Help With Wine Gadget

I'm Doing some holiday shopping and wondered if anyone had any experience with wine bottle chiller/warmers.

Sounds gimmicky but actually might be pretty useful, could open the wine and breath it in the unit while at the same time not having to worry about the temp. Also be nice in the warm weather for keeping the right temp without over-chilling in ice.

I've found several different products, one that warms with a "CPU controlled Peltier Module", another that does the job with a "patented water cascading technology", and another from Brookstone that doesn't go into such details. Any info appreciated!

What I have found useful in maintaining temperature while the bottle is open and out of the cellar are those wrap around plastic bags filled with a blue liquid mixture, those to be placed either in the freezer or the frig depending on what temperature you want to maintain. Found those in a Sears in California during a visit to the USA and have had them for 5 years or longer. As to details, apologies, but I have none. Great especially for picnics and al fresco dining.

Best
Rogov

Interesting Daniel, but a bit labor intensive and not fine tunable. One of the things that interests me about these items is that they can be used to both chill and warm at precise temperature. I also think it makes an interesting gift, something one might not buy for oneself, but which would be appreciated.

Tom,
I have the thermal chiller sleeve of which Daniel spoke, and I agree wholeheartedly; it's a keeper. I use it often with my whites and rose's, especially if the bottle will be open for more than an hour. I also have the cascading water chiller. It works, but there are several drawbacks: it mangles the label by soaking and turning the bottle; it's noisy and takes up a lot of counter space; and finally, plunging a bottle in an ice water bath will do exactly the same thing, in the same amount of time.
I'm including pictures to ensure we're talking about the same things.
Cheers!
JB

Yes Julia, I use those sleeves too. Great in hot weather and when transporting wine in hot weather. I got the impression Daniel was talking about something similar but more improvised.

I ruled out the cascading water product because I realized it only cools, and that the temperature is adjusted basically by timing it. This doesn't accomplish what I found interesting about the other product which can both cool & warm, and be adjusted to a particular temperature depending on the wine in question. So for instance if you had a wine that you preferred at 65 degrees you could set it at that temperature, while setting it for 45 degrees for a wine that you wanted colder, and you could maintain that temperature until the bottle was finished regardless of the ambient temperature. Also, if you have cellared reds they could be aired for an extended period of time at the preferred serving temperature. I think these applications are useful and I am considering purchasing one. Hey, we've all had a too warm red that was totally flattened or a too cold white that was completely dumb.

As for the my gift search, I've moved on. The person I had considered buying this item for is not really a "wine nut". He mostly drinks what might be called "everyday" wines. This gadget would probably end up in the closet collecting dust.