Aerator Death Match Round ONE: Soiree vs. Vinturi vs. Nuance

Happy New Year!

Tonight, JPH cooked his own "Welcome Home" dinner: Welsh Rarebit and a salad.  He & S took the family out west to ski in the New Year, I stayed at home with the dog, cat and my career.  Tonight, we opened up a bottle of the newly declared "House Wine" Dominio de Eguren Protocolo `08 $7.99 ***(*)

Over the holidays, I received a package in the mail, it was the fabled Nuance Wine Aerator  It has received many acclaims, and well, me being a woman of science, I just had to try it out.  I hauled out the Soiree (which had been relegated to the china closet collecting dust next to an unused mortar and pestle); had the reigning aerator champion Vinturi at the ready... let the Death Match commence!

I am not much of a "hard" science kind of gal.  It may have been the beer that I drank as JPH made dinner, or the first "control" glass that I sipped as S was getting changed from work. By the time we sat down at the table, it was obvious that I need to work on my research protocol.  S. (who joined me in this taste test) remarked that we should be tasting these wines concurrently. (her doctorate really comes in handy!)  I quickly grabbed four more glasses (since we already had polished off  finished the controls) then I poured from each: the Soiree, the Vinturi and then finally, the Nuance.

All three changed the wine for the better.

The Soiree made it light and fruity - more like a Beaujolais than a Tempranillo - ugh, who wants that?  To me, that just made this Tempranillo boring.  Still very easy to drink, but boring. Sorry Soiree, it is looking like a life in the closet for you.

It was down to the Vinturi and the Nuance.  There were subtle changes in the wine.  It retained its depth of character (easy to drink, but with a distinct finish and middle notes of pepper).  But, as was noted from the peanut gallery, the Vinturi was a bit too aggressive in the aeration and the middle notes became muted.

The Nuance is just that, subtle - hahaha, "Nuanced".  There is enough change to know that you have enhanced the wine, but there is enough character not to make the wine boring, it remained true to its rustic Spanish roots.

We the jury find the winner of Round One to be the Nuance.

Of course, the Nuance is the aesthetic favorite as well, You can barely notice it in the picture on the right; it is sleek and stays in the bottle.  But we were not mislead by beauty. The Soiree can stay out of the closet for future competitions, but I have a feeling that it will be shelved in the dark and gathering more dust after all of the competitions have ended. As for the Vinturi?  Well, it is still perched on the sideboard, but it 's title has been threatened.  There is a sleeker, slimmer new model in town.  The vinturi may just be shuddering in it's rubberized stand.  After all, how much training for an Aerator Death Match can a hunk of Lucite do?

More rounds to follow.

Now, just so you get a feel for the atmosphere in which this competition was held.  Unbeknownst to me, JPH had been holding out on me.  He had in his possession a cult film that would make me laugh, cringe, hide my head in shame, yet still yearn for more. Tonight was the night that he and the family introduced me to Air Guitar Nation.  I have been changed.  My world had been rocked, and I have been introduced to one of the most fascinating characters that I have ever watched.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you C. Diddy:

Aerators: Soiree vs. Vinturi Round Two

This was a no brainer.  I came home after a great morning in Soho @ the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex after seeing the John Lennon Exhibit, and popped a good bottle of Chianti to review and have with a late lunch.

Hands down, the Vinturi wins for its design and functionality.  It took me 2 seconds to pour the wine through the Vinturi.  When I went to decant with the Soiree, the flange was stuck to the glass bulb, it took me some frustrating minutes to take if off and clean off the stuck plastic from the flange, then changed the flange, then inserted it in the bottle, (Still not comfortable with turning a full bottle of wine 180 degrees to pour)

The Vinturi is easy to use, it is one piece, and you clean it by just flushing water through it.  Hands down, the winner.

Aerators: Vinturi v. Soiree

A recent comment asked me which aerator I preferred.  I am partial to the Vinturi, but the Soiree is an in bottle aerator, so I have decided to put them head to head.  Tonight is the first attempt.  I will review the wine separately.  Price-wise, the Vinturi was $33.00 on line, and the Soiree was $19.99 at Bacchus.

Technically, the Soiree is easier to use.  It has two different flanges and fits almost any bottle.  You simply insert the bulb into the bottle and pour.  Here it is on the wine bottle:

The Vinturi requires holding the aerator over the wine glass and pouring, or you could decant a whole bottle into another vessel (I've never done that but will try in the future all in the name of the science of drinking!)
Here is the vinturi waiting for the pour:

The verdict?

Part One:  2005 Chianti (I'll review this wine in another post)

Well, in the name of experimentation, I'll keep trying ; ).  But for the first pour, I have to say that the Vinturi made the wine a lot smoother.

BUT

Day Two:  At lunch, there was still a part of the bottle left, and I tried both again.  The trick with the Soiree is to hold the bottle completely upright as you pour  - which for me is a scary proposition, but so far so good, the Soiree held securely in the bottle.  The day after, I have to say that the Soiree held its own against the Vinturi.

My highly scientific set up:

Three glasses one un aerated, one glass Vinturi, one glass Soiree