Vinturi Wine Aerator, Red Wine

Personally I don't drink wine, but I bought this gift for my friend who does and he loves it.

Since few people know such things exist, this is a wonderful surprise gift. The type of gift that is first met by confused looks, then later met with much merriment as your friend congratulates you on your present finding abilities.

It's also a great talking point at parties as you show your guests how to use it and what it does.

My friend described it by saying "it turns a £10 bottle of wine into a £30 bottle" due to the aerators abilities of bringing out the flavours of the tipple.

The only drawback is the gurgling sound the device makes. Although this never bothered my friend as it added to the mystique of the aerator and made him feel it was actually doing lots of magical work.

If you're looking for a gift for a friend who likes wine, or if you want something to quickly bring out the flavours, then you should definitely buy this.

Being a lover of red wine (not just myself but also my husband) we were really pleased to be able to try this gadget out. What an excuse for the odd midweek drink or two, without feeling in the slightest bit guilty!

You hear of many items being 'just the thing to have', 'a welcome addition to anyone that likes the odd glass or two of wine', you fall for it, thinking 'will that cheaper bottle of wine taste better?' Most gadgets don't always come up trumps, but with this gadget it does.

Never before using it would I have thought it made that much difference.

We had a bottle of La Piuma (a very nice red, I can now say) one that we haven't had before, so as not to have had a judgement before tasting it with this Vinturi Wine Areator. My husband poured it out, really easy to use, you just pour the wine through the sieve like top bit of the areator with your wine glass underneath, it does make a whishing like noise when the wine goes through it. Then the gadget can be left on your table until you partake in the next glass. as it does look quite a groovy piece even when not being used. Now for some reason when I ordered it I was expecting it to be much bigger (maybe the size of a bottle cooler, husband thought it might be electrical, so be big) no good things come in small packages, well in this case it certainly did. Height wise it is about the size of two mugs put together on top of each other, and width wise about the size of a peppermill, so not a big item to have to store anywhere. If like myself yours won't be in a cupboard but out on display in the kitchen, letting friends try to guess what it does.

The difference is the wine was one of those you have to drink it to believe it, the glass I had before using the Vinturi was a little heavy, not tart or nasty but just a little too heavy, with this gadget though the flavour of the blackcurrants/cherries came out and the wine had a lighter feel to it. Yes, that why the school run wasn't done by myself today, I got up slightly later, all down to wine tasting (good excuse I thought and just had to be done).

I have not tried it out with other wine selections yet (rose or white) but thought the red was one of those that any difference to be had would be shown in that, and it certainly was.

The areator on its own looks like one of those talk about pieces (have people round and no doubt they will be asking what it is). Extremely well made, not a flimsy piece of design, and not one to easily fall over. One of those that look good in anyone's kitchen/dining room and a great Christmas/birthday present for any wine lovers out there.

It is well presented along with a little slip bag for protecting it, say for taking out to a friend's house/picnic.

The instructions as easy to follow, the only one thing I haven't found anywhere is how to clean it, as it doesn't say if it can go into the dishwasher or not (maybe I am not looking in the right place and there is no symbol underneath it to sau=y it is dishwasherproof). So until someone can tell me if it is dishwash proof I will wash be hand just to be on the safe side, as I don't want my great gadget spoiling.

I can no safely add that I have been contacted by the Company that makes this great device and can say 'yes' it is dishwasher safe.

Ok, I'll admit it - I was VERY sceptical regarding this little gadget but I have to say I was very impressed! The Vinturi Wine Aerator does what it says on the tin - it aerates red wine. Rather than leaving bottles open to breathe, you just pour the wine through the Aerator and, as it flows through, air is drawn in through narrow tubes, efficiently aerating the wine as it goes from bottle to glass. So cynical was I that I compared it with running wine through a funnel into the glass and yes, the Aerator does a better job of aerating the wine that just pouring the wine into the glass through a funnel!

The Aerator is beautifully presented in a black box and comes with a neat little stand to keep it on in the drinks cabinet. There is also a suede-effect pochette, that I'm not entirely sure of the purpose of. Perhaps if you want to take it with you to a function in your pocket? Who knows! Additionally, there is a little metal filter that you can either hold over the bottom of the Aerator (tricky) or slip into the top of the Aerator (easier option) to remove debris from the wine whilst aerating it - I found this very useful indeed. The entire Aerator is very well made from heavy glass and is very stylish, especially when sitting in its little black stand.

I would highly recommend this for anyone who (like me) enjoys a nice glass of wine but cannot be doing with waiting for it to breathe. Would make an ideal gift - particularly for the sort of person who already seems to have everything.