Review of Pungo wine preservation device/Coravin alternative

I purchased a Pungo and have been using it alongside the Coravin, which I’ve owned for several months.

First, kudos to Morgan and Burt (who I don’t know aside from my discussions with them about the Pungo) for crafting an excellent device. Morgan is a fellow Berserker (mweinberg) who has shared information about the Pungo on this forum, which is how I learned about it.

I first tested the Pungo on a 2005 Jadot Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatieres. There was no magic to this selection; I had a guest who wanted to taste the wine, and we didn’t plan to drink the whole bottle. I left the Pungo inserted in the bottle and tasted periodically over a week. There is still some wine remaining, which I’ll taste a few weeks from now and then report back. Here are my initial reactions.

The Good:

• • The Pungo is obviously built with quality materials and a careful attention to detail. It has very few parts, and it appears to be durable. My overall impression is that it excels at its core purposes: preserving and dispensing wine. Obviously more time is needed to test its preservation abilities over the long term, but I can at least report that I think this is the best device yet for short-term preservation.

• I was surprised at the speed and volume of the pour. My first pour was larger than usual–so much so that we split it into a second glass–because the glass over-filled in about two to three seconds. Very impressive. There was no sputter or mess. The trigger is controllable to vary the wine flow.

• Also, there is no delay. The wine dispenses immediately when the trigger is pulled, and unlike the Coravin the wine flows out at the same time the argon enters the bottle. Indeed, I would call it a hair trigger; the one instance I made a mess was because I accidentally tapped the trigger while the bottle was standing upright on the floor of my wine cabinet, which caused the wine to spray onto the door of the cabinet.

• The Pungo adds very little pressure inside the bottle. Aside from reducing the risk of exploding bottles, this also appears to mean that less argon is used to deplete a bottle, because there is no wasting of argon when the bottle is tipped up to release pressure (as is the case with the Coravin).

• As for preservation of the wine, thus far I’ve seen no degradation whatsoever. Every pour has been identical. There is no sign of wine or gas escaping from the device, nor do I detect any seepage around the insertion point in the cork.

• The seal around the needle is very tight. I would be extremely comfortable laying the bottle down with the Pungo still inserted.

• To say that the setup/initial use was simple would be a serious understatement. You screw in the argon cartridge and are ready to go. Use of the device is self-explanatory. I have not cleaned it yet, but the instructions and the setup suggest that it is fast and easy.

• The argon cartridges are generic (!!) and reasonably priced. (For those who use the Coravin, I’ll also mention that the cartridges are threaded and fit the black plastic cap for that device. I have no comment on how I determined this, nor do I have a recommendation as to what you should do with this information.)

• Unlike the Coravin, if the cork fails when the needle is inserted the Pungo at least gives you an option to seal the bottle and preserve it (presumably for near-term only, although I can’t speak to this yet). You can push the cork down into the bottle or remove it, and then immediately replace it with one of the Pungo’s stoppers. The stoppers have a channel to allow the Pungo to be inserted, which then causes a gasket to expand and seal against the neck of the bottle. Some oxygen will have entered during the re-corking, but this seems like a good backup if you find the cork to be too fragile after trying to puncture it with the needle.

The Bad

I haven’t encountered any significant negatives, but here are a few minor points that I noted:

• • The needle is thick and takes some force to insert. I’d be hesitant to use it with old or degraded natural corks (all synthetic corks should be fine). I don’t know if alternative needles are in the works. Personally I wouldn’t use any preservation device on these types of bottles, so it’s not an issue for me. The ability to substitute the cork with a stopper also mitigates this issue to some extent.

• Similar to the first point, the needle is inserted into the cork by using a plastic guide. It has a hole at the top and a channel through the middle, and it wraps around the neck of the bottle. It’s mildly awkward because the plastic guide must be removed when the needle is only inserted halfway or so, leaving the user to push the device down the rest of the way with a (hopefully) steady hand. I assume this is more of an issue for the first few times using the device, and that with a little practice the process will become routine.

