As of late, the smart alcohol industry has been absolutely booming. From smart kegerators designed to brew your own beer to tabletop wine dispensers adept at learning their users’ preferences and tastes, there’s no shortage of innovation when it comes to tech-heavy booze accessories. Up next in this budding field — and launching this week on Kickstarter — is the Wine Squirrel smart decanter that’s geared toward extending the life of opened bottles of wine. So instead of feeling the need to finish off those last few glasses of vino after opening a bottle, the Wine Squirrel lets you enjoy the same freshly opened quality days after you pop the cork.
Developed by Forever Products LLC in conjunction with D3 Design’s Clive Solari, the Wine Squirrel is an impressive piece of engineering. Utilizing a unique sealing system, the device is capable of achieving an air-tight seal regardless of how much wine is placed into the decanter. Be it a mere glass of wine or the better part of a bottle, the Wine Squirrel has the ability to completely seal off the wine from oxygen — thus allowing it to avoid spoiling.
“We have tested this extensively using different types of red and white wine,” the Wine Squirrel website reads. “Want to open a bottle of wine, have a glass, go away for a couple of weeks and enjoy the rest of the bottle on your return? No problem with Wine Squirrel!”
Far from a one-time gig, the Wine Squirrel boasts the capability of being used time and time again, and without owners having to purchase consumables. Additionally, the device easily fits into standard refrigerators or specialty wine fridges and can even be stored horizontally thanks to its incredibly tight seal. At an early adopter rate of $45, the makers have marketed the decanter as something that will easily pay for itself because, in their words, “think about how much wine you can avoid wasting.”
If the Wine Squirrel smart decanter works as well as its developers say, it certainly deserves a spot in anyone’s quiver of smart alcohol wares. With the monumental task of navigating a Kickstarter campaign up next for the device, its success now rests in the hands of the public. The Wine Squirrel will make its debut on the popular crowdfunding site later this week.
