A needle through the cork, argon into the bottle, and the cork seals itself again. The rest of the bottle never knows you were there. Below you will find what it does, what it does not do, and which model suits your bottles.
We have put this at the top on purpose, not down among the questions. A Coravin is a wonderful device within its limits, and an expensive disappointment outside them. So read this before you look any further.
Red, white, rosé and orange. Coravin lists natural cork and agglomerated cork such as Diam, and the latter reseals just as well. Two closures are explicitly not on the list: a plastic synthetic cork and a glass stopper.
You can pour through it, but plastic does not spring back. The hole stays open, air gets in and the wine oxidises anyway. So pouring works, keeping does not. This is the point buyers overlook most often.
A lot of white wine comes with a screw cap, and the needle cannot go through that. For this, Coravin sells its own Coravin Screw Cap with a self-sealing silicone centre: the original cap comes off and the Coravin one goes on. The Six+ comes with six of them in the box.
Four steps, and the third is the remarkable one: the cork does the work.
You slide the bottle sleeve around the bottle, place the system over the neck and push it down in one movement. The needle goes through the cork without taking any material out.
A quick press of the trigger lets argon into the bottle. The wine flows out as soon as you let go. A glass takes about half a minute, so this is not something you do in a hurry.
The cork expands again and closes the hole. Whatever stays in the bottle lies under a layer of argon and never meets oxygen.
Lay it on its side, at the temperature you normally keep wine at. If the bottle came out of the fridge, let it stand upright for a while first until the cork has closed, because a cold cork springs back more slowly. It says so in the manual, and hardly anyone ever mentions it.
We stock the two Timeless models from Coravin: the Three+ and the Six+. The technology is the same: the needle goes through the cork and the bottle is never opened. The difference lies in what comes in the box and in the finish.
The entry point to the needle systems. The same technology as the Six+, with fewer accessories.
€289.99 including VAT
View the Three+
For anyone who has several bottles on the go at once and wants to keep them for months.
€399.99 including VAT
View the Six+Both models are already in the shop, just not in stock yet: the first delivery is on its way. Put yourself on the list below and we will let you know as soon as they arrive.
A Timeless keeps pouring for years, as long as there is argon in it. These are the parts you will need later on. They are in the shop and arrive with the same delivery.
The gas. One capsule is good for up to 15 glasses of 150 ml. In packs of 6, 12 or 24.
So you can pour wine with a screw cap by the glass as well. In standard and large sizes.
Standard, vintage for fragile old corks, fast pour and premium.
Aerates the wine as you pour, for a young wine that still needs some air.
To take your Timeless with you safely. It comes in the box with the Six+.
We are putting the range together now. Leave your email address and we will let you know as soon as the Coravin is on sale with us.
The device is the investment, the argon is what you keep paying for afterwards. That second cost weighs heaviest, because you pay it again with every glass. Below is the calculation we make ourselves, with the assumptions alongside so you can check them.
Based on a twelve-pack of argon capsules at €109.99 from Coravin Nederland, so €9.17 per capsule, and on Coravin's own figure: up to 15 glasses of 150 ml with a Timeless. The figures for the smaller glasses are our own conversion. Prices and pack sizes change, so treat this as a rough guide, not as a fixed rate.
At home, a Coravin solves three things, and all three come down to the same point: you no longer have to finish a good bottle in one go.
On your own or as a couple, a bottle on a weekday evening is often too much. With a Coravin you pour one glass and the rest stays exactly as it was.
The bottle you are saving for an occasion that never quite comes. With a Coravin you can taste a glass along the way without sacrificing it.
Two or three wines side by side, without having to finish three bottles.
If you take the trouble to pour a single glass from a special bottle, it would be a shame to serve it in the wrong glass. The shape of the bowl decides what you smell, and with a wine that has just come out of a bottle under argon, that is half the story. We stock wine glasses from Lehmann and Italesse, from everyday to mouth-blown.
See the wine glasses
The questions we had ourselves before we started stocking this. Where the answer comes from Coravin itself, the source is given underneath.
A Timeless works on natural cork and on agglomerated cork such as Diam. On a screw cap it only works with a Coravin Screw Cap fitted. With a plastic synthetic cork you can still pour, but the hole no longer closes and the wine oxidises. A glass stopper is a no-go: it damages the needle permanently.
Coravin, FAQ and support: Wine, Bottles and Closures
Coravin reckons on up to 15 glasses of 150 ml with a Timeless. If you pour 125 ml, that works out at around eighteen glasses, although every pour also uses a little extra gas. Coravin recommends simply pulling the cork for the last glass, which saves argon.
Coravin, FAQ. The conversion to 125 ml is ours.
Only the argon, since you had the wine anyway. With a capsule price of just over nine euros, that comes to about 41 cents per 100 ml glass, 51 cents at 125 ml and 61 cents at 150 ml.
Our own calculation, using the capsule price from Coravin Nederland
Coravin itself talks of weeks, months or even years, and mentions bottles that were tasted again more than twenty years after the first pour. We put it more cautiously: that is a manufacturer's claim, and there is no published independent research that confirms it over such periods. Count on months with a good natural cork, and take the promise of years for what it is. For a screw-cap bottle with a Coravin Screw Cap, Coravin itself is not consistent either: the Dutch site says three months, the American product page six.
Coravin, Timeless Systems support and the Screw Caps product page
They pour in exactly the same way: the same needle, the same argon, the same handling. The difference is in the box. With the Six+ you get three argon capsules, six Coravin Screw Caps and a carry case, plus a high-gloss finish in several colours. With the Three+ you get two capsules and two screw caps, in matt black. If you drink a lot of wine with a screw cap, or want to take it with you, the Six+ is the logical choice.
Coravin's own comparison table
There are capsules from other brands on the market that are said to fit a Coravin. Coravin itself advises against them and says using them can void the warranty, because the capsules are under high pressure. That is why we only sell the originals.
Coravin, FAQ and safety instructions
A cork does not last for ever. Coravin says the needle can damage the cork after about fifteen insertions, and advises replacing the cork after that. At home you will rarely reach that limit, except with a bottle you pour a glass from every now and then over many months.
Coravin, Dutch FAQ
With due care. Coravin makes a thinner needle for fragile corks. And Coravin gives a clear rule for when to stop: if the cork moves while you push the needle in or while you pour, it has been compromised and will not keep the wine properly any more. Take the system off and open the bottle with an ordinary corkscrew. With old wine that has thrown a sediment there is one more thing: the wine comes out with some force, and that can stir the sediment up.
Coravin, support page on needle care
No, and that is the whole idea. The bottle is under argon, so no oxygen gets in. With a young, closed wine that is a limitation. That is why every system comes with an aerator in the box: it does in the glass what the bottle no longer does.
Coravin's comparison table, where the aerator is listed with every system
Coravin provides a manufacturer's warranty against defects in materials and workmanship when you buy through the brand or an authorised retailer. That warranty comes in addition to your statutory rights against us as the seller and does not limit them. Damage to the wine itself is not covered. As soon as our range is settled, we will set out the exact period and conditions here.
Tell us which bottles you have put away and how quickly you usually finish them, and we will tell you which system suits them. Or that you do not need one at all.
