Coravin Pivot vs Pungo

Curious what those with the Pungo think of the new Coravin Pivot.

I have neither (own the first gen Coravin), but I’m looking for a new option.

I’m an early coravin adopter and have been VERY happy with it. As we’ve all discussed multiple times, if you use it properly, its a game changer (especially for short/mid term preservation).

Doesn’t answer your original question, but if you’re looking for an alternate option for wines that you might not be comfortable using the coravin on (older wines/corks), I HIGHLY recommend the Wine Squirrel. Terrible name…but excellent product that actually works! Wine Squirrel Preservation and QikVin - WINE TALK - WineBerserkers

Curious to anyone using the Coravin system how many times have you sampled the wine without noticeable decline. Also wondering how it works on older wines.

If its a ‘younger’ cork (call it under 20 years), you purge the needle before/after use, and you pop the bottle once its down to 1/3 fill level, you’re going to have a good time. I’ve ‘stabbed’ bottles 5+ times and have had excellent results over fairly long periods of time using the above method.

As for older wines, that’s a completely different story. Its VERY much hit/miss, and I’ve actually completely stopped using the coravin on bottles older than 20 years (corks are too variable). That’s where my Wine Squirrel comment in the last post comes into play.

I use the Coravin regularly and I’ve used it 4-5 times on the same bottle without any noticeable difference in the wine. I’ve never used it past the halfway point (after that point you may as well open the bottle). It’s worked pretty well on older bottles depending on the quality/state of the cork. I’ve had one cork completely disintegrate the second I put the needle in, and occasionally some cork bits get pushed into the bottle on the older corks, but many it’s worked great in. I haven’t tried on anything earlier than mid 90s though!

Coravin also has the “vintage needle” that is thinner for older corks.

Pivot isn’t meant for long term usage. Given the ongoing expense of argon, for use only 2-3 weeks out, Repour seems like a more convenient option.

I own a pungo and that new device is really not like the pungo. Pungo and the regular Coravins never remove the cork while this new Coravin Pivot does. So while is prob is a decent device not really comparable, imho.

I bought the Coravin Pivot to check it out, thinking it could be handy for short term use over a week or two. I started with a bright aromatic white, California Albarino and a bright fruity red, Beaujolais Village. I poured off 1/3 of each using the device, purging it before inserting, quickly closing the cap and stuck them in the refrigerator for a week. Both wines tasted fine but the aromatics where dulled allot. The Beaujolais was muted on the nose and had lost some of it’s energy and youthful zip but it was the Albarino that suffered most. All the bright fruit and flowers were just gone.

The good news is that it pours a glass of wine quickly and is very easy to use and if you drink big bold wines but want to split them over a few days it works fine, but no better then Repour or a Vacuvin for that matter. It’s back in the box if anyone wants a good deal on one.

Does anyone know the company’s logic behind the Pivot? Opening the bottle would seem to completely undermine what was so unique about Coravin in the first place. How is the Pivot different from injecting Argon from any source and replacing the cork?

Happy with my fleet of Pungos, they have done a few updates to the original ones I have. I like the non proprietary argon cartridges. Have had good results up to a week or 2 but thats in my tasting room.

The Pivot might work well for WBTG in restaurants that are slower midweek or tasting rooms were at most a few days is needed.

I think Joe is right with the idea about midweek restaurant use, it does pour very nicely but they would have to buy extra stoppers as you only get two.

But my more cynical side believes that, at just under a hundred bucks, it is meant as a gift your friends and family, who are not really into wine but know you are, can get you that is nice, looks cool but really isn’t very useful. You know like all the other fancy wine junk we have all gotten over the years that just sits in a drawer because we don’t want to hurt their feelings by throwing the stuff away.

Watching the Pivot video on the Coravin site it appears that the unit injects argon as it pours in much the same way as regular Coravins. The difference is that you have to open the bottle first. If it is able to maintain the proper fill of gas in the bottle it should work fairly well, but that is what I think is the issue with all these devices - they don’t seem to provide a way to know the empty space is as full of argon as it can be.

When I used to inject argon into opened bottles from a tank I had done displacement tests so I’d at least have some idea of how long it would take to fill however much space there was. Injecting 50ml of gas into the empty half of a 750ml bottle isn’t going to result in much preservation.