Wine Innovation of the Year
France’s leading wine publication, La Revue du Vin de France, has named the American invented Coravin its Innovation of the Year.
The Coravin pierces the cork in a wine bottle with a needle, extracting wine and inserting inert gas to prevent any aging of the wine remaining in the bottle. A glass of wine can be extracted at any time over the ensuing days, weeks or even months. The needle can be removed completely, with the cork expanding and resealing the bottle.
The device was launched in July 2013, but winning this award, especially in France, has raised its profile. We have tried wine extracted this way once last year when we were at Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards in the Napa Valley. The wine had been “opened” 3 weeks earlier and tasted just fine.
The Coravin means that bottles of rare and/or expensive wine can now be tasted without damaging the wine remaining in the bottle. It will be particularly useful in America and Europe where most wine is still sealed in cork. It will have limited application in Australia and New Zealand where the great majority of wine is now sealed by screwcap.
The inventor of the Coravin, Greg Lambert, is now working on a similar device for wine sealed by screwcap and for Champagne and sparkling wine.
A Coravin can be purchased on line for $US299.
