- Lifestyle
INSPECT A-GADGET: The best (and worst) wine gizmos on the market right now.
From wine condoms to corkscrew royalty, the world of wine gadgets is as chaotic as it is entertaining. Here’s a definitive hit list of genius tools — and a few noisy, overpriced disasters best left in the box.
- Words By Tom Gilbey
Wine gadgets: those toys that make the world of wine even more fun than it is already. Here are some stand-out hits and biggest misses on the market today. And, for fun, let’s start with...
THE WORST
As a rule, these are generally electrical and, having reviewed this lot below, they appear to do a job that the average, able-bodied human could do much quicker and better, with a great deal less noise.
The idea: To aerate your wine as you pour.
The reality: This is a true horror. If ever you wanted a gadget to make an awful mess over you, your table and/or your guests, this is the one for you. So why does it exist? Well young wine, particularly red wine, often benefits from contact with oxygen. Oxygen opens the wine up and allows it to show us all the wonderful nuances it has, but there are other ways to do it than sticking an electric pump with a spout on your wine to jet it all over the table.
The idea: To chill your wine in six minutes.
The reality: We all really need a chunky piece of plastic on the end of a wire on our kitchen sideboard and this one is perfect, because it makes loads of noise as well. This does indeed chill your wine in six minutes. But it’s expensive (£323), bulky and fabulously ugly.
The idea: It removes sulphites
The reality: Sulphites get the blame for many a wine headache, but it’s actually the combination of histamines and alcohol that give us this problem. There are more sulphites in fruit and a bag of salad than there are in wine. Winemakers do often add them, but they’re naturally present in the vineyard anyway. This wine filter might reduce a few histamines, but it strips flavour from the wine too.
The idea: To seal the wine from oxygen once opened
The reality: The oxygen is already in the wine. This is a fun gimmick but that’s about it. It looks hideous and doesn't really serve any purpose other than to stop wildlife getting in your bottle.
THE BEST
The idea: Spill less and avoid the mess
The reality: It’s simple and it does exactly that. No more dripping red wine on the tablecloth or over your clothes. This simple bit of kit allows you to pour the wine cleanly with no drops. Genius.
The idea: Get the bottle open simply and cleanly
The reality: This one is expensive. It’s super smart, made by Le Creuset, looks the part, and has everything you need: a foil-cutter, a hinged arm, and a strong sharp screw/ worm to get into any cork. It’s the best corkscrew on the planet and the only one you’ll ever need.
The idea: A glass to make all wines taste their best.
The reality: Again, this one is expensive, but it really is the best. Designed by Jancis Robinson, it really does make good wine taste at least 10% better than any average wine glass. The ‘Precision’ model is the less expensive machine-blown version, which is still very good.
The idea: Pour a glass from your favourite bottle time and time again without having to finish the bottle for weeks.
The reality: This has to be the ultimate wine gadget. A complete game changer when it was first released. It’s brilliant, though the wine does begin to fade if the bottle s less than half full, and/or it’s been stored for over three weeks.
The idea: To open up youthful wine or remove sediment from a mature wine.
The reality: It’s an essential bit of kit that makes nearly all wine taste a great deal better. This one is by Riedel . It looks super smart and will do the job perfectly.
The idea: Get wine to drinking temperature fast.
The reality: A brilliant bit of kit when you’re in a hurry. It’s especially useful for fizz, white and rosé but handy for red wine too if you want to take a degree or two off.
Come on in the Chablis lovely, Your new home of drinks.
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