New Coravin ‘fractionalization’ device aims to revolutionise single-serve

By Andrew Catchpole

Published: 15 May, 2023

Coravin’s big unveil at LWF (London Wine Fair), its new Coravin Vinitas system, aims to “revolutionise the way wine is consumed”, while also pulling in younger consumers, according to company founder Greg Lambrecht.

The new gadget, which has taken 18 months of R&D to perfect, performs the neat trick of splitting – or ‘fractionalizing’ – a bottle of wine into seven single serve mini-bottles, which have additionally been developed to achieve a shelf life of up to 12 months.

Following on from the game-changing Coravin preservation system launched a decade ago, Vinitas is aimed at allowing wine businesses – ranging from “wineries, distributors, retailers and wine schools” – to maintain quality control while offering samples in a smaller format, said the company.

The upshot is a more affordable, lightweight, sustainable and cheaply transportable mini-bottle, with long shelf life, which allows single-sample size flexibility, while also appealing to a generation of consumers that likes to try before it buys.

“Until now, there has not been a scalable automated product that creates single serve formats and maintains the quality of the wine inside for months, as opposed to weeks,” said Lambrecht.

“With Coravin Vinitas, companies, hospitality services, and trade can sample and fractionalize any bottle, any time, on-site, ensuring the highest quality experience for businesses and consumers… no more needlessly shipping full-size bottles where only a taster is needed.”

The idea was sprung during the dark days of the pandemic, when, said Coravin CEO Chris Ladd: “We spotted a gap in the market for this type of self-use fractionalization device that would allow our customers to send samples, preserved for months, to their trade customers and consumers.”

Ladd and Lambrecht fast realised, however, that the concept could help as the industry “struggled to connect with a younger audience”, with Coravin Vinitas potentially able to bridge the gap with consumers raised on a multitude of choice compared with older generations.

“Coravin Vinitas addresses this need and is primed to change the way the world consumes wine,” said Ladd.

The machine itself is available for rental at around £750 a month, with a cost of £1 per sample-sized bottle, making the system cost-effective for more expensive wines where the sending of, or opening of, 75cl bottles for samples is prohibitive for many.

Wineries, wine schools and producers, including Napa Valley Wine Academy, Langton’s, Ceretto, Château Montelena, Stéphane Derenoncourt of Domaine de l'A, and Château Haut Bailly, have been involved in the conception and realisation of the device.

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