Üllo - Wine Purifier - Black

I don't react well to wines with added sulfites - even a single glass of it can give me a stuffy nose and three glasses gives me a headache that lasts from the time I drink the wine through most of the next day. My own solution to this problem has been to simply avoid wines with added sulfites. But this device is an innovative technological solution to the problem I have with sulfite-heavy wines - but it's a pricey solution. The good news is that, at least for me, the Üllo Wine Purifier works as advertised. I bought a bottle of wine that I had liked in the past - one that had given me a terrible headache. I did a "before" taste to make sure I wasn't able to detect changes in taste (there were none that I could detect) and enjoyed three glasses without any reaction whatsoever. So I'll buy-in to the concept. But I also have some criticisms of some things that should have been remedied by now (this is not the initial rollout of this device). The device uses filter packs filled with a substance that binds with the sulfites and nothing else in the wine - effectively removing the preservative from the liquid. Each filter is only good for treating a single bottle of wine and replacement filters are kinda expensive. The filters, which look like round raviolis, have a top and a bottom that should be marked - as they are, you have to look at each filter from the side to determine by a subtle shape difference which side goes "up" and which side goes "down". Also, the filters are loosely packed which means that the filtering material can collect in one side, thereby preventing the other side from doing its work - especially after the filter has been on its side while you're removing it from it's sealed foil packaging. So the filter alone appears to have two potential problems that could limit its effectiveness. The device also has a aeration feature that I don't think does anything to aerate the wine - it twirls the wine through concentric spiraling tubes but if there's no air in those tubes then they aren't aerating. Maybe it's trying to compete with the wine aeration gimmicks on the market but I'm not convinced that the aeration feature is even a feature. Finally, aside from losing a little bit of wine to the filter pack, which is to be expected, the shape of the device itself seems to hold more than a few drops of wine back and I couldn't figure out a simple way to swirl that wine down through the filter. Surely there could be a better design of the top chamber? I would probably have given the Üllo Wine Purifier two stars on design and performance overall if it weren't for the excellence in design of the chemical filter that is central to the device. But the company needs to fix some serious flaws in the surrounding hardware!

If you are a wine drinker this is a must buy item!! First the packaging was very cool. It comes with a nice bag to put it in to carry the filters and the purifier if you want to take it to a friends place. If you want to keep it at home it has a cool stand to place it on for display. The purifier comes with four filters and you can filter a couple of bottles from one filter just as long it is within 3 hrs from the first filtered bottle. It filters the wine pretty quickly so you do not have to wait too long. If you are having guests over I suggest getting a wine decanter or two so you can use the one filter for the 4 bottles. I tested it with both an expensive ($25) and less expensive ($8) bottles of wine and you can really taste a big difference with the less expensive bottle. I tried both aerated and no air filtering and you also taste a difference. It made the less expensive bottle taste like the $25 bottle. It also made a difference with the expensive bottle. I did not think it would make a difference in taste but I was pleasantly surprised to notice a huge difference in taste. The set up was easy but I thought it was a little cumbersome taking it apart to add the filter. Once the filter was on, it was easy to select aerate and no aeration. Make sure you follow the directions before use so you can set it up easily. Overall, I would buy this for friends and family as a gift and buy another one for myself.

I went to my local bevmo to pick up some 2014 St. Clement Vitner's Collection Merlot's. It was recommended by the clerk and it was on the $5 cent sale. Anyway.. I poured some before and after. I also had 3 other friends do the taste test. The wine i used has a strong liquor taste that overwhelms at first but soothes with a soft bitter taste. With the Uiio Wine Purifier, the wine had a different taste. It was notably from the first sip. The wine wasn't bitter or have the strong liquor taste it once had. It actually didn't taste like wine anymore! It was smooth and enjoyable. It tasted so smooth, even if you don't like wine, this purifier make's wine drinkable. Everyone of my friends agreed on this. I later continue drinking the purified wine at room temperature and i notice an after taste. I later continue to notice it more. I don't know how to explain it but it didn't taste like wine anymore it tasted like purifier took too much of the original taste of the wine. It tasted a little bit like a sand like texture in the after taste. The bevmo clerk gave me some feedback on the wine purifier, he said it mostly works to remove sulfite from wine that have been stored for a while and it helps the wine age faster too at the same time. I'm not sure, I'm not knowledgable in wine or its process but i guess i should include it in this review. I'm not a wine guy, but i do have wine here and there. I have been to vineyards and wine tasting rooms. I didn't like how after a while the after taste made the wine taste funny. I guess i do like the bitter taste. I have't tried it with other wines. I am planning on buying some more wines soon. The wine purifier comes with 4 filters and its really easy to use! It's stylish and small. Easy to store. You can buy the filters but i think they are like $30.00 bucks for 5 filters? You'll have to look it up.

