Vinturi. Gimmick or worthwhile device?

http://www.vinturi.com/

I love to follow wines as they develop in the glass, so rarely would have a use for this device. But a friend has asked my opinion, and it would be great if anyone here has a well founded opinion.

Regards, Bob

PS: Not that that's ever essential in my case. B

I'm sure there is some scientific evidence that shows this is a gimmick, but I don't have it. I can't see where this would be any better than vigorous swirling in the glass, but hey, what does an Okie know?

No, I haven't seen or heard about Vinturi before, but I have to believe it helps somewhat. After all, they could have called this device the Super VinoSwirler, because that is what it does to the wine passing through. The extent to which it actually helps is really the question.

Of course, it would be best to perform some disciplined testing. Take a bottle of wine, open it and immediately pour a third of it into a decanter, replacing its volume with inert gas. Repeat this in one hour with a second decanter. Then one hour later, start your taste test. You now have the opportunity to compare Vinturi insta-aerated wine against samples that have been decanted for 1 and 2 hours, as well as a wine straight out of the bottle. Blind tasting only!!

I debated whether to use separate bottles of wine for this, as opposed to using a single bottle and momentarily exposing its contents to air. I decided to eliminate bottle-to-bottle variation from this experiment.

So, who is going to shell the $40 for one of these devices and run the test?

-- Clark

Quite a few of the Napa and Sonoma wineries I've been in of late have used this device and allowed some side-by-side tastings of "Vinturi'ed" and "Non-Vinturi'ed" wines.* There is indeed a noticeable difference which suggests more aeration for your buck in a shorter amount of time. It's noticeable, but is it significant for everyone?

I think what we need to ask, however, is whether decanting and letting a wine breathe is more than simply allowing air to mix with the wine? Are there not chemical processes which proceed over time and change the wine which will not occur any more quickly with wine passed through a Vinturi? And, even if some or all do occur more rapidly, is the result the same?

I can make a thick and rich tomato sauce by slowly cooking my tomatoes for a couple of hours or by tossing them in the food processer and puréeing them. Similar but different results.

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*I didn't ask whether they were getting a promotional fee or if they were doing it to boost retail sales of wine tchochkees. Far be it from cynical me to believe that they actually were trying to demonstrate something educational.

If you look on the "How It Works" page, you'll immediately notice an error in the Bernoulli equation. So if the device is designed based on that equation, it will be flawed.
I would suggest that 3.74 sec in the blender (Cuisinart, Model #268) on low speed will more closely match the Bernoulli equation results than the Venturi, according to my calculations.
TomHill

I would suggest that 3.74 sec in the blender (Cuisinart, Model #268) on low speed will more closely match the Bernoulli equation results than the Venturi, according to my calculations.
TomHill

Can you crunch those numbers again for a Braun stick blender at about 72 feet above sea level and show the ephemerides for an El Niño year?

They are missing a major component here.

They need to wrap a 'powerful earth magnet' around it to age the wine at the same time.

I think Gary sums it up-both the positive and questionable results. Saint Helena Wine Company was pouring a Chapellet Claret at their shop. The post-Venturi glass was much more alive and almost effervescent. It was also noticeably more "coherent" and knit together (I'm inventing my own wine geek lingo). I'm not saying the Venturi replaces four hours in the decanter-or four years in the cellar. But, it did noticeably improve this particular wine.

I am not normally such a sucker. What got into me? I now OWN this toy. At least, it is quite "pretty." I'm like a crow, attracted to shiny toys. As for the price, we are not talking cheap plastic-this is HEAVY and solid. Still not worth it?

They claim:
"...draws in and mixes the proper amount of air for the right amount of time, allowing your wine to breathe instantly....".
And just how does the Vinturi determine this?? Just how does it determine that the wine is a 30-yr old RedBdx that needs minimal/none air for "breathing" or that it's a 2-yr old PetiteSirah that needs a large amount of air to "breathe".
I suspect that if you hold the Vinturi over a person's wine glass and pour the wine thru it w/ a flourish, that person would be convinced the wine is "better". It's called the placebo effect. And than attach a powerful neodynimum magnet to the side of the Vinture, maybe a few blinking LCD lights, maybe a small chip to make the powerful whooshing sound as an F-86 Sabre breaks the sound barrier...what the hey...we could get the price up to $80..that the recepient would find the wine even "better".
Tom

Well....it could be a placebo effect. Still, the wine did taste somewhat different. I don't think it would work very well for many wines. But for a raw, young, oaky Napa Cab, maybe? It was noticeable to me.

Note that I don't think the device improved an 82 Cab nearly as noticeably (Freemark Abbey). I did notice some difference, but not enough (then) to spring for the toy.