Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator

I love wine, particularly reds, so when I received this Vinturi device, I couldn't wait to test it. In my youth, I had worked as a manager at a French restaurant with one of the top wine lists in the country, so I knew all too well the importance of allowing a fine wine to breathe, thus maximizing the bouquet and flavor through the oxidation. Now, of course, far removed from that life, I just like my wines to be enjoyable.

The first time I tried my Vinturi, it was a disaster. I didn't want to try it out on an expensive wine for fear of ruining it, so I chose a inexpensive red wine, an Australian Shiraz. Because I used it in a restaurant with ten people at the table watching , I tilted the device toward me so I could reach it, and poured. Red wine spilled everywhere. As the wine passed through the device, it sounded like a soda machine that was close to empty. Although I could taste the difference between a glass poured right out of the bottle and one poured through the Vinturi, the difference was barely noticeable. Was it worth the spilled wine and the only slight taste difference? Suffice it to say that I was ready to bury it at the bottom of a drawer.

But then . . .

I decided to give the Vinturi another try. I knew that the spillage most likely had to do with how I had held the device and/or the bottle. My second attempt, on a better red, a Rhone with a relatively recent vintage, worked much better. I held the Vinturi straight up and down, and poured from a standing position rather than reaching across a table. The only spill came from a few drips at the bottom after I removed it, and even then, they collected in the included holder, not on the table. The wine, which needed a few more years in the bottle, was noticeably changed after it had been poured through the Vinturi. The tannins were softened, and the flavor enhanced. However, it was not until I used the Vinturi on a big California blend, a high-quality red that needed another five to eight years in the bottle, that the most noticeable change occurred. Without the Vinturi, the taste was tight, high in tannin (which lends that dry, pucker-y sensation), and definitely too young despite the obvious underlying complexity. The Vinturi opened that wine up so that it tasted as though it had been aged for another five years. The difference was marked. I was sold.

The device itself is a relatively heavy, lucite object with a rubberized grip for holding. The air holes on the sides create turbulence inside the cup and funnel to aerate the wine as it passes through. The box comes with a black rubberized holder (essential to catch the drips after using it) and a pouch to protect it from scratches. The design is both simple and oddly beautiful.

The Vinturi is obviously manufactured for oenophiles, people who regularly drink high-quality red wines and can taste the difference. Don't bother getting this if you're primarily a white wine drinker (whites don't need the kind of breathing that reds do) or if you always buy wine that is ready to drink. Since less expensive wines are generally sold to be drinkable immediately, they are not affected the same way that wines destined for cellars are. And there's no way that any device can make a so-so wine into a good one. That happens at the winery, never at the table.

After reading a number of reviews, it's obvious that a lot of people are convinced that the Vinturi Aerator does a good job of making wine taste better. I arranged a taste test of my own with three people. I poured two glasses, one aerated and one not and none of the three knew which was which. The verdict was unanimous among all three that one glass was better than the other and they actually chose the non-aerated version as the winner. Two of the three are wine afficianados and one is not so there was a variety of palettes involved.

Based on my test of this product, it appears to be an abject failure. Yet, dozens of people have written glowing reviews and a large number of them appear to have done blind taste tests of their own. Since I certainly don't believe that everyone else is lying (a conspiracy, that's it!) I can only surmise that some people may find the effect of aeration more pleasing than others.

My recommendation is simple. If you're interested in this product, see if you can try one at a friend's first or buy it from a place with a liberal return policy. That way you can decide for yourself whether it's an improvement or a waste of money.

I ordered one aerator as a gift for a friend and returned it for another because it was scratched. The second aerator arrived and it, too, had a scratch - so I received a refund. This is a great product - I've been using one for a couple of years. Hopefully Vinturi can or already has fixed their quality control problem.

If you are looking at these reviews, you are probably thinking one thing: Does it really work? If you own the "Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator" you are also thinking one thing: Yes it does.

Seriously, this thing is awesome. Like most folks, I was skeptical until I tried it. All the good reviews convinced me to give it a try, but until I put wine to mouth I still didn't quite believe it would work. My wife and I started out with a blind taste test. Two glasses, one aerated and one not, and the better tasting wine was the aerated one every time. It is a dramatic difference.

If your preference is for the top shelf or the bottom, or somewhere in-between, once you try a glass that has been passed through the aerator you aren't going to want it any other way. We have already been tempted to bring it out to restaurants with us, but haven't gone that far yet. But at home no wine goes down that hatch that hasn't gone through the aerator first. It also comes with a lovely stand, and looks beautiful on the table.

There are only two small cons to this product that are far outweighed by the pros. First off, it does dribble a bit after you have poured a glass. This collects in the stand, and doesn't cause much of a problem but you still need to keep a towel handy. The second thing is the sound. There is a bubbling sound as the wine is aerating, that can be a bit loud. It definitely puts a crinkle in the romantic mood when you pour a new glass and can lead to giggling. The sound is also why I wouldn't bring the aerator to a restaurant.

But those are minor quibbles, just something to be aware of. If you are a wine lover, or even a casual drinker, then you can't go wrong with having the "Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator" at your table.

The Vinturi aerator softens wine's feel on the palate by accelerating the 'breathing' effect. It pulls air into the wine as it flows into either the glass or decanter creating a pleasurable taste experience, turning a good bottle of wine into a better bottle of wine.