What improves with age? That is kind of a loaded question. I believe my knowledge and wisdom is improving with age; however, my hearing and eye sight is not! Cured meats and cheeses improve with age. I think trees improve with age as they grow and become silent statues to history. In some cases marriages and friendships improve with age; in other cases this is not so. Does patience improve with age? For me sometimes yes; other times no, particularly in traffic! The real question is: Does wine improve with age?
We improve with age
Good friends improve with age
Women improve with age
Men may improve with age
Marriage improves with age
Music improves with age
We know it takes time, patience and commitment to produce wine. We also know that wine changes over time. Many wines are crafted to “age” in the bottle for 2-20 years for the flavors to blend and the tannins to integrate. Other wines are crafted to be enjoyed upon purchase, young, vibrant and full of life. There are even an abundance of wines that are crafted in such a way that they can be easily enjoyed upon release but will also age beautifully in the proper conditions. These are the wines I like to buy in a minimum of three: one to enjoy immediately and two to save and enjoy with others over time.
Wouldn’t it be fun to take a sip of wines you are aging to see how they are changing? Wine makers do it all the time by pulling a touch of wine out the barrel as it ages to sample its progress. As a wine consumer I am a huge believer in aging wine (much to my husband’s dismay). However, a lot can happen to a wine from bottling to cellaring to opening. AND I don’t always have the patience to uphold my own convictions; I want a sneak peek! If you are like me there is help; there is a way we can peek into that beautiful wine as it rests peacefully, growing, integrating, and blossoming into the vinous joy we anticipate like a child anticipates Christmas morning. This help is called Coravin!
In their own words the Coravin 1000 Wine System is: “The Coravin 1000 System allows you to access, pour, and enjoy your favorite wines by the glass whenever you would like, without pulling the cork. Its innovative design keeps your wine safe from oxidation, allowing it to continue to age naturally, giving you the freedom to pour a glass from any bottle at any time.”
I am not a gadget person at all. Furthermore, I did not receive this Coravin as a sample. I bought it at this years’ TexSom conference. I have been eyeballing it for a few years. My husband and I have discussed it a few times. I was just not ready to pull the trigger on the purchase. However, I watched another demonstration at TexSom. I talked to two of the lovely Coravin sales reps and I tasted the wine they were pouring with it. I was simply amazed. So I went home that night and told my husband the time had come to make the purchased. He agreed so the next day I ordered my own Coravin. My endorsement? I Love It! I was so excited about the purchase that I told at least 10 of my fellow Texsommers about it and 5 of them also bought them at the conference. If you open every bottle of wine you purchase immediately and have no desire to age your wines then honestly the Coravin is not for you. However, if you desire to store your wine properly in a temperature controlled cellar or wine refrigerator and allow it to age for any period of time the Coravin is an investment worth considering! Furthermore, if you are someone who would like to enjoy a glass of wine one night but not commit to the entire bottle (I know you are out there) then you need to purchase the Coravin immediately so you can enjoy that one glass of wine any time!
I found the Coravin very simple to assemble, use and clean. It comes with step by step written and illustrated directions that I found after three uses I no longer needed. It’s super easy! Watch this short video for instructions on how to use the Coravin:
I am not sure which aspect of the Coravin is cooler: the fact you can withdraw wine from the bottle through the needle in the cork without opening the bottle, or the fact that the wine that remains in the bottle “continues to age undisturbed because it was never exposed to oxygen.” I wanted to test this theory in the short term so I used the Coravin to remove wine from a bottle to drink; then a few weeks later I opened the same bottle to consume the rest. The wine tasted the same from the first Coravin sample through the entire bottle. Isn’t that awesome! Don’t take my word for it visit their web site to read all the glowing reviews; here are just a few:
“Wine Lovers Rejoice! The ridiculously cool Coravin system can provide a glass of wine from a bottle without ever actually popping the cork, preserving the freshness of the vessel with zero hassle.” ~ USA Today
“The point of the Coravin isn’t that it extracts wine… [Its] what happens to the wine left in the bottle, which is, as far as the most sophisticated palates in the world can tell, nothing.” ~ Bloomberg Businessweek
“I’ve never written a product review on Vinography because I’ve never met a wine accessory worth writing about. But there is a first time for everything, apparently.” ~ Alder Yarrow, Founder and Editor of Vinography
Here is your Coravin quick start guide with my pictures and their video:
Isn’t the Coravin Wine System awesome!! There are three ways to purchase the Coravin:
The Coravin 1000 Wine System $299
The Coravin 1000 Bonus Pack with a carrying case $349
The Coravin 1000 Bonus Pack II with additional needles and capsules $399
The Coravin is an investment but in no time it will pay for itself. Now you can have a glass of your expensive Bordeaux on a Tuesday and still be up for your 6am cycling class because you did not have to drink the entire bottle. You can now sample a wine you have aged for 10-15 years to make sure it is good before opening for your dinner guests. Furthermore, you can now take that wine to a BYOB restaurant with the confidence of knowing it will in good condition as the waiter pops the cork because you have already sampled it. There are numerous money saving advantages of owning a Coravin.
I absolutely love my Coravin and I think you will love yours too!
My Song Selection: I typically do not pair songs with wine accessory reviews but this one was too perfect to pass up. So here you go:
Get your own Coravin Wine System and let me know what song you pair with it. Cheers!
