Can anyone suggest which models of the Coravin, if any, seal well enough that one can get more than two or three uses out of an argon capsule?
I was an early Coravin adopter and have been disappointed. Our use is fairly sporadic, and it has worked well enough for accessing a bottle we will finish up in the next week or two. But over time, I’ve found the lifespan of the argon capsules has become shorter and shorter. It’s not unusual to install a capsule, have a couple pours, and find the argon empty or nearly empty 4 or 6 weeks later. I assume it is a failure of a seal somewhere.
I am loathe to spend another $300 for one given the performance of this one. There seem to be plenty of new-old-stock, or little-used ones available. Does anyone have any knowledge as to if, and with which model, these issues were remedied?
I’ve been using the Coravin extensively for 9 years in various settings: as a sales rep and for blind tasting, with different types of corks (natural, DIAM, and synthetic sugarcane polymer). My experiences are a mix – I’ve inadvertently transferred TCA (don’t coravin ANY Trimbach wines) and ruined grand cru Burgundy, but I’ve also had success with bottles lasting over five years.
As a sales rep, bottles always stay upright until I get home for the day. My maintenance approach is somewhat relaxed – I clean the unit sporadically and change needles when necessary, with about 4 needles per year replaced for various reasons. I often forget to purge and/or remove the needle immediately after sampling.
I’ve found natural corks the most challenging due to their inherent variability. In my experience, they’re a gamble, and I tend to prefer any other type of cork. My general practice is to puncture a cork no more than four times, after which I switch to an argon purge and repour method. I sometimes apply a bit of superglue to the puncture site for a better immediate seal on higher end or older bottles. I always store horizontally overnight to ID seal failures.
Handling around 40 bottles a week, my failure rate is roughly 5%. This includes a caveman approach I use for synthetic corks: inserting a toothpick into the puncture site between accounts and then snapping and sealing it with superglue at the end of the day.
I’m definitely not stingy with argon, especially since I use a commercial tank to refill my adapter and gas is dirt cheap.
And I don’t consciously avoid blowing off the argon away from the glass. One major difference in my use case is that I’m never pouring more than 1-2 oz, so there’s a lot more oxygen to displace in the glass. Several buyers use ISO glasses though and that’s what I blund taste out of, too. So… I’ve never noticed a difference but I’ve never deliberately tested the theory. Easy enough of a comparison, I’ll do side by sides all next week and report back.
Some of our importers that import “natural” wines say that the Coravin gas can shift flavors and aromas.
I’m not sure if that’s also just a function of the small bit of air that gets introduced when using the Coravin on 0 added / low sulfited wines or if the style of wines are already made in a reductive style.
I will mention I’ve not a lot of experience with old bottles/corks. All of the wine I Coravin is relatively young as far as vintage goes (not style).
Man, i could not disagree with this more. Using it for short/mid-term preservation has been an absolute game changer for how i drink wine at home. With my wife choosing to be sober in recent years (not sure how she does it…but i give her a ton of credit), it allows me to taste multiple bottles in a setting without feeling like i need to finish them quickly.
Might not be your jam…but saying it ‘doesn’t match with enjoying wine’ is way, way off base.
Many wines improve in the fridge over 1 or 2 weeks
In the rare case were you plan to consume a very small part of the content per day over a long period of time, then off course Coravin can be a little useful
But there are a lot of stories about not so elegant pours…
Interesting. That has not been my experience. By day 3 in the fridge, most opened wines taste off to me. (German off-dry riesling being the exception.)
Right now, I have an Alban Viognier that’s been open for three weeks. Occasionally, I’ll pour a little out while cooking, via Coravin. Holding up great… but also getting down to the last 1/4th, so it is time to pull the cork.
Dave, who used to be with Jaffurs (Santa Barbara area winery) claimed bottles of syrah tasted best on sales calls when they were half empty and towards the end of the day. So, also puzzling if Coravin doesn’t work as well with syrah based wines.
I’ve never noticed a difference but I’ve never deliberately tested the theory. Easy enough of a comparison, I’ll do side by sides all next week and report back.