See A Tech Device That Keeps Your Wine Fresh

See A Tech Device That Keeps Your Wine Fresh

This invention is for the wine lovers that enjoy an occasional glass of wine with dinner, but after a glass or two, what do you do with the rest of the bottle?

What makes opened wine taste bad after just a few days? The culprit is oxygen, scientists say. As soon as you pull out a cork, air floods the bottle, displacing the gas that was trapped inside. Fresh air contains oxygen that is absorbed by the wine over the next few days, flattening the taste and smell of the wine.
Now, a company called Kuvée has designed a device that it says can keep wine fresh for up to 30 days, and perhaps even longer. Kuvée (pronounced "koo-vay,"after the French word for a special allotment of wine) has created a bottle that can help wine stay fresh, by keeping air out, according to the company.



The Kuvée is a two-part system: a sealed capsule that stores the wine and a hollow sheath that is used to pour. When the capsule is inserted into the Kuvée bottle, it looks and feels much like a standard wine bottle. And that was an intentional part of the design, said Ed Tekeian, chief technical officer for Kuvée.

The key to the Kuvée system is a patented, multistage valve in the neck of the capsule that replaces the cork. An outer, sealed valve opens only when a pin inside the Kuvée bottle punctures it. The valve reseals when the capsule is removed from the bottle, the company said.

This so-called "check valve," often used in dialysis equipment, only allows liquid to flow in one direction, limiting what can pass in reverse. When the bottle is tipped to pour, wine puts pressure on a flap in the valve, pushing it open so that wine can flow out, the company said. But when the bottle is upright, the flap is tightly closed, preventing air from entering the bottle.

Tekeian said "The Kuvée bottle is never truly open," so less than a gram of oxygen enters the bottle as the wine pours,

The Kuvée bottle comes equipped with a full-color screen so you can learn more about the wine you are drinking. The Wi-Fi-enabled "smart" bottle also allows you to order more wine, provide feedback about your preferences and receive suggestions about other wines you might enjoy.

The Kuvée bottle and four bottles of wine are available for $199 through pre-orders  on the company’s website. Additional bottles of wine can be purchased at their usual retail price ($15 – $50), and orders will begin shipping in California and Massachusetts in December, the company said