I don’t trust my Coravin anymore

Bottles leaking through the cork (maybe my fault in some cases for putting them horizontally too quickly, but some corks just don’t seal after a few hours), oxidized white wines, oxidized red wines, and wines tasting muted when opening a few weeks after using the Coravin vs the first taste (exchanging oxygen for argon?)

I’ve now resorted to using candle wax to seal the hole after using the Coravin, but still get muted wines in some cases. I still use it occasionally since some bottles taste great multiple weeks after using it, but I feel like it’s becoming a crapshoot whether I’m going to destroy a bottle by using it.

This is all anecdotal since I haven’t tried to do an actual study of its impact on wine preservation, but I’ve had too many examples to discount my experience. For the record, I think mine is the first version.

Anyone have suggestions to improve my experience? I still really like the idea since my wife doesn’t alway like to drink the same wines as me and we sometimes like to open both whites and reds in an evening. So, it’s great to be able to preserve half bottles.

Use the vintage needle
Clean the needle
Don’t keep bottles you care about more than a few weeks before opening
Not more than a day or two for special wines
Stand upright for a few minutes after to let the cork reseal
Wax is good too!
Try to leave 2/3 of bottle, definitely more than half.

I have pretty good luck but I follow all those rules pretty closely

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buy a Pungo.

I only use coravain on mediocre bottles, or bottles that I want to taste, but don’t care about.

Are you only using it on young bottles, or bottles with some age? I only use it on bottles at most a few years old… certainly nothing with age. I do notice all the things that you mention, so I definitely don’t use it on expensive, rare, or old bottles, but I still find that the preservation is still better than other methods (even decanting into a smaller bottle with limited headspace). And once accessed, I finish the bottle within 2-3 weeks, as I find anything after that point drops off dramatically.

By the 4 or 5oz vials… keeps 2 weeks in the fridge with almost no degradation…
the learning that’s come out of covid!

Super happy, long-term Coravin user here. #1 is i dont use it on bottles older than roughly 15 years old. Too hard to trust the cork at that point. #2, make sure you purge the needle before and after using it (give it a couple quick squirts). #3 I pop the cork once I’m down to about 1/3 of the bottle, as ive had variable results leaving the wine coravind for long once its down that low.

Follow those simple steps, and you’re gonna have a good time :slight_smile:

My first use ruined a beautiful 2006 Grand Cru Corton Charlemagne. Finally did some searching and comparing online reviews for a couple tips that helped me. Avoid use on bottles typically older than 10 yrs cause cork may not hold up. The bottle should be a little closer to 60+ degrees or hold the top of the bottle where the cork is for about 5 minutes so the cork warmes up. This helps the cork seal faster. Also keep it upright for a few hours before putting it back on its side and don’t put it in a fridge or white wine temp wine fridge cause it might cause the cork to not expand fully and seal. I don’t know if this always works out but so far this had worked for me. I’ve kept a few bottles for about 2 months with no issue. I’ve had a lot less to minimal of the super slow drip out of the cork.
I’ve also started doing the 4oz bottles which is great but I’ve noticed the bottles sometimes trap a bit of moisture when storing and need to be recleaned before use but I might be a bit paranoid about any bacteria growth so I tend to over wash things… Hope some of this helps

+1 :wine_glass:

I regularly use mine on bottles that are 25+ years old and have never had an issue. I keep the bottle upright after use for a few days

Interested to hear why Pungo is better - I’m about to bite on one of these systems

I did that but I rarely use it because it seems to leak all over the place when I am initially extracting wine.

Just do the 4oz btls!

I’ve had extremely consistent results with a pungo even when the wine is pungoed for weeks. That said I only use it on one bottle at a time, I don’t remove the pungo and plug the bottle with the cap provided. I also don’t use it for any bottles with significant sediment.

I’ve never used a Coravin but just watching people use one it seems like the pungo is easier, you just pull the trigger to pour.

Mine has had occasional mild spray problems but it’s rare.

I learned the following after using my Coravin:

  1. If you have not used it in a while, its best to pour cheap vodka down the pour spout to clean it out (per the coravin guy)
  2. The cork hole will usually seal back up if you let it stand upright for a little while after using the coravin
  3. Be careful when using with a composite cork as they can easily break the needle

I lost a vintage needle to a composite cork. Forgot it was on there and didn’t inspect the cork before plunging. Bent it.

I leave bottles upright for at least an hour unless the needle was in longer, in which case I leave it overnight.

90% of my coravin’ing is on bottles I drink within two weeks, but I have checked on some older wines to see if they were ready and had no ill effects months or years later. Also used it on several sauternes over the course of months and best I could tell the last glasses were as good as the first. Might have just been luck, but so far so good.

I hhave had great results with Coravin about 85% of the time.
The times I haven’t have been when I have left a small amount for more than a week or had multiple (more than 5) insertions of the needle through the cork.
I never try and keep the bottle more than a few weeks, and usually just one.
Over this week, it worked exceptionally on a 2002 Baumard Savenierres, so it works well on relatively old wines. I’ve used it on 90s burgundy as well. IN fact, I’m hard pressed to remember using it on a wine less than 12 years old, my collection is on the mature side.

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generic cartridges
Better flow
Great service
Works under lower pressure—no exploding bottles.

No affiliation, happy customer.

they’ll service it. Shouldn’t happen.

The only time i could ever imagine using one of these is on a dessert wine.