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<\/a><\/p>\nThe original Clef du Vin<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s a metal gizmo about three inches long when fully opened, shaped a little like a flattened mouse.\u00a0 The tail of this mouse is a chain about as long as the device itself.\u00a0 The blade isn\u2019t sharpened; it\u2019s just a thin piece of steel with a small copper disk at the end.\u00a0 Actually, what we have just described and shown here is the original Clef du Vin; there are versions today that are short steel rods with a bit of copper at the end.\u00a0 It\u2019s the steel and copper combination that\u2019s key element of the Clef du Vin.<\/p>\n The Peugeot “Travel” Clef du Vin<\/em><\/p>\n Calling it the key element<\/em> is a play on words, since \u201cwine key\u201d is the English translation of Clef du Vin.\u00a0 But enough of what it is.\u00a0 What does it do<\/em>?\u00a0 Well, it simulates the aging of wine when you plunk the bi-metal tip into wine.\u00a0 It accomplishes this feat through the laws of physics.\u00a0 Two metals plus an acid form a battery.\u00a0 So steel and copper in wine (the acid) creates a very weak battery with a very weak charge.\u00a0 Each second in the Clef du Vin is in the wine equates to a year of bottle aging, or so it seems.<\/p>\n Of course, the question is: Does it really work?\u00a0 Well, who knows for sure.\u00a0 This we can say: wines with again potential do taste better \u2013 sometimes a lot better \u2013 when treated with a Clef du Vin.\u00a0 The tannins are definitely softened, the flavors more vibrant, the mouth-feel more mellow.\u00a0 But if a wine has reached its potential, there is no discernible difference.<\/p>\n One story is enough of an illustration.\u00a0 In 2013, we were at one of Napa Valley\u2019s most renowned wineries, maker of one of the most highly rated wines in the valley.\u00a0 The server was extolling the virtues of the recently released 2011 wines.\u00a0 You may remember that 2011 was an unusually poor vintage in Northern California.\u00a0 Many wineries did not release their premier wines that year, but this winery did.\u00a0 At first sip, the wine didn\u2019t seem to live up to its billing, but with five seconds\u2019 use of the Clef du Vin the wine came alive in the glass.\u00a0 We offered to let the server try it and she called all her colleagues over, saying \u201cYou\u2019ve gotta try this!\u201d.<\/p>\n Is that wine going to taste exactly the same today, with five years of aging?\u00a0 Maybe Robert Parker can remember exactly what a wine tasted like back then, but we can\u2019t nor do we know anyone else with that level of taste memory.\u00a0 But the Clef du Vin did demonstrate that this was a wine with potential and worth buying.<\/p>\n When first available in the US, the Clef du Vin sold for $100.\u00a0 Now you can find one on the Web for $50.00 or less.\u00a0 If you do buy one for use on wine tasting excursions, be sure to bring along a paper towel to wipe it off and a plastic baggie to carry it in.\u00a0 And try not to make too big a show when you use it; you\u2019ll attract enough attention as it is just dipping something into your wine.\u00a0 The Clef du Vin certainly adds a layer of interest to your wine tasting experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The wine taster\u2019s best friend!\u00a0 A miracle of modern science!\u00a0 A tool for bringing out the cork dork in all of us!\u00a0 It\u2019s the Clef du Vin (pronounced CLAY do van.\u00a0 For that last word, if you\u2019re American, start saying \u201cvan\u201d and just when you get to the \u201cn\u201d, swallow it.)\u00a0 So what is this … Continue reading Clef du Vin<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=884"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":887,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884\/revisions\/887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n