Wine Technology

Last Saturday I was hanging out in a Hyde Park wine store chatting up the owner and tasting some new wines and the topic of wine gadgets came up. I think most gadgets are a waste of time and money. Don't get me started on magnets. They are great on refrigerators as decorations and for checking for bondo on that used sports car you are in love with. Trust me, there is rust in that old car. You won't find it until it's too late.

Magnets for wine however don't work but the Vinturi (and its kind) work. They add 5 hours of decanting time to a young wine in 30 seconds. Just don't use it on any wine older than 10 years or it will cough up sediment and you will need to finish the bottle in 20 minutes. It will not open slowly and delicately over the evening. It will be slammed open like opening a soft top on the highway.

So new technology does sometimes improve your life. I will still always take a 40 year-old Marantz receiver over a new black box, but I am beginning to see the advantages of iPhones, USB turntables and those new spring loaded staplers. I love those staplers. I just can't figure out where they put the batteries to power them up.

Buy a Vinturi and do the test. But give me vinyl and an old Marantz with some AR bookshelf speakers in the kitchen and I can rattle the dishes while I am savoring a perfectly aerated bottle of wine. Now, is there any device out there to take the warps out of old records? That would be a game changer.