Futuristic opener lets you drink wine without uncorking the bottle
By Dhiya Kuriakose, From Mashable
When Greg Lambert’s wife stopped drinking wine because she was pregnant, he found himself in a tough spot. He didn’t want the wine to spoil, but he also didn’t want to double his intake.
So he embarked on a quest to figure out a way to remove wine from a bottle without popping the cork, thus preserving the remainder.
“I really wanted to teleport a glass of wine out of the bottle and leave the cork in place,” said Lambert, founder of Coravin, LLC.
The Coravin Wine Access System, the fruits of Lambert’s labor, is like a futuristic corkscrew — but the corks stays in. Instead, your wine funnels through a thin needle stuck through the center of the cork.
The gadget comes with a pressurized canister of argon, which is injected into the bottle and forces the wine through the needle when the bottle is tipped over. When you set the bottle down, the empty space in the bottle is filled with argon, which prevents the wine from oxidizing.
The needle is so thin that the cork reseals itself when it comes out, so air doesn’t even enter the bottle. With the Coravin system, a bottle of wine could last as long as several years, Lambert claims.
Lambert isn’t just an enthusiastic oenophilist; he has a background in physics, and after earning a Master’s degree in nuclear engineering, moved into medical technology. He has spent 14 years working on Coravin and built 23 iterations of the product.
An Italian restaurant in New York City, Del Posto, was the first in the world to use the technology. “It opens up a whole new world of what you can offer people,” Del Posto owner Joseph Bastianich said. “From a restaurant’s point of view, [it’s] a whole new potential on how to make money.” His customers now have access to a much longer wine list.
Mashable tried it out and found that it’s very simple to use (see video). No more looking clumsy trying to cork a bottle at a party or accidentally crumbling a cork into the wine.
Just position, push, pump and pour. Just position, push, pump and pour.
Lambert’s team is also experimenting with thinner needles to use on older corks. The product doesn’t work on synthetic corks or sparkling wine and champagne.
The gadget is currently only available in the United States for $299, a bit pricey for the everyday wine enthusiast. Argon cartridges, which cost $9.95 each and last about 15 to 20 pushes (based on use) are not included.
For more on this story go to:
