Customers in Europe and Japan don’t want to buy stuff made in China. I assume none of them use iphone, game console or even own a TV ? I am all for manufacture in US. But if the decision is made solely based on those “customers” feedback, you guys really need to get better biz advice.
I do like the clean flow and generic gas cartridge. Looking forward to see the actual unit in San Francisco !
If reasonable alternatives exist, I will absolutely support a North American product over a Chinese product, especially at similar price points.
Huge +1.
+1
I hope the “Pungo” gets the backers they need so they go to production. Coravin is ok but competition should keep them both continually thriving to make a better product.
I hope the “Pungo” gets the backers they need so they go to production.
Thanks to everyone on the thread for looking at the product. Just wanted to clarify that we are absolutely in production right now. Our purpose in KS was to generate some buzz and hopefully a few pre-orders.
I met with Morgan and his partner Burt on Saturday. I have a demo version of the Coravin, and have written about it, so I was initially as skeptical as a lot of you about whether this was a copycat or what. I can tell you that my initial take is that it improves upon the Coravin in several ways, and I am encouraged to see how the Pungo does once it is in the hands of more collectors, sommeliers, etc. for hands-on testing.
In your view, what are the several ways in which it improves upon Coravin?
The big negative to me is the large hole it seems to leave in the cork that does not self seal, when you pull it out oxygen must enter, ditto when you remove the pin and reinsert the device.
Serious question. What is the insertion strategy with pungo? is it a screw in or a bigger needle? won’t it be more likely to push corks into the bottle if a bigger needle?
oxygen does not enter, I am told,
because the argon is in under slight positive pressure. And when the pin is removed, there is a fizz sound from the still positive pressurized bottle as more argon leaves. The positive pressure prevents any oxygen entering. I will be
testing one soon.
Does it leak when horizontal with the pin in?
Morgan, one issue to consider is that some of us are hesitant to buy these devices due to the proprietary argon cartridges. I’m happy to see yours are cheaper than the Coravin cartridges, but the larger problem is what to do in the future if your company ceases to exist or stops offering the product. I certainly don’t want to imply future failure, and I wish you the best, but this is a concern whenever the utility of a product depends on the perpetual manufacture and sale of a necessary component. Will your company consider selling an adapter for third-party cartridges or other solutions to ease this concern?
Thanks.
The needle gets pushed in straight. Basically, the rule of thumb is: if you can pull a cork with a cork screw (like the one in your picture 
) in one piece, you can puncture it. Dried-out natural corks can sometimes be a problem, but I’m sure most berserkers know how to store wine. I have never seen or heard of an issue with a synthetic.
No, the pin has a very tight seal in the cork. It will maintain positive argon pressure in the bottle for extend periods. As I mentioned above, the new pins are going to be stainless.
Kevin, no concern there. Our cartridges are completely non-proprietary, off-the-shelf units. We’re not affixing any kind of adapter or gizmo to make them proprietary either. We get these direct from our supplier in Europe, so we’re confident that we can give you the best price going. Even if we go out of business, I’ll sell these out of my garage. Seriously, if that point came, we’d be happy to disclose make, model, etc.
.
Although I do sometimes end up with some wine left over that I want to save until the next day, more often then not we finish the bottle and I have never wanted to save wine for more than a day or two. I have been using the WineSaver which is cheap and easy, and it seems to work well. I think I tried it based on John Gilman’s recommendation, who more recently wrote: “I know that the new Coravin gizmo is all the rage, but I honestly cannot see the need for it in my office, as WineSave keeps wine fresh in the open bottle for weeks on end and really is an extraordinary product.” I cannot imagine wanting to tap into special bottles in the cellar and then hope that they remain pristine for years after. I wonder if we are going to see offers of “minimally coravin’d” wines on the market for reduced prices? I don’t know, but I wonder whether there is a great calling for complicated and expensive solutions to what may or may not be compelling problems. And isn’t the idea of tapping the bottles you are cellaring repeatedly over the years, even if you could be assured that there is no degradation, a departure from some of the romance of opening a bottle of wine that you have been cellaring for years? Maybe not…just a thought.
I have quite a few late nights for which a single glass would hit the spot, but more would be too much. And those nights are often scattered among others on which I am out of town, etc. Hence my desire to keep a bottle fresh for a week or two. I haven’t found a device—expensive or otherwise—that really does the trick. I have tried the Coravin and thus won’t comment further on it except to say that I won’t use it for its primary purpose, and it seems like overkill for my purposes.
Robert,
I have used Winesave for a while and it doesnt preserve over the short term nearly as well as the Coravin type devices.
The major benefits I experience:
My wife was pregnant, now breast feeding, she doesnt drink, and some nights I don’t want a whole bottle to myself. I also travel A LOT, most weeks to multiple countries, so often I would open a bottle, drink half, winesave and put back in the cellar, go for a trip, come back and the bottle was oxidised. I dont have this issue with Coravin, I have 8 bottles “open” at present, and the device has basically paid for itself.
I have quite a number of what would be considered more esoteric wines in the cellar. I am not always sure if my dinner guests would enjoy that particular style, regularly I would open bottles and certain guests would just hate them, I would then open additional bottles more to their liking. With the Coravin type device, I can give them a glass, if they like it, we open the bottle, if they dont, I put it back and open something and drink the other bottle another night. Everyone is happy, and they get exposed to more wine styles without the risk to me of unfinished bottles post dinner!
I try things I was scared of opening, Im not sure why but psychologically I am more willing to grab a glass of something funky that I wouldnt have otherwise opened the whole bottle…orange wine for example. Now I try some of the more crazy bottles in the cellar and have found a number of things I love that for some reason I was avoiding opening.
Port and Sauternes…a glass of each at the end of dinner…over a month or two. Perfect.
Working well for me so far…especially as the solo wine drinker in the house at present.
Why did I think that was bound to happen?
Stand tall. More to come, I am certain.
On the streets of Brooklyn I learned a major lesson: the mark has to be willing for the con to work well.
How’s that one Mr. Klapp?
There might be more comparisons to be made, but those are just off the top of my head. It also seems “sturdier” - I’m waiting for our cleaning ladies to knock the Coravin off my kitchen counter and break the needle off any day now.