When I go out to eat, I ask for the second-cheapest glass of red wine — I figure it’s a step up from ordering the cheapest glass. I prefer that the bottles of wine I buy for my home be no more than $12. And I turn to my friend, wine in a box, if I want to really get the party started.
I was comfortable being a casual wine drinker until I spotted the Coravin Model Eleven at the International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago last weekend. (We also saw it at CES in January.) The Model Eleven is a $1,000, Bluetooth-connected wine opener and preserver that’s so fancy that it should come with a 401K and stock options when it goes on sale in September.
To use the Model Eleven, you clamp it onto your bottle of wine, and it shoots a needle through the cork (you’re out of luck if you have screw-top wine). On the body of the Model Eleven, you can select how much wine you’d like to pour, and it comes out the needle and through a pour spout. While you pour your wine, the Model Eleven fills the empty space in the bottle with argon gas, which is used in winemaking to keep oxygen out and preserve the wine.
