Coravin, LLC

The Coravin Wine Access System pours a glass of wine without the need to open the bottle. No, this is not magic or osmosis at work here, but rather, a thin hollow needle is used to pierce the cork to get to the precious fluid inside. But that is only half the story.

Normally, as in the past many centuries, when a wine bottle was opened, the cork had to be removed with the wine inside subsequently becoming exposed to oxygen. This of course, gets the clock ticking on the drinkability of the wine. Now, by combining a wine preservation system with an opener (or at least a pour spout), wine enthusiasts can enjoy wine by the glass without sacrificing the bottle.

The trick to the Coravin lies in the fact that oxygen from the environment never touches the wine. The device clamps on to a bottle of wine and the needle is inserted through the cork simply by pressing down on the unit. Argon is then introduced into the bottle through the needle and the resulting pressurization forces out the wine into a waiting glass. No oxygen is let into the bottle during the process and the needle is small enough so that the cork naturally seals itself upon removal.

Available starting today, the Coravin 1000 System ($299) offers a creative way to allow oenophiles to sample wine without having to worry about the ticking clock that hovers over an opened bottle -- and it makes for a neat magic trick too.