An entrepreneur claims to have invented a machine that turns a cheap bottle of plonk into a vintage-tasting wine in a matter of minutes
Inventor Casey Jones says the £350 gadget uses ultrasound technology to recreate the effects of decades of ageing by colliding alcohol molecules inside the bottle.
The Ultrasonic Wine Ager, which looks like an ordinary ice bucket, takes 30 minutes to work and has already been given the thumbs up by an English winemaker.
Mr Jones, 53, said: "This machine can take your run-of-the-mill £3.99 bottle of plonk and turn it into a finest bottle of vintage tasting like it costs hundreds.
"It works on any alcohol that tastes better aged, even a bottle of paintstripper whisky can taste like an 8-year-aged single malt.
"The look and bouquet of the drink is improved and because of the chemical changes, the alcohol is easier to absorb by the kidneys and therefore, hangovers are virtually eliminated.
"I have even tried it with orange juice after I saw a similar device being used in the US. It didn't just make the juice taste fresher, it made it look brighter too."
He added: "I see thousands of inventions every year and there are a lot of crazy ones, but in every ton of coal there is a diamond.
"Of all the inventions I deal with, this one has amazed me the most in the effects it has on alcohol."
Andre Jones, no relation, a winemaker who produces 40,000 bottles-a-year at his family-owned Buzzard Valley Vineyard, near Tamworth, Staffs, said he was impressed by the gadget.
He said: "Casey took one of our bottles and brought it back for us to try after it had been in the machine. I was amazed, it had definitely aged.
"Obviously it can't change the grape variety used, but it does mean a relatively poor variety can be made to taste a lot higher market.
"I would like to see it used on some of the Mediterranean varieties like a Rioja or a Shiraz.
"This could definitely have some applications for those restaurants who are buying wine for £10,000 a case.
"Technically I suppose you could buy a good wine at two or three years old and age it so it tastes like a 20-year-old vintage.
"Wine is at it's best five or so years after it's made, so this could help homebrewers taste aged wine more easily."
However, he warned restaurants and bars against trying to pass off a cheaper bottle of wine as a more expensive one just because it had been through the machine.
"You would have to tell customers it wasn't quite the real thing," he said.
Polish translation: Ultradźwiękowa maszyna w 30 minut zamienia tani sikacz w doskonałe wino
Source: Nick Britten