Packaging -------------- Comes in a very neat packaging, nice box and content looks to be well made. it comes with the purifier, and a heavy piece looks like made of rubber, looks like a good functional paper weight. it comes with 4 filters which are supposedly 1 time use Instructions -------------- Very nice and well made instructions very straight forward Functionality & Review ------------------------------- I tried this on a white zinfandel wine which i got from sam's club for 7$, i had used this wine for a couple of days and had refrigerated it before trying it out on the ullo purifier Purification - looks very easy, put the filter between the 2 pieces, close it to assemble and pour the wine Time - it takes about a minute for the wine to be purified and come through Taste - tastes the same! Purifies? - Not sure, may be it does, it will actually require me to send it to a LAB to confirm. so i cannot say if it does or does not. Cons ------- Price? is it worth 79$? Wastage - There is slight bit of wastage on the filter itself as it does not fully drain, its alcohol, do you want to waste? I personally don't believe in wine purification or wine aeration, so i may not buy this product although it might be functional and might be purifying the sulfates as it claims it does

Just to clarify for everyone- this is not a wine aerator, but is primarily designed to chemically remove sulfates from wine for those people who are sensitive to them. For those who find that red wine is a migraine trigger (like my wife, for example), the sulfites are a potential culprit. You do need to add a packet with the binding agent to the ullo for every bottle you wish to filter. These are about $20 for a six pack through their website, so figure it's going to cost you an extra $3.50 per bottle to use this thing. If it saves you a bad reaction, or allows you to enjoy a bottle of wine when you otherwise might have been afraid, that isn't too bad. We used this on four bottles of wine (reds only, they are primarily what I drink, and those are the ones that seem to be problematic for my wife, so that is what we used. It can be used on whites and rose's, as well- but isn't recommended for sparkling wines) over the course of a week. (No, I don't normally drink four bottles of wine in a week... in case my mother is reading this). The wines ranged from a $7 bottle of Yellowtail shiraz to a $30 french cab franc. In addition to drinking the wine and waiting for side effects (the only way to determine if the ullo is providing benefit for you), I did make a point to do a test of filtered vs. unfiltered wine to determine if the process affected the taste/experience of the wine itself. Both glasses in this case were aerated with the ullo, with the latter being run through before the addition of the sulfite binding agent. From the first bottle, the products flaw (to me) became apparent as it clearly altered the experience of the wine. I say experience, because it was more nuanced than just flavor (thought I found it did have some effect on flavor, as well, but in a very subtle way). It tended to smooth out the wine, rounding off tannins on those wines heavy with those, and altered the mouth feel to a different degree, as well. Everything that had been filtered seemed to lose complexity, but became more fruit forward in a way that may people may find pleasing. I personally don't want to do anything to my wine that alters its flavor in any way, at least for anything that I spent more than $10 on. I actually think it positively enhanced that $7 bottle of Yellowtail, however. So- did it help? Well, after the first bottle, my wife got her migraine that night, per her routine. But we realized she was taste testing with both filtered and unfiltered wines, which exposed her to some sulfites, even if a much lower amount than usual. After that, she stuck to the filtered wines only, and had no headache whatsoever after all three of the remaining bottles. The epidemiologist in me is quick to admit that this sample is far to small to make any firm conclusions- but it gave us enough faith to order six more filters to use for those times in the future when my wife wants to indulge. We will just make sure to use it on those bottles where we (I) wouldn't be sad to see the nuances lost.

This product is designed to purify wine. It also slightly alters the taste of wine to make it smoother per both my wife and myself who also tested it. I did read technical reviews of this device and since I am an engineer I understood the basis for why it works. The inventor did a great job in finding a way to filter out sulfites and the filters are integral to the device as they provide the reaction that cleans the wine. It is important to say that via my own research I did read that no chemicals are added to the wine, just the sulfite removal. I did not find it a problem to take the few seconds it took to pour through the filter into an individual wine glass. The product comes with a base which is handy so you can set the filter part onto it and enjoy the wine and clean it later. It did seem that using the setting to aerate the wine made the wine taster better, but that is probably a personal thing and so some people may want to pour without adding air which is the other setting. The device is very solid and well designed so that I do think it will provide years of service. The item is a little pricey but I would rather have them make a solid unit like this one versus some TV special item which people know are flimsy usually; so I do think it is worth the price. It did occur to me that this item might make a good gift for people who you can't think of what to give them. Item is boxed very plush so it looks good and the packaging no doubt protects it from damage in shipment. I think this product is a winner especially for someone like me who likes the wine taste better when I used it.

I tried by chance at a friends house and could believe the difference in taste of a glass poured through the filter and another poured directly from the bottle. Not sure about the headaches caused I have never suffered them but definitely the taste improves tremendously. For any wine lover this is a device I will definitely suggest to have, maybe not to use it in every single bottle but definitely in the ones that you feel that need a boost. Specially the ones with high tannins. Cheers!

To be honest, I was pretty skeptical that this would make any difference. After trying it, I can say that the wine seemed slightly smoother when run through the Ullo. Is it a night & day difference? No, but it is there. The main difference I noticed was I didn’t wake up the next morning with a headache. I definitely didn’t consume any less wine than I normally would have. In fact, I probably had more than normal (purely for testing purposes, of course…) so I can only attribute the lack of headache to the Ullo. Unfortunately, this headache-free evening comes at a slight cost. For starters, it takes a minute or two for the wine to filter into your glass. This isn’t a huge deal, but you will probably notice it more than you’d think. The second drawback is that the filters are only good for one bottle OR 3-4 hours, so don’t think you’ll be able to enjoy a glass one night, then reuse the filter the following night. I imagine keeping filters around could get a little pricey, depending on how often you enjoy a nice wine.