Vinturi Red Wine Aerator Includes Base Enhanced Flavors with Smoother Finish, Black

I may have been a little effusive in the title leading you to wonder what does an aerator have to do with economic systems? Well, if the best of capitalism represents an enterprising individual finding a solution to a problem and bringing it to market in such a way that it offers value to consumers, then the Vinturi Aerator is a shining example of it. We all know that wines, particularly red wines, taste better when in contact with the air after the bottle is opened. This is why the second or the third glass always taste better than the first out of a bottle. This is the reason why it is recommend to decant good wines many hours before serving. The air helps with oxidation and opens up the bouquet and taste of wine. Decanters therefore have been used for centuries; and for all these years people have wondered what to do with the wine that is left in them or how to clean them after use. Here comes a product that seeks to turn centuries old conventional wisdom of decanting on its head. The promise of getting the benefits of decanting within seconds in one glass seemed too good to be true. I was skeptical of this product as one is of late night TV commercials of product that tout to accomplish the impossible. But I could not ignore the good reviews this product was garnering and finally decided to give it a try. The Vinturi is beautifully packed. My wife does not share my ardent enthusiasm for wine. Usually I need to urge her to share a bottle with me. But seeing how smart the Vinturi looked and the promise it held, it was she who kept egging me to open a bottle and give this product a try. Finally the weekend arrived and we decided to set up a blind test. I opened a bottle of pinot noir (it is summer after all) and immediately poured into the first glass through the Vinturi and then straight from the bottle into the second glass without the Vinturi. I swirled the wine in the second glass as I generally would to a glass of red wine and let the first glass untouched. I called my wife from the other room to come and taste the two glasses. She tasted the wine and instantly identified the first glass as the one poured through the Vinturi. I was surprised. I smelled and tasted both glasses. The first one clearly had a more open bouquet and fuller taste. The difference between the two glasses was so stark that I could not believe it. The contrast between two glasses was like the polished and tarnished version of the same silver. Well, I am now a convert! This is an excellent product that uses ingenuity and science to aerate wine quicker and in small batches. It is also very smart to look at and you are going to love the sound it makes as you pour wine though it. My wife certainly did. Where all my past coaxing failed, this little device may have turned my wife on to wine and earned me a wine buddy. This is a must-have accessory for anyone who drinks wine! Two thumbs up!

Excellent product..this is our third Shared one with our daughter and another to a friend. 'Opens' your reds and improves them.

I bought this as I was starting to drink more wine. Was trying to help my taste buds with reds. This really does work and really does make a difference. Takes some of the "bite" out of most wines. The device itself is attractive, compact and solidly built. It appears to be a simple oblong plexi glass "funnel" with a rubber grip. There are two small channels in the center of the funnel, which look like "cracks" in the plastic (I've read product info that assures worried buyers these cracks are proper and unavoidable). Wine is poured through the top of the funnel, and immediately a suction sound is heard as the pouring draws air into the wine before it escapes out the bottom of the funnel. The aerator is easily held, and I've never had a problem with spills. Now on to the "effect" of the Vinturi. I've been using the Vinturi for 6 months now, on a variety of wines ... In every circumstance, with every wine, I've noticed a significant improvement in the quality of the wine when poured through the Vinturi, as opposed to tasted directly from bottle. The flavours are more blended, the finish is less acidic, and frankly, it has made most of the wines I drink a more pleasurable experience, from sniff to swallow. I've conducted several "blind" tastings with friends, and we all agree - this thing works. If you're a serious wine drinker - or shopping for a wine drinker in your life - give this product a try. At $40, it's about the price of a decent California Cabernet, and will yield results for decades to come. I plan on picking up a few dozen this Christmas and giving them out as gifts to friends and family.

