Rabbit Aerator: The Lava Lamp of Wine Areation Devices?

Glug Glug Glug goes the Rabbit

I normally don't use aerators for facilitating the airing or opening of a wine. I prefer a decanter. Most wine aerators I've seen are messy and clumsy looking. But I was sent a Rabbit Aerating Pourer to review from International Wine Accessories and so I gave it a try.

The first thing I have to say is that it was practically impossible to get out of the display box. I'm no weakling, but  it was so insanely well enclosed in it's package, I thought only the jaws of life would be able to remove it. Once I finally got it out I needed a drink to reward myself for the effort. Oh how convenient that I had a bottle of wine at hand. Imagine that.

One thing I like about the Rabbit is it inserts right into the bottle and seals tightly so there is less mess or possibility of making a mess with this device.

As the wine is poured through the Rabbit you can hear it glug glug glugging and if you peer inside the top you can see it shooting out in tiny streams as it enters the aerating globe then cascades down the sides of the bulb and into the glass.

It's kind of like a lava lamp in how mesmerizing it is to watch the wine percolate through the device. The whole aeration process reminded me of those bubble top juice dispensers you see at deli's and food courts where juice is sprayed into a big clear bubble in some kind of merchandising madness created to make the consumer desire the beverage with a vengeance. The Rabbit replicates this look as the wine flows down the sides of the mini bubble into the glass.

Results:
Honestly, I could not tell a difference from the control glass of un-aerated wine and the Rabbit aerated glass of wine. But my husband did detect a difference, and now he is kind of obsessed with using the rabbit on everything. Like I said I prefer decanters, but my husband has convinced me I need to give the Rabbit another chance. I'm sure I will since we now can't drink anything that has not first gone down "the rabbit hole", so to speak. Soon I may need to hide the device lest he try pouring coffee, milk, or olive oil through it. I wouldn't put it past him.

It's not surprising that we had differing opinions on the Rabbit. I think there may be a gender based component to aeration perceptions in wine. Last year I tested an Eisch breathable glass and despite the unfortunate circumstances of that experiment, (read all about it here) I found the glass to be quite effective on the wine, while my husband found it did absolutely nothing.  So as usual you must try it for yourself and draw your own conclusions. But if you do get differing opinions based on gender let me know about it. Maybe I could get some grant money to research the topic. You never know stranger things have been funded for study that's for sure.