Buying wine for the wine lover on your Christmas shopping
list is fraught with peril. Do you know their tastes? Do you know their
favorite varietals? Can you afford their favorites?
A gift certificates for a nearby wine shop is a nice gift.
But unless you are certain of the person’s wine tastes, stick with wine
accessories. Glassware makes an outstanding gift. For wine drinkers, you can
never have enough wine glasses or a good decanter.
There are lots of gizmos on the wine market. You can buy all
sorts of devices to remove the cork, to chill wine, and more. There is one
gadget though which can be a nice addition to any vino lover’s wine accessories.
Consider buying an aerator. While the gadget isn’t new to
the wine world, it hasn’t been around all that long. And now there are several
types, models, and price points. Aerators can be found at better wine and
liquor stores and some household stores that carry wine glasses and decanters.
For years wine drinkers would pour their wines into a
decanter to soften the bite of the tannins on the finish of the wine. But in
our ‘no patience, no time, and can’t wait’ society sometimes that’s not good
enough.
Enter Vinturi the manufacturer
of the original wine aerator. Essentially, you pour wine through an aerator and
oxygen is infused into the wine as it enters the glass and softens the taste.
Vinturi offers a base model and a Vinturi Tower model (which
holds the aerator), a white wine aerator, and a travel model. The base aerator
is usually priced around $35-$40. The aerator with the tower holder will cost
from $50-$60.
The success of aerators has resulted in more entries into
the market.
The newer in-bottle aerators have an advantage that it’s less
messy. Both of the samples I tried have a rubber-sealed neck which goes right
into the wine bottle.
Soiree has a number of party and wine home supply gadgets.
The Soiree is a bubble with a spout. When you turn a wine bottle completely
upside down the wine swirls over the bubble and into your glass. The Soiree
offers a less expensive alternative at $20-$25.
The third aerator was an in-bottle type with a sleek spout
for pouring. VinOair from CorkPops would be great for travel or taking to a
party. The VinOair is the least expensive of the three at $16.
But do these things really work? Ask any regular wine
drinker with aerator experience, and the answer may vary.
For me, they do a nice job of making a big red wine ready to
drink. And I’ve been surprised an aerator actually helps on some white wines that have a
real acidic finish.
I received samples of all three aerators and tested them
with wine drinking friends. All three worked just fine and definitely softened
the wine. The Vinturi is elegant; the VinOair is the most convenient, while the
Soiree was the pick of my wine buddies on taste.
An aerator is a gift a wine friend might not have in their
collection yet. All three companies have good websites where you can find local
retailers.
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