Spanish Chef invents sediment capturing wine bottle

[Josh]

Saw this on Jancis Robinson's twitter feed: Spanish chef designs a wine bottle he belives does away with the need for decanting.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jan/03/spanish-chef-wine-bottle-invention

Any thoughts?

[CorvallisCracker]

Any thoughts?

This thing will work only if the bottle is stored on its base. Bottles with real corks are usually stored on their sides in order to prevent the cork from drying out. Although there's some debate about the probability of cork shrinkage in a humid wine cellar/storage unit, the issue is moot given that storage units allow for only sideways storage, as do the racks usually found in cellars.

If the wine is one that's likely to throw sediment in a short period (less than three years) and it's to be stored on its base, this thing might have some value, but I'm afraid I'm in the camp that sees it as mostly a gimmick.

[pepcycle]

Perfect for artificial corks and screwcaps though.

[Josh]

Perfect for artificial corks and screwcaps though.

Excellent point, but how many wines using screwcaps and artificial corks are going to be throwing a lot of sediment in the bottle? I'm sure it's more than one would think, but probably not a lot in the grand scheme of things.

If the wine is one that's likely to throw sediment in a short period (less than three years) and it's to be stored on its base, this thing might have some value, but I'm afraid I'm in the camp that sees it as mostly a gimmick.

I'm with you, Scott. I just don't see this as being the revolutionary product the inventor seems to think it will be. Maybe he's thinking of old school Spanish Reposodos, Ports or Italian Piedmontese reds that can get gritty but how many of those makers are going to use such a goofy-looking bottle or how many conisseurs of those wines have vertical storage space in their cellars? Not too many of either, I think.

[DanG]

Why couldn't you just turn it upright a few hours before serving? The sediment would then have plenty of time to filter to the bottom. There are certainly plenty of wines that get enough sediment for it to be mildly annoying within 3 years of bottling. I've started to realize this since my decanter shattered a month ago and I haven't yet gotten around to buying a replacement...