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Clef du Vin Pocket Wine Tasting Tool (Brushed Steel

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Brand: The Wine Enthusiast
Category: Kitchen

Buy New: $99.95

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

10 reviews
Sales Rank: 51205

EAN: 4897010481013
ASIN: B0002VRRXU

Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Features:

•	A patented metal alloy on the tip when dipped into wine replicates the key aspects of the natural ag
•	Pocket size. Gift box included.
•	Assess the precise ageability of any wine
•	Developed and tested over 10 years by one of France�s leading scientists and wine industry consultan

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Mature young wine instantly. When dipped into wine, the patented metal alloy on the tip replicates the aging process, softening the tannins in young wines and improving their taste. Tested over 10 years by scientists and sommeliers, this compact taste enhancer has received praise throughout Europe, and is endorsed by the Wine Enthusiast Magaaine testing panel. Bring it to restaurants, wine shops and tastings! Comes in a gift box. (Pocket Version) Lets you see the future of any wine Determines the ideal length of time to cellar wines Unique patented device, widely acclaimed in Europe and Asia Folds up pocket size with a handy carry chain Goes with you to restaurants, wine shops, wine tastings and traveling. An essential gift for any wine lover Lets you manage your wine cellar like you have a crystal ball. Comes in a elegantly wrapped burgundy wooden showcase box.

Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

WOW! November 20, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

I was very skeptical of this product til I went to a wine tasting party and they used one. It really worked!! It made me a believer, so much so, I bought one the next day. I've bought a couple for some of my wine enthusiast friends and they are enjoying great wines that would have taken years to age right now!! I highly recommend purchasing one, you'll have it for life!!!

5 out of 5 stars

A "Must" for the serious wine drinker August 4, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is one of the finest wine accessories made. We have made believers out of skeptics!

4 out of 5 stars

Everyone Swears It makes a Difference June 26, 2007
0 out of 3 found this review helpful

I am very suspicious of claims like this product makes, but everyone who tries it swears it makes a difference, although not always for the better.

5 out of 5 stars

Clef du Vin - The Mastery of Time January 10, 2007
3 out of 10 found this review helpful

Clef du Vin's true strength comes from accelerating the aging process. There are a few negative reviews of this product here. Perhaps what they fail to understand is that a wine, like a person, has a life-curve: a Beginning, a Growth, a Peak, a Decline, and eventually...a Death ( hence the " ruined wine " taste ). Perhaps the wine tested by the previous reviewer did not have a life of 30+ years? Truly, a Bordeaux or Port wine's true lifespan is 20 years or less. Cabernets and Merlots have a range of 5-15 years. Some wines, though Red, may have no aging potential whatsoever! Clef du Vin is meant to be dipped at 1-2 second intervals, helping you discover ( according to personal palate preference ) where a wine peaks, and when it declines beyond pleasurability. A bad grape is a bad grape: no amount of aging can improve it. BUT, a GOOD grape that is merely young in vintage, will yield AMAZING results.
I purchased Clef du Vin over a year ago. I have enjoyed it so much that I am assisting in introducing it to the U.S. market. Though the catalyst element resembles copper, the actual patented, blended elements are far more precious and valuable. Knowing the product well, I can guarantee you that no metals are passed into the wine. Clef du Vin is now making its mark in the restaurant industry, as well as with the wineries. For those who favor natural cellar aging, this will certainly become a helpful tool in determining the lay-down time required. For all wine enthusiasts wanting an enjoyable experience with a quality wine, Clef du Vin is priceless!

1 out of 5 stars

I'll save you $99.94... December 10, 2006
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

I tried this product for the first time the other night on an assortment of good quality, 8-11yr old red wines from various countries. I was very very sceptical, but after a 3s dip the slightly tannic wine I was drinking was astonishingly transformed into a softer, less tannic wine. Others noticed a similar effect, although not everyone felt the change was positive, one dissenter feeling the wine had lost some of its flavor. Being forever the scientist, I then divided some fresh wine into 2 glasses, "aged" one and left the other alone. Consistently, this product did affect the wine. It was not always for the better, however, because some of the bottles we'd opened were already perfectly aged, and had been decanted for over an hour, so for some bottles I felt the effect was detrimental. I also tried leaving the product in the wine for 30s, supposedly aging the 1995 Merlot to 1965. It was ruined, not aged. Wondering why this obvious and repeatable change in the wine occurred, I hypothesized that perhaps the acidity of the wine was causing a reaction with the copper alloy, thus releasing copper and perhaps other unknown-to-me ions. So rather than actually changing the structure of the wine, it was just adding something discernible to it, hence the bad effects after a long dunking. Part of my reasoning for this was the nature of the product's instructions: that a 1s dunk into 100ml equaled 1 year of aging (something like that). I saw this as "surface area of the reactive alloy over a period of time in a certain volume of wine", which seemed to be far too short a period of time and far too small a surface area in such a large volume to actually cause a change in the structure of the wine, but was presumably enough time to add some trace ions. So I tested this hypothesis by scrubbing clean and drying a shiny copper penny, and using that in a similar fashion to the product. The results were promising, the penny having a very similar effect on the wine. So if you'd like to preview this product, I suggest you start with a nice clean penny and see whether you like the effect. It'll save you $99.94, but it won't be as classy.

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