Ultimate Wine Accessories: Coravin Wine Access System

The next Oenophile must-have is the Coravin Model 2.  Don’t think that this is just another gimmicky corkscrew, prepare to have your minds blown! This nifty gadget removes the faff of pulling out corks, instead the user pushes a needle through the foil and cork to access the wine. Once you have poured yourself a good measure, simply retract the needle and the cork will reseal itself… genius!

The beauty is, without removing the cork and with inert gas filling the space inside the bottle, the wine never comes into contact with oxygen. So worrying about finishing the bottle before it turns to vinegar is a thing of the past. Suddenly, instead of your wine cellar appearing like an austere library, where you can only take one bottle at a time, it has become a pick’n’mix. You can dip in and out of bottles as you please, treat yourself to a glass of something special without committing to finishing the whole bottle. Check on the maturity of your wines with ease. And if you are keen to learn more about wine and food matching, there is no better way than to taste samples side by side. A Coravin makes this easy. 

Greg Labrecht, founder of Coravin conceived the idea of getting wine from a bottle without allowing contact with air, back in 1998. Originally a Nuclear Engineering student at MIT, Greg went on to become a successful scientist who starts and runs medical companies which develop clever inventions. As well as Coravin, spinal implants are his current specialty. After 23 prototypes, the first Coravin was launched in 2013 and has since received numerous industry awards and high profile listings at top restaurants.

The Coravin system is sleekly designed and very easy to use and maintain. The needle is self-cleaning and won’t transmit TCA (cork taint) between bottles. The gas canister, good for about 15 glasses, is easy to replace and inexpensive to buy.

Of course there are some limitations to the Coravin System, it will only work with natural cork, not on composite or synthetic cork or screwcaps. But this is very much the ultimate wine gadget for anyone with an expansive cellar of fine wines bottled with natural cork closures.

If you would like to see the Coravin at work we have a demo model in our Esher store and some of our great wines to taste in Zalto glasses. Drop by and one of our friendly staff will happily give you a demonstration of these ultimate wine accessories at any time!  Feel free to email the shop to learn more about some of the wines on offer or to arrange a time to come in to taste!