2 questions.... Wine & Vac sealing
Submitted: Saturday, Apr 07, 2018 at 22:00
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Austag
No I don't want to vacuum seal the wine LOL.
First Question:
Big remote trip coming up, when carry the booze, we will normally take wine and pack
well so it doesn't break. But this trip don't think we've got the room the carry for such a long trip (as
well as carrying the empties). We are slight wine snobs, so never really got into the cask wine. Any other connoisseurs of good wine out there who've succumbed to drinking out of a cask, what do you recommend that won't make us regret leaving the bottles at
home?
Second Question:
We vac seal our meat and pre-cooked meals and freeze for trips like this. But being this is a longer trip than usual, what are peoples thoughts on double bagging, will this prolong them or make no difference?
Thanks.
Reply By: Gronk - Saturday, Apr 07, 2018 at 22:11
Saturday, Apr 07, 2018 at 22:11
Pick a cask that closely aligns with your bottle taste and just suck it up...you'll soon get used to it !!
If you vac seal and keep frozen in a fridge while travelling, it would have to be a really long trip to affect it.....and double bagging I wouldn't think would make any difference !
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Follow Up By: RMD - Saturday, Apr 07, 2018 at 22:31
Saturday, Apr 07, 2018 at 22:31
Not sure about the wine but double bagging is like the Irishman using two condoms, To be sure, To be sure.
No difference if one seals and works ok, just higher insurance factor.
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Follow Up By: GarryR - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 06:20
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 06:20
we pre
cook and freeze stews soups and meats. we have our fridge as a freezer and it is no different to being at
home. we take our frozen dinner out in the morning an place into a small15ltr fridge in cabin to help keep drinks and nibbles cool or cold. the fridge rearly turns on, in fact we still need to put frozen meal onto the gamma oven to finish defrosting (bonnet or bulbar). As for judys wine, we buy some small picilo.s that do not take up much room and have a screw lid that we dispose of at the next major town along with our other rubbish. old vac bags etc. We create about 1 plastic shopping bag worth of rubbish every 5days. That is our way, so hope that helps
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Follow Up By: Member -Pinko (NSW) - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 06:41
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 06:41
We vac seal meat and pre freeze flat and thaw as needed. Casseroles etc in take away containers pre frozen the same.
Wine ... we always buy bulk 25l. and decant to bottles and wrap the bottles in swimming
pool blanket (looks like bubble wrap) with an elastic band around.
Casks, the plastic liner will eventually break open and leak on rough roads, big mess of drenched cardboard.
The wine bottles come
home for a refill.
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Follow Up By: Austag - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 09:27
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 09:27
Thanks Pinko, didn't think of the cask rubbing away and causing a mess, we've never broke a bottle in our journeys, maybe we'll just stay with them, but just over 3 weeks with not a town in site will make for a heavy Bushranger bin bashing about every day.... LOL Might have to drink more cider (cans)!
Thanks RMD, again tho we've never had issues with the vac sealed food, had read somewhere about double bagging, but didn't know if it was worth wasting the bags, wanted to see if anyone had any experience with doing it that way. Again we are 3 weeks away from all civilization and I like your thinking "insurance factor"
Thanks Gronk, yeh suppose if I drink enough cider during the day the wine will taste ok around the fire at night....LOL
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 09:42
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 09:42
I thought vacuum packing was to prevent the need for freezing.
We find red meat with no bone lasts around 6 weeks unfrozen, chicken & meat with bones around 4 weeks. Our butcher told us not to vacuum pack prepared meals with onion unless we freeze it or the pack will “blow”, so we don’t bother with onion.
I also vacuum pack pre-greased wheel bearings!
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Follow Up By: Gronk - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 18:36
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 18:36
Vac packing doesn't really have to apply if you freeze ( and keep frozen ) the food, just clip lock bags will do the job, but we used to freeze it, even though it was going into the fridge. Only an extra day you save, but it helps to keep the fridge temp stable for an extra day.
