.

I'm also a bit of a home brewer and have started using PET bottles instead of the traditional brown beer bottles. I have a plan to one day take a 1.25l bottle of home brew in and let it chill in a convenient river or lake, just in time for the first night curry.

A few weeks ago I did a short overnighter so had a bit of spare room in the pack. I also had a single can of beer in the fridge so decided to pack it. Unfortunately during a last minute gear 'rearrange' in the car park the can punctured and redecorated the interior of my pack. Of course I then had to consume what remained in the can before commencing the walk. Goodness knows what the other visitors and walkers in the car park thought!

[tasadam]

What I have in mind is to take 3 wines to a wine tasting group I am in - decant one bottle into the PlatyPreserve, decant another bottle into the first bottle (so that two wines are given the same air contact), and leave a third unopened.
Or maybe four, as taswaterfalls.com suggests take a coopers bag as well.
Leave all four for three days or so - to give them a chance to suffer their own fate if they are going to, then have the wines assessed by the wine tasting group.

Stay tuned...

It's about time I let you all know how this went.

I performed the tasting as planned, using a wine of medium quality, yet one that not many in the group would have likely been very familiar with - a Rosemount Sangiovese.
As planned, three days before the tasting I poured one bottle into the PlatyPreserve, poured another into that bottle, and left the third bottle unopened.
They sat together at room temperature in our house for the settling time.
At the tasting, the wine from the PlatyPreserve was poured back into a bottle before pouring at the table so it was not obvious which was which - everyone had 3 glasses labelled A, B, C to match the label I put on the wines. I should also say that the bottle it was poured back into was the same bottle, washed and dried and also at the same temperature.
The tasting was conducted in the presence of in excess of 12 people - all regular wine drinkers who know their stuff.

The general consensus was that the best wine of the three was the one that came from the PlatyPreserve. A show of hands had most of the tasting group preferring that one.
The previously unopened wine was second, and the wine decantered from one bottle to another and recorked was third.
The unopened wine was closed, youthful, fruity. The decanted wine to another bottle was similar but had lost a little of its fruityness.
By far the one from the PlatyPreserve was the best, and even I was surprised at how this wine had changed by being in the PlatyPreserve for a few days.
The reason is simple - being in a slightly more permeable vessel for a few days, the wine had time to breathe and really open up and come alive.
There was no oxidation at all, and the wine was displaying no detectable negative characters because of being in essentially a plastic bag.

So, in conclusion, for shorter trips, the PlatyPreserve would do an excellent job, even to the point of accelerating the aeration and opening-up of the wine which would be a good thing unless you wanted to decant your '83 Grange into it. Don't do that, by the way - bring it here instead!
Because of the slightly accelerated aeration, I would be reluctant to try and push the timeframe out much further than a few days. But I may be tempted to try, and report my findings.

Port or muscat would be a completely different matter entirely, so if you were looking for a liquid to put in your PlatyPreserve for a longer duration, that would be my choice!
A 7 day walk, two people, that's about 50ml each a day - that's quite enough to finish off a great day!

[adventurescape]

I'm not that much of a wine connoisseur, but I got a platy preserve from the scout shop in Launnie about 6 months back. I mainly take whisky on my walks. Higher octane rating per litre . My only gripe is that it never really washes clean again, the whisky smell remains. I have tried dish liquid and bicarb soda with hot water, but neither work. I have had wine in it since and now it reeks of all things fermented. Does the steriliser stuff someone mentioned work on the remaining odours???

[corvus]

Thus the dedicated platy bottle
c

[Ent]

Content removed by poster

Last edited by Ent on Sat 13 Nov, 2010 4:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[blacksheep]

what does Platypus bladder cost nowadays?
this packs http://www.macpac.com.au/shop/en_au/gea ... p-h20.html comes with a 2.0 lt Platypus bladder, and probably costs the same as some retailers charge for the bladder alone... just a thought...
(ps- I don't suggest filling this up with muscat for running/cycling etc...)

[walkinTas]

You'll have to roll back to the start of this thread Blacksheep. This mob are all members of the "Chardonnay Society" and the bladder in question is purpose built for wine, not water.

[blacksheep]

surely Tasmanians can turn water into wine though?

[corvus]

No cam we turn wine into water
c

[adventurescape]

Turning whiskey into yellow snow is my favourite trick.