Eto – Decant, Serve and Preserve Wine.

Every once in a while you open up a bottle that ends up on your countertop, losing its best features rapidly end ending up in your kitchen sink. We guess us wine lovers like our wine fresh, but also in its optimal form, with some air to open up. 

Of course, there are ways to solve this. There are numerous wine preservation systems that will allow you to drink your bottle over time. And there are decanters that will help you to give your wine that little extra it needs to open up. But the real question is how much of your wine stays intact over time. And can you combine the two needs (decanting and preserving)?

In this review we are discussing Eto. A solution that gives you the option to decant your wine by the glass, while it preserves the rest of your bottle up to 2 weeks. Do they deliver on this promise? Let us find out!

The Product

Eto is designed and develop by Tom Cotton. The name is a nod to its creator and founder Tom’s proud Welsh roots as it means ‘again’ in Welsh. Quite fitting for a preservation system.

Here is how it works:

Too much oxygen will ruin your wine, not enough of it will stop it from revealing its true self to you. When you open a bottle of wine, oxygen mixes with the air and starts oxidation. Eto’s preservation system creates a seal between the wine and the air. This reduces your wine’s exposure to oxygen, slowing down the process and keeping its taste for a longer time. At the same time Eto acts as a decanter, giving your wine a little extra push with every glass you pour.

The system consists of:

• A glass base that holds the wine
• Rubber components to seal the wine and keep the air out 
• A stainless-steel stopper and plunger, acting as a press to push the air out and as an opening to let the wine breathe and let you pour it easily

Eto’s ability to prevent wine oxidation has been proven by independent tests carried out at Bangor University. The product underwent rigorous testing over a 12-month period with a variety of red and white wines. The results were indisputable – Eto far out-performed competitor products. More about this testing and the results in this video.

Our Review

In our tests we used the Eto for a period of one month, in a two-sided test, two weeks with a bottle of white and two weeks with a bottle of red wine. 

What is in the Box

When we opened the package, we found a nice cylinder-shaped box that holds the complete Eto. Its contents are a microfiber bag to store the smaller parts and the Eto itself. Eto consists of a glass base, some rubber components (seals and a valve) and a stainless-steel stopper/plunger. On the bottom of the box you will find a QR-code that leads you to the website, with instructions on how to use the Eto and how to assemble/disassemble it.

Putting the Eto together

You put together Eto in 4 steps. Although this sounds simply it took us a few tries to get it right. But with anything a little practice helps, and when you have got the hang of it its easy.

• Place the two seals (red and black) in the plunger (stopper)
• Slowly put the valve in and you guide the complete plunger into the base at a 45-degree angle
• Push the plunger further inside putting it in an upright position
• Conclude by screwing the shoulder on (no need to over-tighten the top part to the base, this has no impact on the sealing) and put the stopper back

Using the Eto

We opened a bottle of wine and took the top off of Eto, pouring the wine in. Decanting the wine like this already lets it open up a bit, as does every pour you do where the wine flows through the neck and opening of the Eto. After emptying the bottle, we poured ourselves a glass and put the stopper back on, closing it. 

You can now choose to leave the Eto on the table or put it in the fridge (which is recommended if you are not planning on drinking another glass soon). Before you put it away you only need to push down the stopper, which acts as a press pushing out the air and sealing the wine.

Point of attention: Eto cannot properly store a full bottle of wine. It assumes that you have already had a glass, or two and use the system for the remainder. 

Throughout the next two weeks we tried the wine every 2-3 days to see how the quality was affected. Our main criteria here are the smell (aromas) and taste (flavours). Our testing has soon that there was no notable change in both criteria in the first 7-10 days. Between 10-14 days we experienced some loss, being it minimal. There was no difference in our test with red or white wine.

It has to be said that the loss after 10 days can occur because of multiple reasons, like the quality of the wine of the amount of time the Eto was opened between sessions.

Disassembling the Eto and Cleaning it

Disassembling and cleaning Eto is easy. We followed the steps described earlier when we assembled it, in reversed order of course. After taking it apart we cleaned the parts with warm water, do not use soap or any cleaning detergent, and let the parts dry on a towel. 

It can be tricky to unscrew the shoulder from the base because sometimes the metal parts contract when they are cold (which typically happens when you take Eto straight out of the fridge). You can try soaking your Eto in warm water, or placing it under the hot tap for a few seconds, dry, then try again.

When all parts are dry you can keep the rubber parts in the microfiber bag to protect them and make sure you do not lose them. The other parts you simply put on top of each other.

Eto proves to be simple and straightforward to use, and it is beautifully designed, which even makes it a nice table piece. This solution works as promised and a benefit is the one-time purchase, as you do not need any additional accessories or contributes (like gas cylinders) for it to work.

Our Verdict

Eto has the advantage of being a 2-in-1 solution for wine lovers. For most wine lovers the decanting and preserving functionality will be an improvement to their current situation, for some it will be a little of both and not enough to impress. There are numerous of situations in which Eto can be of real value. Maybe you love red and your partner loves white, enter Eto. Or you are enjoying a nice dinner and you over-estimate yourself opening one bottle to many, enter Eto. 

If we are being fair, we should ask ourselves if there is a better combination delivering what Eto does, and the answer is: probably not. When you want to enjoy a bottle of wine that you plan to finish within one or two weeks this solution performs really well. If you just want to take a glass and put the bottle away for some weeks/months or even years there are better solutions. But this brings you to another problem, pouring one glass like that does not really do your wine any good in terms of decanting. And decanting a full bottle in a decanter forces you to drink all of it, which takes away some of your freedom in enjoying your wine.

Eto impressed us with its design and ease of use. It lets you pour your glass drip-free, like a real sommelier, and enhances your wine while you fill your glass. In terms of preservation our testing has shown that 7-10 days is an easy target for Eto, 14 days is a bit of a stretch if you ask us. 

One of the problems with Eto is that you can only use it for one bottle at a time, so you will need to buy more Eto’s if you have more than one bottle you want to enjoy at a time. Which can also be the case if you have a dinner or party with a larger group of people. 

But all of this does not take away anything of the performance or value of this innovative solution. Decanting by the glass while keeping your wine fresh for days is a real treat, and therefore we can only recommend Eto if you are a wine lover. We have been using it for a few bottles now and Eto is here to stay.

Finally, here is a summary of some of the plusses and minuses that came up after our testing:

+ Gives you two wine tools in one (decanting-preserving)

+ Portable and easy to use, fits nicely in your fridge door

+ Beautiful eye-catching design and quality materials

+ Delivers as promised

+ Does not require any supplements

– Taking apart and putting together the Eto takes some practice 

– Relatively expensive compared to other decanters or preservation systems

– For larger groups you will definitely need more than one Eto

– It is recommended to buy two Eto’s if you drink white and red wine side by side

Discover more about the Eto on their website or Instagram page. Eto is available throughout Europe for €157 to €169, depending on the version you pick.