For The Love Of Port

• 1985 Kopke Porto Colheita - Portugal, Douro, Porto (2/12/2016)
  Tapped with my Pungo (like a Coravin, but better). Nose of strawberries, with the alcohol giving it a definite Robitussen character to the nose. The palate is complex, with the strawberries and medium sweetness balanced well with the strong acidity and the alcohol heat. This would probably show better with a 4-6 hour decant, but I'm going to drink this over the next couple of weeks through the Pungo, so it won't change much. I like it a lot. (90 pts.)
  

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John Danza wrote:

• 1985 Kopke Porto Colheita - Portugal, Douro, Porto (2/12/2016)
  Tapped with my Pungo (like a Coravin, but better).

Please tell us more about the Pungo, with photos if possible?

Phil W wrote:

John Danza wrote:

• 1985 Kopke Porto Colheita - Portugal, Douro, Porto (2/12/2016)
  Tapped with my Pungo (like a Coravin, but better).

Please tell us more about the Pungo, with photos if possible?

The Pungo is the same principle as the Coravin, where the cork is punctured in place by a needle and as wine is poured with the unit, Argon gas in introduced into the bottle to preserve the wine over a very long period. The Pungo has a much better gas design than the Coravin. The needle is larger and is two-stage, so the gas introduced into the bottle is more controlled, eliminating the exploding bottle problem the Coravin has.

For screw cap bottles, or in this case, bottles with T-corks, the Pungo comes with a couple of plastic inserts of different sizes. The inserts seal the bottle neck and contain a hole that the needle goes into, simulating the needle entering a cork. I used one of the inserts in this case, as this wine is sealed with a T-cork.

Below are a few photos of the Pungo in the bottle of 1985 Kopke, along with a closeup of the unit and one of the plastic inserts and one of the steel stoppers which are also included. The steel stoppers are used in case you want to move the Pungo to a different bottle and keep the present bottle sealed with the Argon gas. I've not done that yet. I prefer to just tap a bottle with the Pungo and then drink it over a few weeks as I want, and then just move on to another wine. It works extremely well.

Here are some links. One is to the Pungo website and the other is to a Youtube video that the company created.

Company website
Youtube video

How long do the argon capsules last and what's the replacement cost of them.


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Andy Velebil wrote:How long do the argon capsules last and what's the replacement cost of them.


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They're good for about 5 bottles. I bought a 10 pack for $40 when I bought the unit.

John Danza wrote:

Andy Velebil wrote:How long do the argon capsules last and what's the replacement cost of them.


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They're good for about 5 bottles. I bought a 10 pack for $40 when I bought the unit.

That doesn't seem so bad. IIRC from reading the Coravin was super expensive for the proprietary refill cartridges. I assume these are standard off the shelf ones?

John, I just noticed, is that a picture of your Port sitting in a piano 3 years ago?


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Andy Velebil wrote:

John Danza wrote:

Andy Velebil wrote:How long do the argon capsules last and what's the replacement cost of them.


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They're good for about 5 bottles. I bought a 10 pack for $40 when I bought the unit.

That doesn't seem so bad. IIRC from reading the Coravin was super expensive for the proprietary refill cartridges. I assume these are standard off the shelf ones?

I've seen other Board conversations about the differences between the cartridges used by the Coravin versus the Pungo and the price of the Coravin carts. I believe the Pungo carts are standard, but I bought them from the Pungo guys just because it was easier.

Bradley Bogdan wrote:John, I just noticed, is that a picture of your Port sitting in a piano 3 years ago?

Hi Bradley,

The photos I posted on this thread I just took yesterday. They're on a burgundy-colored countertop, and you're seeing the backsplash in one of the photos. That's usually the place I shoot photos of port bottles, such as the one below from a few years ago. I generally don't put port bottles in the piano.

Is there another photo you're referring to?

Ohhh it's the stock photo from cellartracker, didn't realize it would import it automatically with your note. Sorry!


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Bradley Bogdan wrote:Ohhh it's the stock photo from cellartracker, didn't realize it would import it automatically with your note. Sorry!


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Oh wow, I hadn't really looked at it until now. That's pretty strange that someone would put a bottle on the strings of a piano.

John Danza wrote:

Bradley Bogdan wrote:Ohhh it's the stock photo from cellartracker, didn't realize it would import it automatically with your note. Sorry!


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Oh wow, I hadn't really looked at it until now. That's pretty strange that someone would put a bottle on the strings of a piano.

Haha my thoughts exactly. Not necessarily a bad place for some dramatic photography, but probably not how Id think to photo my bottle for the evening.


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John Danza wrote:

Bradley Bogdan wrote:Ohhh it's the stock photo from cellartracker, didn't realize it would import it automatically with your note. Sorry!


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Oh wow, I hadn't really looked at it until now. That's pretty strange that someone would put a bottle on the strings of a piano.

Makes them sound better? Or was someone trying to tell them to stop playing the piano?