New gadget for wine collectors!

[wantonebad]

http://www.coravin.com/

I don't own one (yet) or have stock in the company but the concept is fascinating. A needle extracts wine through the cork and replaces the void with completely neutral argon-gas. Oxygen never enters the bottle so ostensibly you could sample the same bottle once a year for 10 years to see how it's evolving. Or you can have half a bottle one day and the other half a year later. It's revolutionary if it works as advertised, I'll be waiting for more in depth reviews but Parker has it on his site and loves it.

[Too Old]

When it's finished you can say Aaaah Gone!

[crew]

Nice, a little expensive.
I think I'll just finish the bottle!

[bayerische]

It's a gizmo to be honest. I can't imagine why anyone would need such a thing...?

Sealing the bottle by placing the cork back will keep the wine fresh for days. I understand a 10l bottle, but at 0,75l, a bottle is easily consumed by two people, without either one feeling/getting drunk.

[wantonebad]

Originally Posted by bayerische

It's a gizmo to be honest. I can't imagine why anyone would need such a thing...?

Sealing the bottle by placing the cork back will keep the wine fresh for days. I understand a 10l bottle, but at 0,75l, a bottle is easily consumed by two people, without either one feeling/getting drunk.

It has it's limits for sure but if you are checking how a bottle is evolving, or if something is past it's prime this "gizmo" will allow you to extract a thimble full at a time to sample.

It's not really for an everyday consumer or for someone looking to split bottles, though it can be used for that, it's meant to get at what's inside harmlessly and to allow the wine left to continue to age supposedly unaffected. And for collectors who have to deal with TCA/corked and cooked wines, this allows you to sort through your allotments immediately. Like I said I want to wait to read more practical stories of it's use but it could be very valuable to collectors.

[bayerische]

I'm very skeptical that the cork will seal itself well enough to keep for a very long time? I wonder how thick the needle is?

[SUBversive]

Does it work on the new plastic corks as natural is going by the wayside and also the advent of the screw cap doesn't bode we'll for this product.

[cajunron]

Originally Posted by SUBversive

Does it work on the new plastic corks as natural is going by the wayside and also the advent of the screw cap doesn't bode we'll for this product.

I think the key word here is 'cork'. I doubt many fine wines will come with a plastic cork or screw cap. I think the tool has merit, for sure. Especially for an oenophile or collector.

[gulfstream69xr7]

Originally Posted by wantonebad

It has it's limits for sure but if you are checking how a bottle is evolving, or if something is past it's prime this "gizmo" will allow you to extract a thimble full at a time to sample.

It's not really for an everyday consumer or for someone looking to split bottles, though it can be used for that, it's meant to get at what's inside harmlessly and to allow the wine left to continue to age supposedly unaffected. And for collectors who have to deal with TCA/corked and cooked wines, this allows you to sort through your allotments immediately. Like I said I want to wait to read more practical stories of it's use but it could be very valuable to collectors.

I'm not sure if i'd buy one, but I like the idea. My wife has bottles of wine that are still years away from when they should be opened. We knew that when bought them.

It would be a nice tool for testing wines that are meant to be aged.