Spinwine and Wine Appreciation Kit review

Spinwine

The main goal of this Danish invention is to aerate wine while it is being poured, ideally "opening" wines to show an improvement in flavour and scent. Not an original idea, with the design being all too simple as well. The gadget, made mainly from plastic, has a base that fits into the bottle neck, and a "chamber" where wine is exposed to air en route to the "beak" fitted with a helix that appears to be made out of stainless steel. We would have liked to say that the wine effortlessly twirls into your glass resulting in a remarkable difference in texture and aroma. But unfortunately the gadget makes for uncomfortable pouring and although a slight difference between wines that had travelled through the gadget and those that hadn't was detected, it is all too inconsequential to endorse this product rightfully.

The Tastemaster Wine Appreciation Kit

 

Wine Appreciation Kit
Ok, so this is not a gizmo, but a kit that serves the important aim of helping you appreciate wine - a noble goal it achieves quite well. Although aimed at novices, this kit was a lot of fun to test and should not be disregarded by "connoisseurs".

Comprised of various smelling and tasting solutions, the Tastemaster course guides you through basic tastes, additives and faults found in wine. The set has ten bottles, and an equal amount of stepby- step cards to "instruct" you on your "journey". A final test card at the end of the course allows you to gauge how much you have learnt - which, according to the manufacturers, should be "more than 95% of all wine drinkers know".

The kit was tested with four wine enthusiasts and at the end of the course the conclusion was that apart from being entertaining and easy, it really is quite helpful in developing one's wine tasting skills.

The only drawback of the kit is that once opened, the solutions should be used within two weeks - after which you'll have to buy a whole new set.

The Tastemaster Wine Appreciation Kit is available from wine shops and retails between R295 and R350. Visit www.tastemaster.co.za.