• The Pungo doesn’t come with a case, stand or needle shield (though the plastic bottle insertion guide serves as a temporary/partial needle shield), so there are somewhat limited storage options if you aren’t leaving it inserted in a bottle. This is not a significant issue, because the Pungo is designed to be kept on the bottle, but think there will be times when I want to store it separately. For now I plan to pack it back into the original box. I raised this with the Pungo’s developers and understand they are considering offering a specialized case.

• I hesitate to even list this here, but the Pungo lacks some of the Coravin’s aesthetic flash, including with respect to the packaging. This is to be expected given the financial backing and industry firepower behind the Coravin. It is also irrelevant to me, because I see it as a tool rather than a showpiece, but I mention it for anyone who cares. Also, this is not to say the Pungo’s is lacking; the Coravin is just an over-achiever in this category.

My Conclusion:

The Pungo is a fantastic device with a lot of key advantages over the Coravin. I highly recommend it. Obviously more time is needed to know how the Pungo will perform at preserving wine over the long term, but everything I have seen gives me reason for optimism.



For more information about the Pungo, including a video demonstration, see this video I found on YouTube:

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for me, Pungo is perfect for younger wines that have little sediment and a resilient cork. I agree that it is easy to use and I find the guide very helpful and easy to use. It is perfect for home use and restaurants. I find many advantages over Coravin including the safety of the low pressure preservation system.

I know nothing about the device but from the description, it seems that you can’t use it to try three or four bottles at the same time. Is that correct?

The device comes with two stoppers that can be inserted if the Pungo is removed. I haven’t used them so I can’t speak to their effectiveness, but I think you can purchase extras if you want to have three or four on hand as you say.

I hear they get hung up in the outbox though.

That one is going to chase me for a while. Rightfully so.

By the way, I meant sealing pins, not stoppers. The stoppers replace the cork as described above. The sealing pins work with either the cork or a stopper.

If that confuses you, I explained it better in a private message to you. But it got hung up in my outbox.

This video was great, thanks for posting it.

Josh Makower was at Vin Italy this past April demonstrating the Coravin; it was my first time to see it up close. Now that I’ve seen the Pungo ‘up close’ (really, it’s a well-produced video), I think the Pungo is the one I’d prefer.

Congrats to these two gentlemen for taking an idea and making it real, and for being so deeply committed to quality.

I tasted another small pour of the Jadot today (see my review above), which I first “opened” in late July, and it hasn’t changed at all. I’m into the last 15-20% of the bottle, which is where the Coravin usually has trouble. I’ll taste and report back again in September.

on my third bottle tested–all fine-- no detectable variation between glasses. I like the device a lot.

Are these on the market yet? Price? Link?

I’m ready for one. When can we buy?

Morgan is usually floating around the boards. PM him at “mweinberg” if he doesn’t respond here and you’re interested in buying a Pungo.

me too, I am interested in some purchasing info. Seems like it would be perfect to scratch the itch of having a glass of a young-ish burg I often have

OK, I’m convinced. I contacted Burt and put my name on the list to get one when they become available. It seems they’re making them in lots and they’re pretty much spoken for, but they’re running a waiting list as they continue production. Price is $329, including the Pungo, a couple of sealing pins, and a couple of stoppers for screw cap bottles. Here’s the link.

Tonight I finished the Jadot from my review. There has been less than a glass of wine in the bottle since my last note on 8/20, and it has been two months since the bottle was first tapped. All I can say is that the last glass was the equal of the first in July. I’m very pleased and looking forward to using the Pungo more frequently now that this test is finished.

I’d be interested in hearing about people’s experiences with the Pungo using the sealing pins.

I’m equally amazed that the Jadot wasn’t already oxidized on the first pour.

I’ve been using the Pungo for about a month now and so far I am pleased. Only issue I’ve noticed thus far is with the stoppers that are to be used for screw cap bottles. It didnt quite seal all the way on one bottle and it leaked a bit when tipped sideways to pour from the device.

I plan on testing the Pungo over the next few weeks. I bought a handful of half bottles of 09 lanessan for the test. Will pungo a fresh one and takes notes. I will have a small pour from the pungo’d bottle side by side with a freshly opened bottle to compare. With 2oz pours I am hoping to follow the wine for about 6 weeks or so.

Thanks Tyler! Much appreciated

Me too. I certainly wasn’t expecting much; the other bottle went down the drain. But this one was fantastic.