Product Review: The Vinturi Wine Aerator
Friday, October 17, 2008
When Wine Enthusiast delivered the EuroCave wine refrigerator I ordered last year, I thought their "White Glove" service was less than stellar. I called them to complain and they issued me a gift certificate for $100. This was a nice gesture, but as I looked through the Wine Enthusiast catalog I was amazed at how expensive the products were.
So, I treated the $100 like the funny money it was and bought, among other things, a $40 Vinturi Wine Aerator. If you look at the reviews on Amazon and Wine Enthusiast, you'll see that this product gets *great* reviews. Here is a quick video review that captures my thoughts:
Overall, I'd rate this as a gimmicky wine product that actually works, and makes for a fine gift for less than $50. Every time I've done a blind tasting where I pour two glasses of the same wine and one has been aerated with a Vinturi and the other has not, the blind taster has preferred the aerated wine. Every time! It is as if the Vinturi adds 2-3 points to almost every wine you put through it. It is especially helpful with wines that benefit from aeration like young Bordeaux and bold Napa Cabs- but I've found it helps wines at all quality levels.
I think the ultimate measure of usefulness of any product is how frequently it gets used. Against that measure the Vinturi has been a very good product indeed. I can count the number of times I've broken out the old decanter since I've gotten the Vinturi on one hand- basically I use the old decanter only when I've got a wine with significant sediment or I've accidentally broken the cork into bits and I want to filter the debris out.
This product is the only one I'm aware of from the Vinturi company. I have to say- I find that to be a positive thing. The guys who invented this haven't cranked on a bunch of silly wine toys- they just created one really great product and that's their business. I like that!
In conclusion, a big thumbs up for the Vinturi.
If you find this review helpful and would like to buy one from Amazon, I'd appreciate it if you use the following Amazon Associates link:
http://amzn.to/2fjHMbQ
If you're interested in hearing how this product compares to other options in wine aeration and decanting, you may find the results of a 4-way blind tasting we performed useful.
Question of The Day: Do you aerate your wine? Do you decant it? Neither?