SAN FRANCISCO, JUNE 26 — A wine opening system that had launched to much fanfare for allowing drinkers to pour a glass without popping the cork has been officially recalled.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall of the Coravin this week after receiving more than a dozen complaints of bottles breaking and even bursting under the pressurised system.

In one incident, the bottle burst into pieces, flew into the user’s face and chipped two teeth. The victim required stitches.

In other cases, the bottles are reported to have cracked, leaked, or broken into two pieces.

Launched last year, the US$300 (RM965)-wine opening gadget was spun as a revolutionary new device for allowing wine drinkers to pour wine by the glass without having to open a whole bottle.

Here’s how it works: first, a thin hollow needle pierces the cork to extract the wine. Then the bottle is pressurised with argon, pushing the wine through the needle so that it flows into the glass.

Once the needle is removed, the cork is said to naturally reseal itself.

The system also promises to prevent oxidation — enemy No. 1 for wine.

About 65,000 Coravin systems landed on wine store shelves in the US and 640 in Canada.

Customers who purchased the device are advised to stop using it immediately and contact the company for a free repair kit that includes a neoprene wine bottle sleeve to contain broken glass. Nor should the gadget be used on wine bottles with damages or flaws.

Starting next month, new Coravin systems will come standard with a wine sleeve and revised warnings and instructions. — AFP/Relaxnews