Repour 'stopper' saves wine for six months

Repour is a new 'smart' stopper that is claimed to prolong the life of opened wine by at least six months.

The concept has been created by US chemist and entrepeneur Tom Lutz and is being launched via a Kickstarter campaign in conjuction with brand and packaging design experts Mayday.

The low-cost product aims to tackle the well-known problem of wine-gone-bad. Repour works by removing the oxygen from opened wine bottles, de-gassing them all while preserving the original aromas.

With a patent pending and launching in the US at Innovative Expo, Repour has teamed up with branding and packaging design experts Mayday to call upon bar and restaurant owners to get behing the project and see it come to market via a Kickstarter campaign that hopes to raise investment.

A device that attaches to any wine bottle, Repour works by absorbing oxygen from the air above the wine for as long as the bottle is in use, however many times it is opened/closed and for as long as necessary. The stopper keeps wine so fresh that inventor Tom Lutz says users may even need to let red wine ‘breathe’ again when they are ready to enjoy another glass.

Having undergone vigorous testing and with an FDA approved oxygen absorber, Repour is set to be the easiest and most effective wine preserver available.

The product has already received support from local US entrepreneur Jeff Quint, owner of Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery who identifies how beneficial it can be for the industry: “Here at Cedar Ridge we close on Sundays and reopen on Wednesdays.  Now we have to pour hundreds of dollars of wine down the drain in-between. With the Repour smart stopper, we can simply replace the cork with the smart stopper when we leave on Sunday.  When we return on Wednesday, the wine is as fresh as it is when we first opened them.”

Brand and packaging design agency Mayday, who are known for their work with an array of high profile food and beverage brands including Southern Comfort, Jack Daniels, Tesco, Cafedirect and Clearspring, have decided to get involved with Repour as they see it as having great potential.

Roger Akroyd, Mayday co-founder says: “Repour's brilliance lies in its simplicity, so we wanted the brand identity and packaging design to reflect this. The name Repour captures both the functional and emotional essence of the brand, which plays out through brand communication extension - repour, retaste, relax…."

"Working with entrepreneur and Repour Founder Tom Lutz at this early stage of product development has been a stimulating experience for Mayday. Collaborating with a client on a crowdfunding campaign brings a new dynamic to the relationship, offering Mayday the opportunity to have a real share in its success.”

The Repour Kickstarter campaign in collaboration with Mayday can be viewed here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/repour/repour-smart-stopper. On the site, Tom Lutz explains some of the science behind the product in greater detail. The campaign ends 29th November 2016.

If successful, Repour will be offered to the US and UK market in a 1-pack, 4-pack, and 10-pack, with possibility for a 72 pack and will be priced around $1.50 per stopper (£1.25) available from early 2017.

10 November 2016 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, editorial assistant