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Here it comes, an entire month of trying to figure out what the people you love really want in a gift. Hint: They all want cash. Despite this good advice, I know you're going to hunt around for neato things under $50 to stuff in their stocking. First up: the Vinturi Wine Aerator.
Vinturi claims its device, which is meant to allow red wine to open up without using a bulky decanter, will "mix just the right amount of air with your wine at the precise moments ... results are a better bouquet, enhanced flavor, and a smoother finish. Perfect aeration in the time it takes to pour a glass."
I was introduced to this innovation on family vacation, when the parents purchased the thing on a sodden bus tour of California wine country. To my taste, it did soften any sharp edges apparent in young red wine straight out of the bottle ... but was it a $39.95 difference?
Keith Wallace, founder of The Wine School here in Philadelphia, lent his expert opinion in an e-mail.
"Well, I know the product, and people rave about it. It works, but no better than pouring the wine into a carafe and sloshing it about for a few minutes. Personally, I use a $4 glass Ikea pitcher. However, most folks into wine LOVE to spend money on gadgets. Their is a new one every three or four years. One year, it was a glass straw you drank from, another was a mini decanter you put on the top of the bottle, another year it was a magnet you placed under the bottle. This one has been out since '06, so I expect its about to jump the shark and a new one will captivate the wine drinking audience. Who knows? Maybe next year everyone will be hooking up jumper cables to their bottles of wine and supercharging the tannins ...� Yes, I am a curmudgeon."
Delicious or Suspicious verdict: We already have a $4 Ikea pitcher, so we find the defendant Suspicious. Just spend $40 on a gift-able bottle of Bordeaux and tell your lucky giftee to pour it into a mixing bowl.
My buddy swears by his Vintori, and yes the wine does taste a bit more aerated but the sound it produces (think whoopee in a bath tub) alone is worth not buying. Is a decanter really all that bulky and time consuming? No.
I tend to agree that Vinturi is probably not a great value. You and your readers may be interested in an article I published recently. It's an in-depth test of various methods of aeration, including Vinturi. "Do Wine Aerators Work & Are They Worth the Money?" http://bit.ly/2VUO0s
Social comments and analytics for this post... This post was mentioned on Twitter by jeffal66: Delicious or Suspicious: Vinturi Wine Aerator :: Meal Ticket :: Philadelphia City Paper :: http://bit.ly/8ky8zi...
I like my Vinturi. It works much better with young tight wines, I just pour the entire bottle through the Vinturi and into the decanter. For most cheap wines (wines under $10) it doesn't seem to have any effect though.
Posted a video on my site recently of this device in action - have to say I wasn't convinced. Watch it at http://www.simonwoods.com/2009/10/29/vinturi-wine-aerator-put-to-the-test/
[...] love to death this story in the Philadelphia Citypaper by Felicia D’Ambrosio that investigates whether this dumb [...]
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