Si I am not a huge wine drinker but I do sip on occasion....the wife really likes wine though. So we were in Brookstone and picked up the Vinturi brand wine aerator. Oh course it makes some pretty bold claims and I am a sceptic but figure what the heck....now we had a very cheap one that basically just filtered the wine but not very well. The Vinturi is supposed to open the bouquet by adding air and allows the wine to breathe. So we poured 2 glasses of red one through the Vinturi and one just out of the bottle. Before sipping we did a smell test...it was amazing that you could smell the difference..the wines did not smell the same. The wine run through the Vinturi was more robust..and that was just the smell test! The wines tasted completely different as well. The Vinturi wine had more more complexity and eliminated any bitterness that was present in the wine. This all came from a guy that knows little about wine but the results were blatant. My wife, 2 neighbors, and myself could all tell the difference. I highly recommend this product. :-)
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It was interesting to hear about your experience with the Vinturi. I always assumed it was a gimmick, or at least over-hyped, but perhaps I'll have to give it a chance for myself. Thanks for sharing!
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That is what I thought...and for $40 if it didn't work I was gonna return it...crazy the difference.
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My wife picked one up a while back and I have to agree with you -- the Vinturi does make a difference with a wine that has not had a chance to breathe. I highly recommend them!
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Wine aerators are great and we have tried several of these devices and the one we use most often is the Soiree. http://www.winesoiree.com/
The Vinturi works just as well, but I find it a challenge to use and end up dripping wine on the table when I use it. :-)
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I wonder these devices compare to natural breathing in a decanter? It would be cool to open and decant one bottle normally. 3 hours later, open a bottle and decant with device while leaving some in the bottle as the undecanted sample.
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I'd be surprised if at least one wine magazine hasn't done that already, possibly with multiple bottles and different aerators, and, ideally, done double blind.
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We've been using this for a couple years now. My wife just bought it on a whim for when we aren't planning on drinking the whole bottle and don't have the need to decant it. Aerates and filters at the same time. Seems to work really well, not that I would know a whole lot different anyway. :-)

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Here is a vid that talks partially about that very thing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkzSqUEC-_4

There are also a few more vids doing blind tastings, etc.
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Nothing will make 2BC taste like Latour, I hope people don't buy into that (as in the YouTube link provided above, the video is a shameless sham with prices and all besides open lies about wine making history).

None of the videos are blind tests when people know up front what to "look" for. Someone should simply hand out 2 glasses without any explanation, better yet 3 (whatever the combo), to see how people choose their favorite. Better still, and I can prove this (done it many a time), pour absolutely same wine into 2 glasses and see how someone will be dead set on arguing one of them is better than the other when asked to choose one. That's true blind to see if someone has a nose and a palate.

For anyone looking to improve a young wine if a decanter (as Moses pointed out above, best choice to aerate a wine) is not available, just use any old (clean) funnel and pour the wine into another bottle (or any jar/vessel) through the funnel. Does absolutely same thing as Vinturi and similar devices and probably better. The method is called "splash decant" in the industry. Cheap and very effective.

I've used the device Razzle pointed out above, its as effective as Vinturi, and actually more so as aeration goes, and having a filtering ability as well to catch sediment. Another added benefit is that you simply insert into the bottle, no need to have a device sitting among bottles/glasses and a chance for an "accident", seen those, too.
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You and I should get together as I would like to test your methods out.
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What is this called?
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Google Wine Finer.
Wine Finer
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That's it.
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Looked more like an infomercial than anything even remotely resembling scientific or controlled testing.

I accept that I might be in the minority with my opinion, but anything that makes claims like that would need to be tested in a controlled double blind manner before I would even consider taking the claims seriously.
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Adam, like I said above, play a mind game on anyone who claims to be a wine "aficionado". Pour same wine into 2 glasses and watch them destroy themselves in the process. Very few people are able to figure out its the same wine and mentally, when someone asks you "which one is better", your mind immediately goes into guessing/conviction game... Better yet, play it with 3 glasses of same wine, its hilarious to watch...

As for the video above, the second the guy pronounced that "this 60 pounds wine is now a 100 pounds wine..." I knew I am dealing with a charlatan. A 60 pounds wine, to begin with, should not need any "enhancement" to be enjoyable, enhancement or not, but hey, maybe I run with a wrong crowd. At $100 per bottle the wine better be good...
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If someone wants to pour me $100 wines, I will be objective. I fooled a Scotch expert serving the same Scotch (JW Black) twice in a row and he guess wrong each time.
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I linked that video to show that their had been discussion on the vinturi vs natural breathing. I was NOT saying that the vid I linked was blind testing. I mentioned that there are other videos on youtube that deal with blind testing. Sorry if there was any confusion.
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No one made an accusation, IMO. Besides, its not you in the video, at least I hope it is not :-)

If you pay attention to those videos that do claim to be "blind" you will see that there is nothing "blind" about the process, the device sits up front and center and they are told what to "sense" upfront.

Next time anyone wants to "soften up" a bottle of young wine, just shake it violently for a few seconds before popping the cork. That is, if you don't have a $1 funnel on hand. Not glamorous, but...
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I was talking about the video Wayne, not you or anything you did.

I can't speak for what Moses was looking for in terms of discussion, but as far as I'm concerned, that video was not a valid discussion, it was a sales video infomercial. It even had the company logo in the corner the whole time. And, it definitely wasn't a double-blind testing.
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