Great tasting room Wine Adventures typically feature great ambiance, friendly and knowledgeable service, and of course – great wine. Beringer Vineyards in St. Helena has long been a favorite tour and tasting room stop for Napa Valley locals as well as out-of-towners because a visit offers all those benefits. Founded in 1876, the grounds are an historical landmark, anchored by one of the most recognizable structures in the valley – Rhine House – where tastings of Beringer’s premium wines are offered. During a recent visit for a quick tasting, host Matt King also provided a demonstration of a wine accessory that was a pleasant surprise.

The Vinaera uses an electric pump to aerate and dispense wine when you haven’t had time to decant it properly. An added benefit is that any sediment present in the bottom of the bottle isn’t poured out with the wine. Matt set up a test using the excellent Beringer Vineyards 2012 Chabot Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (94 points). Two glasses were poured, one using a standard aerator and the other from the same bottle using the Vinaera. The difference was significant. The Vineara pour was noticeably smoother and the overall quality of the wine showed through. A blind tasting confirmed that the Vinaera pour was far superior.

I’ll be heading back to Beringer Vineyards for more tasting in the near future, at which time I’ll share more about their current releases.

So, how does it work? The magic appears to be in the volume of air driven into the wine bottle by the pump. Packing more air into the bottle than would be drawn in by gravity during a pour with a standard aerator mixes more air with the wine as it exits through the spout and lands in the wine glass.

Want to give it a try? Use the link below to order a Vinaera using your Amazon.com account: