Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator
by Vinturi
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List Price: Our Price: $29.99 You Save: $9.96 (25%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator
Customer Review: Don't think. Just buy.
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a chef and a fairly big wine aficianado, but I'm not a wine snob, and like one of the other reviewers, not at all into "wine gadgets" either. It's all about what's in the bottle. Somehow, SOMEHOW, this fantastic little gizmo has flown under my radar for over a year. I saw the Vinturi used at a wine shop I recently visited on vacation, and was immediately sold after doing a before/after taste test on a big, young cabernet-shiraz blend. This aerator simply works, and it works wonders. I bought one without hesitation.
For me, it's not just the time factor -- you save an hour or more easily by "decanting" your wine through the Vinturi -- but also the temperature factor. Red wine should properly be served at the cellar temperature, that is, somewhere in the 57-62°F range. If you pull a bottle of cabernet out, put it on the table and decant it traditionally for about 45-60 minutes, the wine isn't 58° any longer! So not only have you killed an hour of time, you've also elevated the temperature of your wine. The Vinturi aerator makes all of this unpleasantness a thing of the past.
Like the title says, don't think, because yes, it's priced right at that magical threshold of pain for many people. $20-30 and this would be a no-brainer. $35-40 makes me pause and reflect. Yes, it's a bit of a steep price tag, but it's a one-time purchase, and it will improve every glass of wine you drink for years to come. Less effective glass/crystal aerating devices sell for 2-3 times this price, so I suppose it's not that bad. It works and it looks great, too. (It's made of clear acrylic and a black rubber/santoprene-type material -- dishwasher-safe, too, although a simple rinse under the tap suffices well enough for me.)
The only thing I'm bitter about is that I didn't think of this and put it on the market -- I'd have made a fortune. :)
Customer Review: Can I give this 6 stars?
Summary: 5 Stars
I am not sure why I have never bought an aerator before. I have a brother and sister in the wine business and thought I would receive one as a gift, but it never happened. My girlfriend was very good to me this Christmas and this was the last gift she bought for me. It was also the best gift she bought. We drink a lot of white (her choice), but I prefer red. All wines need to breathe to some degree, but many good reds really need it. My favorite wine is a good Petite Sirah. Petites tend to be very big and need to breathe for a long time. I bought a bottle of Heretic Petite Sirah a year and a half ago and was a little disappointed ($40 bottle). It was nice, but it really didn't open up until we got to the end of the bottle. It is truly amazing the difference aerating can make to some wines. If I had this aerator the whole bottle would have been amazing as opposed to the last half glass.
I was pretty amazed when I used this aerator the first time. It is noisy! It adds so much air you would think the wine is carbonated when you pour it. The difference in taste is absolutely astounding. If you drink a fair amount of wine this product is easily worth $100. It makes a $10 bottle of wine worth $20 and a $15 bottle of wine worth $25 - $30. I have tried decanting wine (what a pain to clean the decanter properly) and it works ok, but it takes a lot of time. This is almost instantaneous. You don't have to decide whether you are having a glass or the whole bottle as you only aerate what you are going to drink. Open the bottle, aerate and pour and reseal the bottle.
The aerator seems very rugged and would probably survive a fall. I haven't used the strainer but do drink some wines with sediment.
What are you waiting for? If you like wine, buy one. You won't regret it. Thanks Kerri!
Customer Review: Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator - Have Owned This for 18 mos.
Summary: 5 Stars
We have been very pleased with this item. Some friends turned us on to this gadget one night, so we wanted to give it a try at home. While red wines still taste better given some time to breathe (even after using the Aerator), this aerator does seem to substantially reduce the wait time before your first sip. As with most casual wine drinkers, when we open a bottle we are not inclined to wait for 15 - 30+ minutes for the bottle to breathe. So if this is you, this aerator is a good addition to your wine accessories since it does seem to speed up the breathing process. In the $30 - $35 dollar range, this item is discounted from the $40 - $55 some wineries and wine tasting shops will charge you. Thus in the $30+ range it is well worth the money. It is an interesting piece of engineering too. If you drink red wines, this is probably something that you will feel was worth the money. They are still not widespread in the average household, so if you know someone who enjoys red wines, this makes an excellent, moderately priced gift for that person who has everything else. We would suggest you rinse it out periodically so that wine residue doesn't start to stain the internal parts; although this is probably more of a cosmetic issue than anything. Ours still looks brand new. Our friends' aerator looks well used. Take your pick. We've owned ours now for almost 2 years now. BTW, it is well made and durable. We've had no problems with it 'breaking' or something malfunctioning. If you are borderline/skeptical about this gadget, it will exceed your expectations so go for it. Cheers...Customer Review: Drinking Good Tasting Wine Just Got a Whole Lot Cheaper
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the Red and White Wine aerators along with the VacuVin base model pump and corks and I have been really happy. I must forewarn you that I am not a wine expert but this is what I noticed while using the two aerators. I could immediately taste the difference when I used the red wine aerator. When I used the white wine aerator it made the wine a little bit smoother but didn't seem like it could bring out new hidden flavors like the red did. I think the red aerator is a must buy because it makes inexpensive and expensive reds noticeably better. With the white wine aerator you almost always need to start with a nice tasting white wine when using the white aerator because it seems that whites don't open up as well as reds the just get a little smoother and any negative qualities usually linger. If you are wondering I do store my wine at recommended temperatures and use a VacuVin pump to seal up and bottles that aren't finished. Overall I was extremely pleased with the red aerators wide range capability to open up cheap and nice wines alike, while I felt the benefits weren't worth the expense when it came to the white aerator mainly because it didn't open the wine or improve flavor it only seemed to smooth it out.
The red aerator is a great way to fly under the radar and make inexpensive wines taste great, while the white aerator is like icing on the cake, and you need to start with a nice tasting bottle of wine that most likely will be more expensive.
Good Luck!
Customer Review: Non believer to Believer
Summary: 5 Stars
Having tried gimmicky "aerators" before and always..... reverted to decanting or opening bottle at least 1-2 hours before consumption, I was pleased, but dubious when my wife gifted me with both the red and white Vinturi aerators for Christmas. I decided to "blind test" the red version and placed a piece of masking tape on the bottom of the base of each wine glass (stem). One of the stems I marked with a V and the other was left blank. I then poured a mid glass portion of wine with and without the Vinturi. Obviously, since the Vinturi leaves a significnat number of air bubbles around the surface of the wine in the glass, I waited for those to dissipate and then mixed the glasses around and around for about 1 minute to ensure I did not know which was which. I then began my test with a fresh palate and savored each glass with the habitual swirl, "nose", taste allowing the wine to slowly envelope the tougue before swallowing. With a newly cleansed moved on the the 2nd glass and repeated the exercise. Actually, the complete procedure was unnecessary with the 2nd I already knew which was the aerated "winner". Just to make sure.......I tipped the glasses and "voila" my tastebuds had passed the exam. I have tried this with various friends......even those who are not regular wine drinkers and almost to the man / woman, Vinturi has been a winner.