wine aeroater-gadget or gimmick?

[elfin]

Attended a party this weekend and the host brought out a wine aerator-a long metal straw with a black balloon- like bladder at the top. The operation was similiar to an eyedropper-you squeezed air through the straw and pumped the bottle full of air until the bottleneck was filled with air bubbles. It actually made the wine taste better(as compared to the inital pour) as if it were properly decanted. Am I just swayed by a new gadget or does this thing really work? Are there several models/manufacturer's out there-I found one on the internet for 50$.

[LindaJ]

No one else replied so I will.

The folks around here are pretty skeptical of doo-dads that mess with wine (ref: Classic Wine Threads post - look for Wine Clip, and a recent discussion of some sake drinking Japanese gent who liked to electrocute his wine). I think for $50, you could pick up a couple not-too-fancy, but servicable decanters that would accomplish the same result of oxygenating the wine. Or just open the bottle and let it breathe a while. Or buy a turkey baster cause that's what it sounds like.

[balex]

No one else replied so I will.

The folks around here are pretty skeptical of doo-dads that mess with wine (ref: Classic Wine Threads post - look for Wine Clip, and a recent discussion of some sake drinking Japanese gent who liked to electrocute his wine).  I think for $50, you could pick up a couple not-too-fancy, but servicable decanters that would accomplish the same result of oxygenating the wine.  Or just open the bottle and let it breathe a while.  Or buy a turkey baster cause that's what it sounds like.

←

I am one of those sceptics, but the difference with these gadgets is that they obviously do/might work.

Double decanting is a good work around. So decant into a decanter. Pour it all into a jug, and then back into the decanter. Or if you don't have a decanter, pour it into a jug, rinse out the bottle to ge rid of any gunge and pour it back into the clean bottle. This is good if you drink more bottles than you have decanters, and makes sure you don't get mixed up.

[budrichard]

The opinions of whether the device caused a change are subjective and would be termed Voo Doo Science. It would be almost impossible to quantify a meaningful change other than that accomplished by simply decanting of the wine.

I am glad I was not there as I would have been laughing.-Dick

[winesonoma]

Could buy some nice wine or a decanter for $50.

[LindaJ]

I still like the idea of a turkey baster especially if I could sell it for $50.