If you wanted to double bag it, you could use the vac bag for the main one and a clip lock bag for the 2nd. I've done a 1/2 vac bag with clip locks by sealing it almost fully up and using a straw, sucking most of the air out and sealing it up.
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Follow Up By: Nomadic Navara - Thursday, Apr 12, 2018 at 12:48
Thursday, Apr 12, 2018 at 12:48
Vacuum packing is only of benefit if you are going to carry your meat in the fridge. It extends the keeping time in the fridge but not in the freezer.
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Reply By: Member - Boobook - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 06:56
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 06:56
I'm with Gronk above. I like to go on longer trips and bottled wine becomes a big problem. I also generally like good red with a bit of age on it. BUT wine bottles and long term camping without rubbish disposal aren't compatible.
Brown Brothers make a 10l catering cask which isn't toooooo bad. I used to take that for after dinner drinks and most drinking, and a few bottles of good red to enjoy at special spots / dinners.
More recently I have just resorted to beer plus the special reds.
As Gronk said you' get used to it. It tastes great after about 3 days. White is easier, jut try a few casks before you go, and be prepared to throuw 2 /3 of the ones you try away, it's hit and miss.
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Follow Up By: Member - Boobook - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 07:08
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 07:08
Austag soon you'll be a pro like Cheryl and moving on to Champagne.
You'll be the envy of all your camping buddies. As Cheryl says, "Bloody Beautiful"
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Follow Up By: Member - Boobook - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 07:25
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 07:25
I forgot, try this
Tote Wines
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Follow Up By: Austag - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 09:28
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 09:28
Tony, that's a great idea tho not suitable for our style of camping, but maybe even at
home! I looked into tote, that might be a way to go, thanks!
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Follow Up By: Member - Boobook - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 09:45
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 09:45
Hey Austag, I hope you're not seriously talking about Cheryl's video as a good idea. I just found that today when I was trying to find the Tote brand of cask. Cheryl is all class.
BTW I have never tried the Tote, someone told me about it a while ago, In fact, I just ordered some to see if it is ok or not. I have a long trip coming up and you prompted me to take another look a the situation before I go. Thanks
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Follow Up By: Member - Ross N (NSW) - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 10:33
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 10:33
Hi Boobook,
I also like wine with some age but often find older wines don’t travel
well.
I have assumed that the shaking they receive on rough roads causes problems.
Have you ever experienced such problems or is it just me?
I’ m talking of reds more than 10 years old
Ross
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Follow Up By: Member - Boobook - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 11:21
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 11:21
It's interesting you say that
Ross. On my last big trip, I took a half a dozen of my favorite wine 1998 Bin 389. ( or my favorite wine I own and can afford)
It was crap. It was September in SA so the temperature wasn't too hot but that wine just didn't travel at all
well. I think the corrugations and shaking around killed it. Lesser wines survived a lot better.
Now I take wines around 4 years old. They do seem to fare better. I thought it was just me because the '98 is getting close to the edge anyway. BTW, it was $30 a bottle in 2001. That looks awfully cheap now.
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Follow Up By: Member - Ross N (NSW) - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 17:15
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 17:15
Hi Tony,
That is amazing as the 98 389 is one of my favourite wines and it was that same wine I was thinking about when I wrote about old wines not travelling
Like you I don"t buy 389 anymore due to price.
Fortunately I bought a considerable quantity of the 98 as it was such a great year
The best since 1990.
Sorry about being off topic folks
Ross
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Follow Up By: Austag - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 17:25
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 17:25
LOL, yes tongue in cheek Tony
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Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Tuesday, Apr 10, 2018 at 08:56
Tuesday, Apr 10, 2018 at 08:56
.
Bogan Bordeaux.
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Reply By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 09:49
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 09:49
.
Hi Austin,
If you are "slight wine snobs" then I suggest you forget cask wine.
I even asked the manager of a wine store to recommend the best cask wine. Took one taste, spat it out and dumped the cask.
