Decanters, Aerators, and now the Clef du Vin: tools of the trade for the serious wine drinker.
Peugeot (the French kitchen company, not the car company), with 200 years of history, is a respected name for kitchenware. After ten years of research, they offer a wine-aging tool called the Clef du Vin (or wine key) which was created and patented by Franck Thomas, "Best Sommelier of France and Europe 2000", in collaboration with Laurent Zanon, an oenologist and chemist.
According to the company:“The patented orange dot at the end of the Clef du vin is an alloy of metals; it acts as a catalyst. It rapidly accelerates the oxygen reduction process, specifically targeting the tannins of a red wine and the acids of both red and white wines. As tannins and acids soften, a wine becomes more enjoyable; its aromas and flavours, normally revealed with age, can be revealed with this tool.”
The instructions promise that each second of contact by dipping the Clef du Vin in your glass of wine corresponds to a year of aging. The longer you dip it in the wine, the more it ages. This works well with young wines that are not at their peak, and also tells you how long a wine can improve with age. It can be used instead of a decanter, and it works faster.
To the skeptics out there, we have used it on over 30 wines and can confirm it softens harsh tannins and improves aromas and flavours in wines that need aging. But be careful: if you leave the wine key in too long (e.g. over five seconds) or if the wine is the best it’s going to be, the process will hasten the wine’s deterioration. So before you use the key, we recommend that you taste the wine, and if it is ready to drink, put the key quietly away.
You can purchase the Clef du Vin at ca.peugeot-saveurs.com/en_ca, or at amazon.ca.
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