Review of Makkua wine sets: electric corkscrew, aerator, reusable stopper, glasses and coasters

We are all adults and know how to open wine using various mechanical corkscrews. But sometimes it’s so nice to entrust this process to automation and make it part of the cozy and stylish interior of the house, which will certainly delight your guests.

Makkua wine kits are not limited to just traditional accessories such as a corkscrew, aerator and cutter. They also include beautiful coasters for glasses or glasses, as well as glasses that enrich the wine with oxygen. This is a great gift idea that we'll check out now.

The wine set comes in a compact white box with bright color printing. On the top cover you will see a picture of the entire set, including an electric corkscrew, a reusable stopper, a bottle cutter and an aerator.

On the sides, the manufacturer has placed brief information about the device, contact information and certificate information.

Having opened the box, we found inside:

• electric corkscrew
• aerator
• reusable stopper
• foil knife
• charging cable

The box contains a plastic insert in which all the components of the set are tightly packed.

The foil cutter and charging cable are packaged separately.

The black plastic body of the electric corkscrew is unadorned — the matte material and strict shape create a feeling of functionality and reliability.

On the front side of the black cylinder we see a rocking button in the form of a highly elongated oval and a window of the same shape.

Through the translucent dark plastic covering it, you can see the contents of the working chamber into which the bottleneck is inserted.

The corkscrew spiral has a smooth black coating that is slippery to the touch and resembles Teflon. The manufacturer does not mention its composition in the documentation.

On the rear wall of the cylinder there is a connector for charging the built-in battery and a label with information about the device is attached.

The aerator consists of a tulip-shaped transparent plastic body and a conical plug made of soft material.

The hole in the cork is connected to the working part tube, which is designed to saturate the wine with oxygen. When used, a stream of liquid is formed, creating a kind of cascade, which promotes more intense contact with air and, therefore, improves the opening of the bouquet.

A reusable cork is designed for temporary storage of wine in case the bottle is left unfinished. The upper part of this accessory is equipped with a piston to remove excess air from the vessel. This allows you to reduce the oxidation of the drink and maintain its freshness for a long time.

The cork body rotates around the piston and is equipped with thirty-one marks, and the mark on the central part indicates the selected date: such a simple mechanism allows you to remember the date of capping.

The kit also includes a round knife-cutter with two blades, designed for neatly cutting off a foil or plastic cap from the neck of a bottle.

To charge the battery built into the electric corkscrew, a half-meter cable with an adapter from USB-A to USB-C is used.

There is no charger included: any five-volt power source capable of delivering a current of 2 A or more is suitable for the device.

A small brochure of a non-standard narrow format of four pages, printed on thin paper with good printing quality.

The corkscrew is activated by a rocking button on the front side of the case.

The lower part activates the uncorking of the bottle, and the upper part triggers the reverse movement of the spiral to remove the cork from the corkscrew. Operating the device is intuitive, so I had to resort to the manual once again.

The set of coasters came to us in a gift box. There is minimal information on it: on one of the sides there is a color image of the kit, and on the upper side there is the manufacturer’s logo.

The stands are made of stone that most closely resembles gray slate. They look original and solid.

A discreet manufacturer's logo is printed on the top side of the discs. The surface is slightly ironed, but the texture of the material is carefully preserved and makes each stand unique.

The underside is left undecorated; traces of processing are noticeable on it—small parallel grooves.

Stone discs are framed with dark silicone belts — these accessories do not leave marks on the table surface.

The diameter of the stands (100 mm) allows them to be used with beer glasses, wine glasses, containers for cocktails or spirits.

A set of two red wine glasses is presented in a gift box made of thick, rigid cardboard with twisted silky rope handles.

There is almost no information on the packaging: only the manufacturer’s logo adorns the front and back sides. From the side edges we learn that the design of the glasses was created in France, and they themselves are handmade from crystal glass.

The glasses are securely packaged in a dark foam backing that protects fragile glassware from the vicissitudes of transportation.

The capacity of the vessels is 740 ml. The shape is close to a tulip. The bottom is wide, with a noticeable convexity in the central part.

Long legs allow you to hold the vessels without touching the walls. Despite their large size (height from stem to rim — 250 mm), the glasses look elegant and graceful.

Before first use, it is recommended to ensure that the corkscrew battery is fully charged. Since the device does not have a charge level indicator, we simply plugged it in overnight.

Acquaintance with the kit begins with a knife for opening foil — a cutter. It should be placed perpendicular to the neck of the wine bottle and the blades should be slightly pressed against the coating.

A couple of turns are enough to completely remove the metalized cap protecting the stopper. The resulting cut is smooth, neat, without burrs or wrinkles.

Now let's move on to opening the bottle. To do this, you need to slightly press the corkscrew against the cork and press the bottom of the rocking button. The spiral will begin to rotate. The process can be monitored through a translucent window and stopped if something goes wrong.

To remove the cork from the corkscrew, simply press the top button to start the reverse motion. Using the device is intuitive. It only takes a few seconds to open, and no extra effort is required: the cork comes out of the neck itself.

The corkscrew copes equally well with corks made of any material: be it solid cork, pressed or synthetic.

Some wines require additional oxygenation to fully develop their bouquet. In such cases, you can install the aerator included in the kit on the bottle. The conical stopper made of soft plastic is securely fixed in the neck, eliminating the risk of spilling the drink.

The principle of cascade formation, which forms a stream of liquid inside the aerator, contributes to faster saturation of wine with oxygen, which reduces the time required for its “rest”. It should be noted that aeration improves the taste of many types of wine, but not all: when choosing a pouring method, it is best to be guided by your own taste preferences or, in extreme cases, consult a sommelier.

The shape of the glasses offered for testing by the manufacturer also helps with aeration: the annular bulge at the bottom creates a decanter effect and helps saturate the drink with oxygen.

Stone coasters go well with the stems of glasses, but they are also suitable for glasses with strong drinks. The manufacturer also recommends using these accessories as candlesticks.

Stone coasters go well with the stems of glasses, but they are also suitable for glasses with strong drinks. The manufacturer also recommends using these accessories as candlesticks.

After a full charge, which takes about 10 hours, the corkscrew can work continuously for 32 minutes. The charging current during operation of the device is approximately 0.02 A.

The noise level produced by the switched on corkscrew does not exceed 60 dBA.

The Makkua Wine Series SR-01 set is designed for ease of opening wine bottles, representing not only functional tools, but also stylish accessories for the home bar. It will not only help you open the bottle easily and without unnecessary effort, but also serve the wine effectively, maintaining its freshness, if necessary. The foil knife ensures careful removal of the protective coating from the neck of the bottle, and the corkscrew copes with removing the cork from the neck without much effort. The aerator, in turn, allows you to better reveal the taste of the wine, creating the most pleasant tasting experience.

Note that among the shortcomings of this device is the not very successful design of the charger. The absence of a battery charge level indicator forces the user to monitor the operating time of the device and turn it on according to their own schedule.

We also cannot fail to mention the attractive design and well-thought-out appearance of additional accessories offered by the manufacturer. The stands for glasses and wine glasses that we reviewed organically fit into the overall style of the set, adding sophistication and elegance to the interior of the home bar.

Pros:

• rich equipment
• good design
• simple controls

Minuses:

• lack of battery charge monitoring