Verdict on Corvain and similar devices

WINE TALK
21

I thank you all. Not only did I learn what I needed to know, the thread provided an opportunity to give Robert a hard time. Win win.

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22

it’s a good day for Berserkers, indeed

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23

Absolutely LOVE my Coravin. I’ve mentioned this before but its been a total game changer for how i consume wine at home. It allows me to have glasses from multiple bottles in a single sitting which i really enjoy. I use it for short/mid-term preservation, and when i follow the below, my hit rate is probably 98%+

-Avoid bottles older than 15-20(ish) years old (cork can be too variable)
-Open the bottle when there is 1/3 left
-‘Purge’ the needle before and after each use (a couple quick squirts).

I also purchase non-branded argon cartridges and use the black capsule from a Coravin Cartridge (soak it in acetone overnight and then unscrew it) which saves quite a bit of $$$.

Do that…and you’re gonna have a good time :cheers:

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24

I think it is fantastic. I find that it works as advertised for younger (say 10 years or so) wines under natural cork. I’ve had success with as long as 3-4 months after first use so long as >50% of the bottle remains. I open the bottle normally once I get down to half of the wine consumed.

Unfortunately many of the wines I buy are under DIAM or similar. So that’s a limitation. But I just save those and older wines where I am worried about cork quality or sediment for “weekend evening in” drinking.

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25

I use a Pungo, much better flow than a Coravin. Only used on young wines due to the sediment issue in older wines. It lets the wife have a glass nightly or less often and have no deterioration of the wine.

26

They do have a “vintage” needle that is thinner, to help with older corks, but that doesn’t really address the sediment stirring issue.

For younger wines where sediment isn’t an issue I use with confidence for up to a month. But mostly I use the 375 technique Todd described above.

27

Aromatics evaporate into the headspace to a point of equilibrium. So, depending on the wine and how much you empty, the remainder can “taste” flat. (Some people perceive that as oxidative because it’s something that coincides with oxidation in an opened bottle.)

The Coravin is a great tool for certain uses, as we see in this thread, but it’s not magic.

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28

Any thoughts on the difference between the Timeless 3 and the 6? Their website doesn’t seem to make the differences clear. Seems like the 6 is fancier w a carrying case and other malarkey I don’t need. For straight up functionality is the 3 just as good? Its $100 less.

Thanks

29

From what i gather, there is very little/no differences in functionality.

Also, if peeps are looking to purchase one, check Offer Up. Folks get these as gifts and don’t need/want them :cheers:

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30

I agree and once it gets close to a half bottle, I’ll just pull the cork and drink it. It sounds like a lot of these guys don’t know how to use it because there really is no reason to turn the bottle upside down… You tilt it no more if not less than if you were pouring a glass.

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31

I use mine extensively - almost entirely for tasting samples from producers. So, the wines are young and I rarely take more than a couple of ounces. Maybe I lie them down to soon after tapping, but most bottles seep through the cork. So, I drip some candle wax over the entry point.

I can’t speak to what state these bottles would be in without Coravin use but, I have opened bottles as much as 5 years later and I can only remember one wine (out of scores of bottles) that disappointed.

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32

Yup. I’m just a idiot who “a lot of these guys” who doesn’t know jack about wine.

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33

You left out: stab himself with the needle!

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34

if he ever allowed a screwcap bottle in either of his houses, he’d try to put it through that, too

35

Lol I know you know plenty about wine. Just not sure about the coravin. There’s no reason to turn a bottle upside down. If you’re using it right, you’re using it for at most the first half of the bottle. Anything beyond that and you should be pulling the cork.

36

I get what he’s saying, and while I don’t turn the bottle upside down when I use it, I’ve seen it used that way (exclusively, actually) in restaurants that use it

37

There’s a difference between seeing people use it that way, and using it the right way. It’s hard to think of a reason To turn a bottle completely over to use it

38

I always yank the cork at half a bottle.

I do have problems with sediment getting stirred into the wine very efficiently just by pumping the argon.

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39

I want to know how my thread on the utility of the Corvain became a vehicle for harassing my friend Robert.

Because I’d like to see this replicated in more threads

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40

Also love my Coravin, though I have the cheaper (and less powerful) Pivot. I usually consume a bottle over two weeks (have one red and white going at once), and the Pivot keeps it fresh the first week and still very drinkable the second.

It also facilitates tastings of 2-3 wines at a time, which I would never do before owning the Pivot because the bottles would go off before I could drink them all.

Added benefit of the Pivot is use don’t have to use a needle (so it works with all enclosures) nor turn the bottle all the way up when pouring.

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