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Coravin presented its new "Vinitas" system at the London Wine Fair (LWF). This allows a standard bottle to be divided into seven mini bottles. These have also been specially developed and, according to the manufacturer, guarantee a wine shelf life of up to 12 months. The company made a name for itself around ten years ago with its wine preservation system, which uses argon gas to protect wines in open bottles from oxidation.
The Coravin team came up with the idea for Vinitas during the pandemic, when online wine tastings and the necessary sample bottles were suddenly in high demand. The new system took 18 months to develop and is intended to allow bottlers - wineries, wine merchants and wine schools - to offer even expensive wines under full quality control. The company hopes to appeal to younger consumers in particular, who cannot afford whole bottles of expensive wines but still want to try them.
According to company founder Greg Lambrecht, the new system is intended to "revolutionise the way wine is consumed". Until now, he says, there has been no scalable, automated system that produces sample bottles in small quantities and keeps the quality of the wine inside intact for months rather than weeks. "With Vinitas, businesses, restaurants and retailers can split each bottle on the spot at any time to offer their customers a high-quality experience. No more unnecessary shipping of full-size bottles when only one taster is needed."
The device itself can be rented at a price of around 860 euros per month, with the cost of a sample bottle being around 1.15 euros. The Napa Valley Wine Academy, Langton's, Ceretto, Château Montelena, Château Haut Bailly and Stéphane Derenoncourt from Domaine de l'A were involved in the development of the device.
(al / Source: Harpers.co.uk)