I have been drinking wine for a few years now after my Italian girlfriend (now wife) got me into it. We prefer reds towards the dry and bold spectrum. I have a relatively excellent palate and find that I am always tasting flavors or smelling something that no one else can. So the proper procedure before wine hits lips is something I am very serious about. First, this is my take on what is happing here: Oxygen feeds a fire, and it can also feed flavor. The wine you are about to open has been cooped up without fresh air for years. This preserves the wine, but now it's time to unleash it. It needs to breath, wake up and stretch before it is at full potential, just like me in the morning. It's a big mistake for my wife to tell me about company coming over this weekend the minute my alarm goes off. I'm not going to remember it. The Vinturi is a shortcut. Not a bad one, just saying it's a shortcut. It cuts out the need for time and another container (decanter). Since the wine needs some air to wake up, it will immediately begin to absorb it when you pop the cork. The speed of absorbing is relative to the surface area exposed to fresh air. This is why decanters come in a variety of odd shapes to spread the wine out, or why we spin the wine in our glass. The Vinturi is simply injecting air into the wine, creating an enormous amount of surface area, through bubbles, so that the air can be absorbed quickly. Quickly is the key word here. Normally when I am opening a bottle, it's because I want wine RIGHT NOW. Not in 20 minutes after I poured it into my glass. Not to mention this issue if you are drinking a chilled white. So the Vinturi allows you to open a new bottle, pour it through into a glass, and take a sip. I challenge everyone to try the test. Take two glasses, open a new bottle and immediately pour a serving into one glass and then pour through the Vinturi into the other glass. Take a couple sips from the regular glass. Try to taste what you enjoy about the flavor and get used to it. Then try a sip from the aerated glass. You should notice the aerated wine to be a little bit more complex, rich and pleasant. The first glass will end up tasting the same way soon, so don't worry, it just needs time. That is pretty much all I can say. If you need it now, then you need a Vinturi. It does drip out of the inlet holes sometimes which means it can pass over fingers into the glass. It can be a little clumsy and might take a few tries before you figure out how fast to pour. I think there is a reason you don't see this product used during a proper wine service at a restaurant. I think there is some old fashion class to the whole procedure that a server goes through. I think everyone at the table would laugh as we pass our glasses to the Vinturi master. So if you are out at a restaurant, and want your bottle to taste to full potential, just remember the science and be smart about it. Some servers like to turn the cork upside down and put it back in the bottle. PLEASE TAKE IT BACK OUT. I don't understand this. It's not Pepsi! Let it breath. As for the first glass, just enjoy it and don't get caught spinning it around and spilling it on yourself!

This wine aerator worked great for me. If you drink wine and you haven't tried one of the nicer aerators, then you have to try this. It absolutely changes the taste of the wine and instantly. I've never been a fan of red wines and some red wines had just tasted terrible to me so I figured I would give it a shot. The cabernet sauvignon, which we had initially discarded because it tasted /that/ bad, actually tasted perfectly reasonable after we opened another bottle to compare with the aerator. Just hold it over the glass and pour the wine into the top of the aerator and it re-emerges, ready to drink and delicious from the other end into your glass. Then simply rinse it out with water. After a while it gets dirty so I've been tossing it in the dishwasher with no problems. Now I haven't tried any of the other aerators other than the Vinturi White Wine aerator, but its worth considering the Zazzol wine aerator too. Its about $10 more but they usually have a coupon for their amazon sales that you can find to bring it down another $5 or so. I have gifted the Zazzol wine aerator to another couple that were blown away by it. The difference that makes the Zazzol a tad bit better than the Vinturi is that has a wider opening to pour the liquid into (which really does make a difference), it has a better box (actually comes in a gift box complete with a thank-you note), and the aeration mechanism in the Zazzol is better. I don't know if it aerates better per se, but it doesn't have the tendency to leak out the sides like the Vinturi occasionally does. The Zazzol aerator design works similarly to a kitchen or bathroom faucet aerator. I have a separate review for the Zazzol aerator, but either one is perfectly fine and definitely worth the $20 or $30 price tag. Just think how much you spend on wine every year.

Makes good wine even better!

I purchased this on Amazon and it works great. I also own an all glass model called Soiree and it also works well but don't drop it! The Vinturi is some sort of clear plastic or resin and will take more abuse. It is also more expensive than the Soiree but slightly easier to use. I work in the tasting room for a premium winery and yours truly and other staff have tried several makes of hand held aerators--blindfold tests. Guess what? They work. They allow a red wine to open up if you have just pulled the cork from a bottle of wine. They also work on white wines but the improvement is not as noticeable. Most reds need some air to allow the fruit to fully open up. While this is not as good as pulling the cork and letting the bottle stand for two to three hours it does help. I don't decant to a large flashy looking decanter as it is just more glass to hand wash, and I do not like sloshing any wine around as it is too easy to splash it on something or someone else. This device will not improve a wine that is "corked" (when your wine smells and even tastes of damp cardboard or newspaper) or overly oxidized (too much oxygen in the wine). The Vinturi makes a bit of a gurgling sound as it goes through the device--kind of cool. The Vinturi typically has run close to $50 and that is too much. Now you can pick one up in the $28 to $32 range. The Soiree lists for $19.95. Overall I like the Vinturi best but not because it does a better job--it will likely survive if I drop it. They are fun and make great gifts. WINE TIP: If your wine is great right out of the bottle, needs no aeration, then these devices will not do much. Also, smell your glass(es) first to see if you can detect any detergent or soap. If you can, using this glass without rinsing or soaking it to get rid of any soap or detergent smell will ruin the full flavor of your wine.

This "thingy" is quite impressive. When wine runs through it, it sounds like a garden hose! Lots of aeration and air bubbles in the wine. It's about $25 which is a bargain compared to other wine aerators which can cost well over $100. It does not attach to the bottle nor sit on the glass so you have to hold it while you pour. Either set the glass on a table and hold the bottle and aerator over it or hold the glass and aerator in one hand keeping a open gap between the two and pour the wine with the other hand. I have to disclose that I am not completely sold on the idea of mechanically aerating wine. Many people are and this device does work very well. Whether you like what it does to the wine is up to you.