Customer Reviews

Blomus Stainless-Steel Cino Bottle Stopper

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This bottle stopper looks great. It slides into a bottle then you turn the top to seal the bottle. Unscrew the top to loosen the seal and then remove.

While I was on vacation my girlfriend saw a bottle of wine in the fridge with this in it. She assumed that like most stoppers if you wanted to remove it you simply pull. Her assumption was wrong and by pulling the plastic part that holds this thing together snapped in half. Now the entire thing is worthless and she feels horrible.

Of course, it may have never broke had it been used correctly for its entire life however now that I know it is held together by plastic I am completely unimpressed. For a couple cents more the manufacturer could have used a stainless steel part inside instead of plastic and this would be indestructible.

My girlfriend is not a weight lifter and I typically have to open everything for her so if she can pull hard enough to break this you can break it too.

Pros: Looks nice, good seal
Cons: Held together by a small plastic part

I was under the impression that this would work for Sparkling wine bottles but it doesn't. I work in a winery tasting room and have been looking for something that does not pop off or leak if on it's side. If I find this item I would also sell it at my winery. I'll keep looking.

This item was overpriced, but works great. You can't man-handle/strong-arm it or pull it out of the bottle without retracting the rubber or it will break. A bit of advice. Before putting it into a bottle of wine, experiment with it to see how it works. If you twist the top gently, and watch the rubber, you'll see that the rubber expands and retracts. Bingo!. Retract the rubber so that it fits in the wine bottle and then twist gently until the rubber expands in the bottle and is snug but not too tight. Give it a vertical GENTLE tug to see if it comes out. If it doesn't, then it is sealed. If it does, then you didn't do it right and the above needs to be done again.
I'm not a wine stopper expert. This is just my experience. Luckily there are other reviewers that experienced difficulties with it because they didn't do it right. I still learn things too! When I got it, and read the other reviews' comments, I couldn't believe that this was a piece of sh%* at the price I paid. It's not a piece of sh%& when you understand how it works and use it right. It doesn't help for the manufacturers not to include instructions. They probably assume that the normal wine drinker has an IQ of above 20.
I recommend it highly!

I bought one of these and I loved it until it broke. I probably could have made it last for quite a while longer if I'd realized how it actually works. Take a close look at the picture... that black band in the middle is the part that "seals" the bottle, and is actually a sort of thick o-ring. The metal cylinder that appears to go through the o-ring is actually in two pieces, one on each side of the o-ring. The T-shaped part on top is what you twist to seal or unseal the bottle. This part is actually connected to the bottom part of the stopper by a sort of threaded screw. By turning the top, it pulls the bottom of the stopper in closer, squishing the o-ring, and allowing it to seal the bottle.

That said, BE WARNED. If you turn the top piece too tight, you will strip the threads and the stopper will fall apart in your hands (or in my case, into your bottle of wine). If, however, you turn it just until it seals the bottle sufficiently, you'll probably get years and years of use out of it. I just wish Blomus had provided such a warning with the stopper when I bought it.

A simple, tasteful appearance, with simple mechanics that provide a secure fit. The classic design is just nice addition to the bar. I'm buying a couple more.