WINE GADGETS
Wine Pearls
Disclaimer...We are not scientists – we’re wine drinkers. Our experiment below isn’t claiming to be fact. This is our opinion of results based on our in-home experiment.
We all know or at least have seen one person drop ice into their glass of wine. Some think this may not be completely socially acceptable, while others find it normal. Maybe you’ve done it yourself and don’t want to admit it – but your secret is safe with us! The act of adding ice cubes to wine may be frowned upon since the ice dilutes the wine as it melts, thus decreasing and altering the flavors.
No matter your wine knowledge - everyone knows temperature is extremely important to wine. You wouldn’t serve a glass of white wine at room temperature. In addition, our red wine needs the same level of care. When reds are served too warm, the alcohol tends to be predominate, concealing the fruit of the wine and resulting in a loss of body and personality.
We’ve seen these gadgets before and wanted to test these little stainless-steel pearls to see if they live up to their promise. These little pearls are filled with food-safe freezing gel. The instructions are as easy as pop them in the freezer and drop them in a drink to keep wine and/or cocktails chilled.
They state you can pull one or two from the freezer to either keep one glass of wine cold or chill a warm glass down from room temperature. Then when finished just hand wash them to use again and again.
Time to put these wine pearls to the test!
We took a bottle of room temperature white wine and poured equal amounts into two wine glasses. Each wine glass was fitted with a digital thermometer dipped into the middle of the wine to ensure it was not touching the bottom or sides of the glass. The initial temperature was taken from both wine glasses. (Unfortunately, the temperatures wouldn’t sync up and were exactly 1°off) The left glass started at 60.2°and the right started at 61.2°.
Test 1 – Room Temp. vs. Wine Pearls
In one glass (left) only the room temperature wine was used. In the second (right), we added two wine pearls directly from the freezer to the bottom of the glass. After ten minutes the glass without the pearls ended at 61.9°, an increase of 1.7°. The glass with the two pearls ended at 57.8°, a decrease of 3.4°. We were surprised, as we thought the two pearls would have brought the temperature down much more.
Test 2 – Room Temp with Ice Cube vs. Wine Pearls
We wanted to compare to see if adding an ice cube to the room temperature glass (left) would significantly change the temperature, compared to the glass with the pearls (right). We look another initial temperature, the left glass started at 62.0°and the right started at 57.5°. After two minutes the glass with the ice cube already decreased to 53.6°while the glass with the pearls decreased to 57.2°. At the five-minute time, the glass with the ice cube decreased to 47.7°while the glass with the pearls remained at 57.2°. Again, we were surprised how quickly an ice cube could decrease the temperature of the wine. In total the ice decreased the temperature a total of 14.3°– in five minutes! The glass with the wine pearls only decreased 0.3°.
The verdict...
We would not recommend using these to be able to enjoy a white wine immediately from room temperature. Give that bottle of wine the proper time to chill to the needed temperature (45-50°) for maximum enjoyment. Once the wine is properly chilled – then use an ice cube (only one – no more) to keep it cold a little longer, especially on a warm day. But the real question – Why are you drinking your wine so slowly? 😜
We do recommend using a pearl or two in a glass of red wine which may be a little warmer than desired. (Remember - if you are getting too much alcohol and less fruit, the temperature is too high.)The desired temperature for a light-bodied red, like Pinot Noir, is 55°. For your medium to full-bodied reds, like Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Malbec, Tempranillo, etc. is 59-64°. Using these wine pearls to bring the wine down to cellar temperature is highly recommended instead of using ice.
If you own and tried wine pearls or any other gadgets to cool wine, let us know by submitting your comment on our website or on Twitter @tippingbottles.
Aervana - Electric Wine Aerator
Let’s begin with the basics. Red wine needs to “breathe” – it has been holding its breath since that cork has been pushed in, so let’s give it some space for a bit. This process allows air to be exposed to the wine for a period of time or allowing it to oxidize. This releases the aromas and softens the flavors – very similar to swirling the wine in the glass.
This method is typically done with a decanter, which consists of pouring the wine from the bottle into another container. During the pouring, the wine is then exposed to more air as it enters the decanter. Depending on the wine, decanting can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours. We don’t know about our Tipping Bottles community, but the majority of time when we want a glass of wine – we want it immediately.
Additionally, what if you don’t finish all the wine that has been decanted? We don’t have experience in this situation, but we hear is occurs frequently in other households. (Don’t worry we won’t judge.)
The Aervana – Electric Wine Aerator is the perfect gadget for you! Rather than decant the entire bottle at once, Aervana allows you to aerate and dispense wine directly into your glass. How does it do this? All with the simplicity of pushing a button. You immediately turn your wine bottle into a tap with no more waiting to enjoy your wine or drips from pouring directly from the bottle or decanter.
Putting the Aervana – Electric Wine Aerator together is as simple as inserting the batteries (included) and attaching the tube (two tubes are provided) to the Aervana body. Insert the tube into the bottle and you’re all set. There are even additional tube lengths available for purchase for those larger bottles. You don’t have to worry about a difficult cleaning process. Simply rinse out the empty bottle of wine and add some water. Reinsert the tube into the bottle and dispense the water (just like the wine) until it runs clear. Easy!
We have throughly loved using the Aervana and definitely impressed our friends with this wine gadget – so much they bought one for themselves. We don’t know about you but having this on the coffee table while you’re catching up on your favorite shows – saves time having to get up for more wine. (For the record we’re really not that lazy but come on – no one wants to get up -especially during a good part!)
Lastly, the cost is just under $100, but we feel it is well worth the price for the quality and convenience this product has brought.
If you own or have tried the Aervana, let us know what you thought by submitting your comment on our website or on Twitter @tippingbottles. You can get additional information about Aervana on their website here.
