TOM HAS FRESH IDEA FOR WINE
ADECANTER which promises to keep open wine fresh for nearly two weeks could soon be hitting the shops – thanks to its Welsh inventor. The “eto” device uses a patented design to completely eliminate air in the decanter as it is sealed.
This prevents oxidation and can therefore keep open wine fresh for up to 12 days, according to its Welsh designer Tom Cotton, 43.
The inventor launched a Kickstarter campaign earlier this month to raise £55,000 to put the decanter into production. But that target was smashed within 32 hours and more than 1,600 armchair investors have now pledged a total of around £175,000.
The eto has won critical acclaim from experts who were unable to detect a wine which had been opened seven days earlier in blind taste tests.
Mr Cotton started work on the design several years ago after a friend highlighted the method – common among wine experts – of transferring leftover wine into a smaller container to minimise air contact.
After experimenting, he discovered the method of reducing air exposure to be highly effective and started work on a marketable product.
He patented the design in 2012 and made more than 60 prototype models after being awarded an Innovate UK government grant.
The result is the eto, a sleek decanter with a built-in airtight seal which will retail at up to £89 when it hits the shelves.
Mr Cotton now lives in Wimbledon, London, but hails from Trefin, Pembrokeshire, where his family still lives. The business is registered in Haverfordwest. The name of the hi-spec decanter is also a homage to his heritage – eto is Welsh for again.
Welsh scientists have also backed the invention. Wine stored in eto has been rigorously tested at Bangor University over a 12-month period, with red and white wines, and it showed the drink was almost identical to when it was first opened.
“Five years on, we have a product that really works,” he said.
“eto looks beautiful, preserves wine brilliantly and is exceptionally easy to use, store and maintain.
“We use only the highest quality materials to ensure eto is effective, elegant and durable in the long term.”
It is estimated the average UK household wastes two glasses of wine a week by pouring oxidised plonk down the sink.
The eto consists of a glass container with a pouring spout that houses a removable valve that is pushed down onto the remaining wine.
This forms an airtight seal around any remaining liquid in the bottle – thus eliminating the oxidation which causes wine to deteriorate.
“Master of Wine” Richard Hemming – and writer at JancisRobinson.com – took part in two separate blind taste tests, comparing freshly opened wine with its eto seven-day preserved equivalent. He said: “On the seventh day... for me, the results were unanimous: there was no perceptible difference between a freshly opened bottle and the eto-stored sample.”