Skip to main content

The Plum wine dispenser preserves opened bottles for up to 90 days

plum wine news dsc 0634
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Any oenophile will happily espouse the benefits of wine, that natural nectar Galileo called “sunlight … held together by water.” But short of attending a tasting, function, or restaurant dinner, enjoying it by the glass has not historically been realistic — once wine is unsealed, rapid oxidization causes it to turn. Now, though, a promising new startup called Plum promises to extend the lifespan of wine with an automatic appliance two years in the making.

The eponymous Plum dispenser is not your average wine accessory. The brainchild of David Koretz, a former security analyst turned entrepreneur, it is a system that not only pours wine precisely by the glass, but one that fits aesthetically alongside high-end kitchen appliances, services wine at its optimal temperature, and ensures the integrity of that wine for weeks on end.

dsc_0632
Image used with permission by copyright holder

It all starts with the bottle in question. Place a standard 750ml bottle of wine in one of the Plum’s two receptacles and a pair of cameras within the appliance automatically identifies it from a database of more than 6 million labels by vintage, region, variety, and winery, and calibrates the internal temperature to the climatic conditions suggested — in many cases of the vineyards responsible. Climate control is handled by two thermoelectric, solid-state cooling units that chill continuously, and the algorithms crunched by a powerful 64-bit quad-core processor.

Recommended Videos

When it comes time to pour, the Plum’s other core component springs into action: a tiny, double-cored motorized injection needle that punctures the cork, composite, or any other cap material with surprising force. Once said bottle top has been punctured, the needle depressurizes the bottle’s insides with a small infusion of argon gas from a replaceable canister. That, in turn, forces the wine through a series of stainless-steel tubing and ultimately through a spout. Once the desired amount of wine is poured, the gas stops flowing and the bottle effectively reseals.

dsc_0623
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The details of each step are made available for perusal on the Plum’s panel, a 7-inch, full-color HD IPS touchscreen. The loaded wine’s label displays prominently in the center — or, if two bottles are loaded, alongside another — and, if tap, show the wine’s region of origin, a brief history, and even recent reviews. It is all delivered over the internet over Wi-Fi or Ethernet, Koretz said and therefore dynamic. “It can be updated over time,” he said.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The Plum’s display also as a window into its other machinations. You can manually change the temperature settings, for instance, either by fractions of degrees or type of wine — 54 degrees for a Chardonnay, for instance, or 65 degrees for a Cabernet Sauvignon. You can increase or decrease the Plum’s standard pour size. You can monitor the Plum’s level of argon, down to the number of bottles it can preserve before it will need to be replaced. And you can browse a history of the wines you have had, or even follow the tasting habits of other Plum users, sommeliers, and winemakers.

The Plum packs a veritable bundle of technology besides. It has Bluetooth, a proximity sensor, and an integrated speaker. But Koretz’s hope is that the appliance’s technology blends into the background. He envisions the Plum as a means of enjoying wine casually, at home, without the hassle, worry, or guilt associated with enjoying a single pour. “I was hugely frustrated with how disconnected the wine bottle was with how I live my life. I don’t spend every evening dining at restaurants and popping corks,” he said. “Like most people I’m at home, sitting at the kitchen counter, replying to emails and I just want a glass of wine, not the whole bottle, and I want it to be the proper temperature.”

The Plum team spent more than two years engineering the current solution. They tested a variety of tubing materials before settling on stainless steel — “medical tubing oxidizes a wine in two weeks … [while] stainless steel keeps it perfect for 90 days,” said Koretz — and spent months refining the Plum’s software. The UV-coated, brushed steel outer shell, interestingly, was one of the most challenging elements — the Plum team had to recruit an auto-parts maker to produce the Plum’s arresting outer curve. “Every other firm we approached told us a single, seamless curve of that precision was impossible,” he said. “That just speaks to our obsessive side.”

dsc_0614
Image used with permission by copyright holder

In keeping with the Plum’s mission of worry-free functionality, it is relatively free of maintenance. The Plum’s argon canister holds more than 200 bottles worth of preservation, Koretz said, and only needs to be changed about every 18 months.

But all that convenience does not come cheap. The Plum starts at $1,500, a price which Koretz argues is “fair” given the Plum’s value proposition: the pricier the pour and more extensive the collection, he argues, the more useful the Plum becomes. “Most people have a special bottle of wine that never gets opened because they’re worried they’ll waste it,” he said. “With a Plum, you’ll never again entertain the thought of pouring an expensive wine down the drain.”

The Plum is available for pre-order at its website and begins shipping later in 2016.

Kyle Wiggers
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kyle Wiggers is a writer, Web designer, and podcaster with an acute interest in all things tech. When not reviewing gadgets…
Everything you need to know before buying a space heater
A Vornado heater on a table.

Space heaters are a simple (and affordable way) to keep your home warm during the chilly winter months. Offered in a variety of sizes, you'll find models designed for small offices, sprawling living rooms, and everything in between. However, space heaters are also responsible for house fires and other accidents -- meaning you have to be careful with how you use them.

Before rushing out and adding a space heater to your home, here are a few things to consider. From checking available safety features and finding the right size to placing it in your home and avoiding smart plugs, here’s everything you need to know about these useful gadgets.
Check for crucial safety features
The most important feature to look for in a space heater is the tip-over switch. Products with a tip-over switch will automatically turn off when they're knocked over, making it an indispensable safety feature. It’s rare to find products without a tip-over switch nowadays, as all the best space heaters use them.  But if you're shopping for older devices, be sure it has one of these. If it doesn’t, the heater will pose a serious fire hazard if it gets knocked over.

Read more
The 11 best smart home products that support Matter
Amazon Fire TV on Echo Show 15.

Matter is arguably the biggest thing to happen to smart homes since their inception. The interoperability feature lets devices from different ecosystems interact with each other, giving you the freedom to shop for your favorite products regardless of manufacturer. Unfortunately, not all devices have rolled out support for Matter – and not all of them will.

Some notable products support Matter as of today, although dozens more are expected to add the functionality in the coming months. For now, here are the 11 best smart home products that support Matter. For a full list, head over to the official Matter website. We've seen massive adoption of the technology over the past few years, so there's a good chance your favorite devices now support Matter.

Read more
You only need to spend $34 to stay warm with this space heater deal
The Dreo DR-HSH006 space heater in the living room.

If this winter has felt particularly chilly in your house, you might want to take a look at space heater deals. If you want one that's portable and budget-friendly, check out the Dreo DR-HSH006, which is currently on sale from Walmart with a $36 discount that drops its price from $70 to just $34. There's probably not much time remaining before this flash deal expires, so if you're interested in buying this heating device for less than half-price, you need to proceed with the transaction right now.

Why you should buy the Dreo DR-HSH006 space heater
While there are space heaters that are huge and bulky, the Dreo DR-HSH006 is a portable model with a handle that you can carry to different rooms around the house, so you can use it wherever you are. It only takes a few seconds to warm up and provide heat, with temperature settings between 41 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit that you can adjust in increments of 1 degree. Since it's powered by a brushless DC motor and it's equipped with a winglet fan, the device operates silently at just 34dB, so it won't disturb you while it works in the background.

Read more