The Bougie Kitchen Appliance Michelin-Rated Chef Daniel Boulud Uses For Wine

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When it comes to drinking wine, you probably wouldn't expect to have much in common with Daniel Boulud. After all, the chef's fine dining restaurants have often been lauded for their wine programs. His flagship, Daniel, was named one of New York's top 13 restaurants for wine by Wine Spectator. Turns out, Boulud is just like the rest of us wine lovers; he hates taking just one glass of wine from a bottle and letting the rest go bad. That's why the chef told Today that the one kitchen item he can't live without isn't some fancy pot or kitchen appliance, it's his Coravin wine preservation system: "At times when my wife and I want to only have one glass of a special wine, this contraption is what we use at home to preserve the rest of the bottle."

Boulud isn't the only one who raves about Coravin's unique wine preservation system. The device, which uses an argon gas cylinder and a needle to extract wine from a bottle without pulling out the cork, routinely receives top marks from sommeliers, wineries, and kitchen gadget reviewers. Wines, even refrigerated white wine, deteriorate quickly once they're opened and exposed to oxygen, giving you just two days to a week to enjoy the wine before off flavors develop. The unique system draws the wine out while replacing it with an inert argon gas, allowing you to continue storing the wine for months and –- the company claims –- years afterward. The only downside, many reviewers say, is the price, which can reach as high as $350 for its top model, the Coravin Timeless Six Plus.

In addition to putting its products on sale, Coravin does offer less-expensive systems. The Coravin Timeless Three Plus is $50 to $100 less than the Six Plus but comes with fewer accessories and only in black. The company's Pivot Plus is $179 and works by aerating the wine and introducing argon gas into the bottle simultaneously. Its effect lasts just up to four weeks. Another Coravin device, Coravin Sparkling, keeps Champagne fizzy for up to four weeks.

The Coravin is the only wine preservation system that lets you extract wine without opening the bottle, giving your wines a much longer shelf (or cellar) life. However, if your wine and wine preservation budget is less like Daniel Boulud's and more like that of your local wine bar owner, there are a few less-expensive options. The Vacu Vin wine pump draws oxygen out of an opened bottle, replaces the cork with an airtight stopper, costs less than $20, and can also be found at the top of wine experts' lists. Other inexpensive options include Repour, a wine stopper for one-time use that draws oxygen from an opened bottle, and Wine Enthusiast wine preserver, a mix of gases that can be sprayed into an opened bottle to replace oxygen. Regardless of whether you go for a bougie choice like Daniel Boulud's or not, keep in mind that how long a wine lasts with a wine saver depends on whether it is used properly. Even a Coravin takes practice.