So I went back to taking some canned beer. Even sometimes taking no alcohol. After all, I do go remote to "get away from it all".
As to double bagging vacuum packs. Observing the evacuated pack after sealing should reveal a successful seal. The pack will remain tight and flat. Adding a second bag will double the thickness but I doubt if it is necessary. Never has been for me. Just be careful how you stow them.
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Follow Up By: Gronk - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 18:46
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 18:46
If you are "slight wine snobs" then I suggest you forget cask wine.
I hate any sort of wine....can't stand the stuff, but the wife likes it and is a regular cask drinker, but she likes a fruity white wine which is usually not a "connoisseur" type wine, which means a cask is OK by her.
I'm a beer drinker and sometimes you gotta drink what suits the area you are going to....which means cans for
places with no
bins available. Amazing how many cans you can fit in a normal shopping plastic bag ( squashed down of course ), which can easily be transported back to civilization.
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Reply By: Member - Don & Kathie M (TAS) - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 11:36
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 11:36
We do the unthinkable with wine.
For our winter trips on each of the past 10 years, we have decanted our good bottled wine into 1L NAL rectangular bottles, 4 of which then just fit into a small crate. We found the NAL bottles at a camping store, and were assured they did not break or crack when accidentally dropped over the outlet side of the Lake
Gordon dam wall. Occasionally on tracks such as the Anne Beadell or the Canning we have had a slight leak from the lids, fixed with plumbers tape.
I am unsure whether the rectangular bottles are still available but they are worth searching for.
NAL bottles
Good luck.
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Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 13:10
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 13:10
I'm also a bit of a wine snob.
Have tried cask wine without success and now simply carry the wine in 6 pack or 12 pack cardboard cartons to stop them rattling. You can place the empty bottles back into the carton to maintain anti-rattling technique and dispose of them at an appropriate place along your travels.
There is nowhere I have traveled throughout the Australian Outback where I have had an "accident" and prematurely emptied a bottle without using a glass.
As for vac sealing. I have never found the need to double bag food.
Meat, etc. that requires vac sealing sits in the bottom of the portable fridge. or cooler. This lasts for a few weeks unless the meat has bones in it.
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Reply By: Gbc.. - Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 14:05
Sunday, Apr 08, 2018 at 14:05
I’ve never tried it but can somebody come up with a good reason to not have a go at vac sealing wine? There were reds available a while back in aluminium cans which transported ok. There were also small bottle sized tetra packs which fitted perfectly under a car
seat. Quality was ok but not exceptional which is ok for camping.
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Reply By: Phil B (WA) - Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 16:31
Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 16:31
I re-bottle my bottled wine, port, burbon, scotch into 600 ml plastic coke bottles; you can't do bubbly of course.
It might be sacrilege to some but you still get to take the vino with you.
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Reply By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 17:01
Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 17:01
Here's a
test for you - go to the bottle
shop and look for De Bortoli Sacred
Hill Cabernet Merlot. Pay your $5 (yes its a cheapie) and close your eyes and taste it. If you find it quite surprisingly ok, then go buy the 2L casks they also make (not the 4L casks). They are called "Premium Reserve". We have found them the only option in a cask that is palatable. This tends to be more so for the reds than the whites. The other choice is to go for a tawny port and sip it standing around a campfire in a rustic mug. With all the aromas and richness of a
camp oven roast your palette can adapt and after a while you'll cope.
Unfortunately, bottles of red wine tend to spoil so we have never had much luck carry bottled wine on remote trips.
For hot climates, when chilled drinks are preferred we opt to buy tins of Gin & Tonic. You can't mess that up.
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Follow Up By: Austag - Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 17:43
Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 17:43
Thanks Michelle, good idea, will try that. Will hit Dan Murphys on the weekend for our
test box....LOL
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Follow Up By: Member - Boobook - Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 18:29
Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 18:29
A girl after my own heart Michelle.
