I recently acquired a Coravin (Six+ model) and I must say I’m a little bit disappointed so far with the results of my first few testings
Although the wine is always still drinkable (no turning into vinegar), it seems to me like the nose aromas get muted / disappear after using Coravin on a bottle (especially on red wines ?).
Even happened to me this week when opening a bottle on the very next day after using Coravin, I must say i wasnt expecting a change so quickly with that regard…
I’ve read here and there some people are very happy with the system while others arent, it’s hard to know.
I’m sure many things can affect my tasting and so I’m planning a real side by side tasting quite soon with 2 different wines, opening a brand new bottle of each.
Anyone experienced such changes in aromas so quickly ?
Also I’ve seen corks seem to behave very differently, some slose down very nicely while others not so much (not even talking DIAM or plastic corks here).
Is there a way to know in advance which cork “quality” is used in a given bottle ?
Last thing, I saw some people have quite good feedback about keeping wine in small bottle containers with polycone screwcap, so I ordered some of that to do some testings also
How long can a wine last in such conditions do you think ?
Bummer you havent been digging it yet! I’m one of those peeps that absolutley loves it. Here’s a few tips that might be helpful:
-always purge the needle before and after using it (just a couple quick squirts)
-Don’t use it on corks older than 15 to 20 years old (I’d also suggest NOT using it on Diam corks. It is crazy hard to pull the needle out)
-Open the bottle once there is 1/3 left
I honestly have a hit-rate close to 98% when i follow those steps and was a really adopter (i.e I’ve been using my same/original device for many, many years).
Good luck! Hope you enjoy it as much as i do. Total game changer for shorter-term preservation at home.
great advice!
I am rarely using Coravin these days; usually finish the bottles within a day or two. It is absolutely indispensable when taking a bottle with me to a restaurant. I would need to know if the bottle is sound and if it is in the right place age-wise while I can still choose what to bring to dinner.
I do the flush/purge to reduce the amount of oxygen inserted in the bottle.
My tests were on recent vintage (2018 and similar) with corks in good condition (and no diam).
I can smell the difference only having taken 1 glass out of the bottle.
Anyway, will see how my next test goes, with side by side of same unopened bottle.
When you say “short term”, how long are we talking about ?
Overall I have a great success rate with the Coravin in the short-term (1ish month) range. My initial failures were all due to not purging and forgetting to clean the needle.
I use it a lot on 90s Vintage Port with great success and the vintage needle is a must on those 20+ year old corks.
On my Three+ model the needle will become loose if you don’t pull out straight, especially on Diam. I now make sure it is screwed on tight before I purge and plunge it into a bottle.
I also let the bottle stand upright for at least 30 minutes, ideally an hour, before putting back in the wine fridge. Some corks just take a long time to reseal and I have not seen any pattern yet around it.
A few wines that I have used it on do lose some of the aromatics. In every case it was after 3-4 pulls and the bottle was past the half way point. I’ve always wondered if it was due to the increased head space.
I will use a different bottle for the restaurant dinner, but will drink the tight bottle with a proper airing/decant at home, where I will not be limited to drinking it upon arrival.
Sounds like you’re doing things correctly. I do think that even with superb technique, the Coravin still changes the wine. I think it’s the increased headspace, maybe the aromatics diffuse out of solution a little bit, or something like that. It’s mainly for this reason that I do not use it on my top/expensive wines… the 2nd experience is never exactly the same.
I still use it on cheap or everyday wines because I still think it’s the best preservation technique (better than little bottles), but I’m definitely sensitive enough to notice changes to the wine. Either that’s acceptable to you or not…
Oh, and I know you aren’t doing this, but definitely don’t keep any accessed bottles longer than 2-3 weeks. If you already notice changes with a shorter time scale, at that point they seem to head off a cliff. Not oxidized, just not the same at all.
That said, ive had success with a bottle that had been stabbed for over a year. That’s not what i use the tool for…but its possible if you’re feeling lucky
Glad to know my fear about using a Coravin on a old bottle is justified. It’s a challenge to get enough port lovers to help polish off a '77 or an '83. Was debating of a Coravin Pivot is possibly the solution for those bottles.
We often don’t want to have a glass of port each night, and often take a month to go through a 750 of VP when using the Coravin. Being able to stab a bottle of a 90s VP and get a month has been a huge win for me.
Doesn’t help with the older bottles, but my VP consumption has been much higher since getting one.
I’ve had great success with my Coravin for years and follow the steps notes by others here (especially pulling the cork and finishing after it gets to about half-full). I have no issues with bottles I’ve accessed months ago, going as far back as nearly a year. No issues whatsoever. I’ve used my Coravin for 8 years, and the one thing I’m religious about is cleaning the coravin, which I have a theory may be related to some of the issues people tend to report with Coravin. There are two things that really need frequently cleaning (in my experience and testing, anyway)…
the needle and spout should be wiped and cleared of any residual wine. This is where you’re most likely to end up with vinegar formation that you definitely don’t want coming into contact with a brand new wine. I try to do this after every use, and definitely at least weekly.
the inside of the needle itself. This one requires unscrewing the needle and then using the thin metal cleaning tool that comes with any new replacement needle set. After several uses, the coravin needle will get jammed up with tiny cork fragments, and if you happen to get unlucky and prove a TCA infected cork, you don’t want any of that coming into contact with your new wines! I don’t clean this after every use, but I try to get it cleared out and cleaned about once a month. I also replace the needle itself annually (I probably use my device 3-4X a week for reference).
It’s an awesome device, but definitely not maintenance free. Replacing capsules is just one small part of ownership. I love using it to tap a bottle I think might be a good food pairing for dinner, but want to verify first. I also use it to make wine flights (vertical tasting, varietal exploration) on random weeknights, because, why the hell not!
Just got a Coravin for Christmas and have enjoyed using it the first few times but was curious as to the longevity I can expect from the stabbed wines. Helpful tips! Thanks!
