I use them exactly the same as Dugger. The Wine On Tap bags are great for short term storage, like for parties. The wine oxidizes much faster in them. Based on what I have seen, they constantly let in small amounts of oxygen through the plastic, about 3 times as much/fast as the micro-oxygenation rate of a small wine barrel. As a result, the wine in them oxidizes much faster.
I left a small portion in one of these bags for about a year. I tried the wine and it tasted very much like a wine left open on the cabinet for a couple of days.
A bag holds about 10 bottles of wine and still fits into its carriage. I did an experiment where I placed red wine in these bags for two different time periods. I wanted to determine what micro-oxygenation affect the bags might have on the wine. The results of my little experiment are not yet known because the wine is still very young.
I took a 30-bottle batch of red wine and filled one bag (10 bottles) and left it for one month, then bottled it. I did the same with another bag, but left it in the bag for 2 months before bottling. Finally I bottled the remainder of the batch without any time in a bag. Of course I labeled each of the 30 bottles, so I could keep track of what happens. In about 6 months the wine will be 18 months old; I'll taste the different batches side-by-side to see what affect the bags' "aging" has on the wine.
My thinking was that the micro-oxygenation would enhance the wine based on the time they were in the bags. Now, I figure the rate of micro-oxygenation was likely too fast to be good for the wine. The only thing I may get out of it is that the wine, which was placed in the bags, will go bad before the non-bagged wine. We will see.
My advice is to use these bags for wines like summer wines, which you and your friends intend to drink within 4 to 6 months. Also, I would never put a quality wine in them at all.