For Gin and tonic, I bought a cheap Soda stream and make tonic water, With a bit of lime it is almost a good as schweppes.
Tawney Port - oh dear. If it was an alternative to red from 6PM the night would get pretty messy. I remember a friend said that once you start drinking port over a
camp fire, you go through a "portal" into a parallel world where you know everything, and can solve every problem.
The only issue is that none of that wisdom, knowledge or problem solving can pass back into the real world the next morning.
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Follow Up By: Member - johnat - Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 20:10
Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 20:10
Soda stream don't make "tonic" water unless you infuse the water with the quinine.
What you will be making is soda water!
And nothing would convince me to drink quinine - not even with gin (bleeerrk!)!
One of the better cask wines is the deBortoli selection in 4L casks. A single-handed sailer mate used to discard the cask and just keep the bladder in a plastic box. Never had one "disgorge" the contents, even in some fairly rough seas!
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Follow Up By: Ron N - Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 22:45
Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 22:45
Don't forget - if you're carrying cans on rough roads, ensure they have a layer of cardboard under them to prevent abrasion from rough road movement, wearing holes in the bottom of the cans!
Some enthusiastic
young blokes I employed once, related their story to me, about how they threw their couple of cartons of XXXX into the trailer, and went 4WD-ing through many kms of dunes and fishing tracks, to their favourite camping spot.
After getting settled, their thoughts turned to a few nice "coldies" - and they then discovered that EVERY SINGLE CAN of the XXXX, was COMPLETELY EMPTY! - thanks to the constant abrasion on the bottom of the cans, caused by the bouncing trailer, creating pinholes in the bottom of the cans!!
They related how the gloom that settled over their
camp was palpable, it lasted for the length of their camping trip, and it was their unhappiest camping trip they could ever remember!!
Cheers, Ron.
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Follow Up By: Member - Boobook - Tuesday, Apr 10, 2018 at 08:18
Tuesday, Apr 10, 2018 at 08:18
Johnat said "Soda stream don't make "tonic" water unless you infuse the water with the quinine.
What you will be making is soda water!"
Well I guess I must have been imagining it all these years Johnat.
Sodastream Tonic - With Quinine
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Follow Up By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Tuesday, Apr 10, 2018 at 11:08
Tuesday, Apr 10, 2018 at 11:08
Ah Boobook - that really made me chuckle until I realised that its all so very true!!
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Reply By: Member - silkwood - Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 23:21
Monday, Apr 09, 2018 at 23:21
Depends upon how long you wish to carry, but if you thoroughly rinse out a 2lt wine cask, then decant your good wine into this (you can drink the original if you wish, or use it to clean the drains) and then expel all of the air, you will find your wine will be good for around a week to a a week and a half (I have noticed some oxidation with some wines after a week).
Cheers,
Mark
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Reply By: Alloy c/t - Friday, Apr 13, 2018 at 10:16
Friday, Apr 13, 2018 at 10:16
Ok ,your going 3 weeks 'remote' without a pub or 'Uncle Dan Murphy ' insight and you like a tipple or 3 after a long drive , my biggest 'bug bear' is that you seem worried that you won't be able to carry enough ?
Well the answer is bloody simple , instead of trying to carry 3 weeks worth from
home BUY what you need or want from that Tiny out of the beaten track town Pub ,,,, you may just be surprised at what is in the 'old stock' store room or the publicans 'own' stock ...yes you will pay a 'little' more .....have even had 'Grange' offered....
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Reply By: Member - Boobook - Sunday, May 06, 2018 at 17:21
Sunday, May 06, 2018 at 17:21
I promised to follow up on the Tote cask wines 1.5L - billed as premium cask wine.
Well....I tried the 2014 Shiraz today. It was definitely the best cask wine I have tried.
It doesn't make you wince when you taste it for the first time. Infact it's quite acceptable It's probably about equivalent to a $18 to $20 bottle of red.
I think I will use it on my upcoming desert trip.
I haven't tried the white yet.
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