I know we’re only eleven months into 2006, but I think I’ve seen the more ridiculous wine accessory released this year, the Clef du Vin. I’ve resisted talking about other farfetched wine “enhancers” in the past because I think every new invention should be given the benefit of the doubt. Or at the very least a test before judgement is passed.
Not with is one, however. The seller is promising an easy way to determine if a wine will age well or not by simply dipping the Clef du Vin into a wine sample. I can’t believe that any instrument, no matter what it’s made of, can replace the human palate and experience in determining how a wine will age. I’m no chemist but this thing seems way too good to be true. In my experience, they usually are too good.
I’ll believe it, when (if) I see it. Until then, I remain unconvinced.
That is quite a claim that Chef du Vin is making. It is still unclear exactly why some wines age so well and what the specific variables are. Of course there are some indicators, but a device that aggregates all of this data (some of which is unknown) and gives you a nice clean answer is at best a gross oversimplification. If only it was so easy.
What ever happened to mystery. Wine has those mysterious qualities that make it an adventure to drink. Leave wine alone mass marketing machine. Haven’t you done enough? Thos epoor people that buy this will end up coming across it in 2011 in their junk drawer with a shrug and an embarassed giggle. They won’t hrow it waya but keep it because it was a fun joke at last years’ christmas party.
When I first read about it I thought it was a joke, but it is very real and quite expensive. Not sure why one size doesn’t fit all here…
Hope someone with one of these chimes in here. It would be great if such a thing worked but it would also be hard to test out in the short term.
Caveat Emptor 😉