If you’re purging the needle before/after each use, sticking to natural cork, not stabbing wines 20+ years old, and popping the bottle when there’s roughly 1/3 left, then it must be a faulty unit. Have been using one religiously since they were first released (on my 2nd one after all this time) and my hit rate is literally 98%+. Return that bad-boy and try again 
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Good to hear!
Yea, I have been literally following every single step in detail + experimenting on things that can be better.
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Just my 2 cents (worth that if not less). I pull the needle halfway and pause, letting the needle “track” close by the pressure of the cork against the glass, then slowly pull out until the top. In my mind, pulling the needle at once leaves the track open, whereas leaving the needle halfway creates a physical barrier.
Not sure if the above is accurate or valid, but it satisfies my mind’s inner machinations.
After you Coravin a wine do you let it stand overnight and then lay it down?
That’s my process. Do everything possible to make sure wine doesn’t try to seep into the cork and let it fully “heal”
No, about 2 mins before I restore it.
I actually have had great success quickly pulling the needle out after tilting the wine and device up. When you use the device you’re trying to replace the wine volume with argon…. I want there to be a little positive pressure inside the bottle when I pull the needle out. Doing this makes a little argon gas seep out the cork once needle is removed. I then leave bottle upright for a bit before putting back in cellar.
I learned this way from the coravin rep. only downfall is I use more argon by being sure I am replacing wine volume with argon.
Dustin
Looks like we all need to revive that other Coravin thread about how to get that adaptor for that huge freaking tank of Argon.
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Another trick to making sure the wine shows best is once you go to tilt the coravin up, half cock the lever and move the coravin away from the glass to blow off what is in the headspace and needle. I find that when I blow off the excess argon in the glass the wine doesn’t show as good (I often coravin next to the sink or my spit cup and let it blow off in one of those while pulling the needle out of the cork fairly rapidly).
Sounds like a lot of work but has given the best results. I usually have 30-40 bottles accessed at a time and following this and what I write above has worked well.
Interesting thread. I just used my Coravin yesterday on a bottle and it leaked all over my wine fridge today. This is not the first time. I have a success ratio of 60-40 re: leakage. I definitely would not use it on old wines. For young CA wines, it mostly works, although I wish it worked better.
JF
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I used to be a big Coravin fan and still use it.
But my experience is similar to yours. My 2nd glass, even 2-3 days later, never feels the same as my 1st glass. So I have not been using it on anything I consider valuable, which is defeating the purpose.
So I am thinking of giving up on this all together.
30-40, wow! I start feeling oddly guilty when I have 4 bottles going in the wine fridge that have been coravin’ed. I need to reset my expectations it seems - you’ve inspired me.
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It’s anecdotal for sure, but I definitely get a fair amount of leakage
However, the wine has been ok so far, after a week.
JF
I have a gentleman in my tasting group that pulls corks and then rebottles in glass bottles and seals them with a traditional crown cap in various sizes and has had a lot of success. It’s obviously time consuming but it significantly limits the air contact outside of the rebottling exposure
Its honestly so wild to me to hear peeps failure rates , as that is not at ALL my experience. I literally never have leaky bottles…unless its an older cork, and rhe leakage happens as soon as i pull thr trigger (pressure pushes wine out the side of the cork). In the rare case that happens…i simply pull the cork.
Maybe ive just been insanely lucky for the last 10 years, but either way, im sorry some peope havent had a positive experience with the device 
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I do this with glass Pyrex bottles approx 4-5oz each. I slightly overfill the bottle (such that chemical bond actually allows wine level to sit above the rim) and then as I close it, all excess wine is pressed out to the side. It’s a small clean up, but should leave me with zero air left in the bottle.
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I’m in the same camp, Rich. Never had an issue and I’m using the original model from 2014. Only on my second needle too.
The only times I’ve had a bottle leak are when I put the bottle on its side too soon (I tend to let them sit overnight and then pop them back in the wine fridge the next morning).
I’m religious about cleaning the coravin too. Don’t want good wine coming into contact with any vinegar-like residue.
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Not sure if I understand correctly both your tricks, you are saying it’s better to have excess argon in the wine bottle, so essentially not pouring from the bottle until it stops? So there is some extra argon inside the wine bottle?
If so, interesting, never thought about that.
Not joking - could you make a video?
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An update:
This is what Coravin suggested me to do after regurgitating what I described in this thread:
- Always purge the needle before inserting into the cork. After placing the Coravin™ on the bottle, give the trigger a short press to ensure any oxygen that may be in the needle is cleared out; then insert the needle into the cork.
- After accessing the wine, ensure that you store the bottle horizontally to ensure the cork remains viable.
- Avoid temperature fluctuations that could affect the wine.
- Please also clean the Coravin regularly; once per week for standard usage; once per day for heavy usage
- Always remove the Coravin from the cork after you have finished your pour. Leaving the needle in the cork could allow oxygen to seep into the bottle and could make it more difficult for the cork to reseal.
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