Meet Greg Lambrecht, The Mastermind Behind the Coravin System
Greg Lambrecht is the Founder and Chairman of Coravin Inc., the creator of the wine-preservation system that revolutionized the way people enjoy wine.
Greg was born in Manhattan, NY in 1969 to European parents. His mother is Austrian, and his father's family is from Germany. Greg began school in NYC, but moved to Newport Beach, California, with his mother at the age of 11, after his parents divorced. Greg was inspired early on by his grandfather, who worked on developing guided missile weapon systems. Greg followed his grandfather’s path and enrolled in MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in 1986 as an undergraduate in Nuclear Engineering (plasma physics). During his senior year in college, the head of the department mentored him to think about his career. He was concerned that plasma fusion was not the right path for Greg because of job prospects. However, Greg was not yet ready to turn his back on a career in plasma fusion.
After some soul searching, Greg enrolled in a 7-month Japanese language program at MIT with his sights now set on Japan. He applied to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd for a position on their Advanced Reactor Systems team. Mitsubishi made him an offer and upon graduating from MIT, he moved to Japan: “I worked for Mitsubishi in their Advanced Reactor Systems group for a year and a half designing part of the ITER fusion reactor in Kobe, Japan. Loved the place and the people, but lost faith in fusion power.” As it turns out, Greg’s professor was right! Greg came back to the US and went back to MIT for a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering.
After graduating from MIT’s Master’s program in 1993, Greg went off to work at Pfizer in medical therapies. His first manager at Pfizer was Josh Makower, MD. Today Josh is a General Partner on the health care team at New Enterprise Associates (NEA); an American-based venture capital firm with over $20 billion in assets undermanagement. Josh also is the founder and executive chairman of ExploraMed (a medical device incubator that has created 8 companies over the past 20 years). You certainly can say Josh has an eye for successful investing and partnering with the right people as he ultimately did with Greg when co-founding Coravin Inc.
During his seven years at Pfizer, Greg worked in developing new products in Orthopedics (new hip and knee prosthetics, as well as trauma implants and devices), Vascular (new implantable ports for renal therapies and chemotherapy), Cardiology (cardiac catheters and access devices), General & GYN Surgery (various applications of RF surgical tools). Greg worked with physicians in Europe who would show their appreciation for Greg’s services and consultations with gifts of amazing bottles of European wine: “I had this eclectic collection of wine from Slovenia, Croatia, France, and Greece.” Consequently, Greg started to develop a true passion for fine wines. Growing up, however, there was not much of a wine culture in his home, given his father's diabetes. His curiosity for wine started in Graduate school, where he met his wife to be. Greg’s first wine experiences were over multiple trips to Napa Valley, California and to his father-in-law’s home (who is a big wine collector and very much into European wines) over the holidays. He tasted red and white Burgundy, his first aged white Hermitage, and fantastic Italian wines. He was fascinated!
It was during Greg’s wife’s pregnancy with their second child when he realized that he did not care to open an entire bottle of fine wine just for one glass: “My partner in crime was not drinking wine with me. That was the beginning of the idea for a wine system.” Greg's mind has mastered the process of inventing: “The most important inventions are not the result of new technology. They are the result of a new understanding of an old problem.”
Greg started thinking about a process: “How do I have a glass of wine and preserve the balance? Some technologies already existed but did not work very well.” Greg invented the wine-preservation system, Coravin, in 1999, and his very first functional prototype was ready in 2001. While fine-tuning his Coravin system on the weekends, Greg was running two companies concurrently: Viacor (percutaneous cardiac valve therapies) and Intrinsic Therapeutics (spinal implants to improve outcomes of disc surgery in the lower back). Coravin was not originally a business; it was a project that Greg developed for his personal use. From that point on, Greg was making prototypes for his friends to which he shared: “My friends would say they no longer knew how to live without it and that it changed the way they drink wine.”
Greg initially was making one Coravin system per month, which soon increased to two, and quickly turned to five. He did this all while running two medical companies. To test the durability of the wine remaining in the bottle after that initial pour, he would use less expensive wines (in the $10 range). To test the durability of the system itself, he supplied his friends with prototypes and had them use it as often as possible. As systems would break, Greg learned how to improve them and make them more resistant to everyday use.
After eight years of testing, following the inception of the first prototype, Greg filed for a patent. Soon thereafter, in 2011, Coravin, the idea became Coravin, the company: Coravin Inc. was born. Between 2011 and 2013, Greg used 8 prototypes and 15 different versions to identify what worked best. In 2012, he challenged winemakers and restaurateurs in California and New York to use his system: “I figured if I didn’t have their approval, our product would fail.” After many trials and errors, the first Coravin officially launched in July 2013. The system was first marketed to wine professionals: “There are 36 million wine consumers in the US. It is cost-prohibitive to speak with all of them. The thought process was to go after the wine producers, influencers, and restaurants. I also reached out to Robert
Parker and Janis Robinson. For restaurants, I suggested they use the system to optimize their wine by the glass program," said Greg. The Sommeliers embraced the system immediately. Coravin is found in New York’s best restaurants, such as 11 Madison and Del Posto, and has expanded its reach to Paris and Madrid, as well as retail stores such as Lavinia - who offers ‘Coravin-ed’ wine tastings before purchasing a bottle: “This is the future of wine retail!”- exclaimed Greg.
The perfect combination: Coravin Model Two and Gaja Barbaresco 2014
There are currently four different Coravin systems available: Model One (The Essential), Model Two (Classic Design), Model Two Elite (with a choice of elegant colors), and finally, Model Eleven (Automatic and Connected). All four share the same characteristics and the same Argon gas. The first and second models are very similar, except that the first model uses less expensive materials. Therefore, it could be retailed for an accessible price. Model Two is more often seen in restaurants and made with more durable material. The Model Two Elite – with its exquisite choice of colors – also sells well. The Model Eleven is the latest addition to the Coravin family and the first of a digital series. Fully automated and Blue Tooth connected, this is the Tesla of Coravin. The system also exists for screw caps: “They deserve as much attention as the other guys,” claims Greg.
I suggest watching this video to learn how to use the Coravin system properly. Just like everything else, you need to read instructions before using it and learn how to care for it.
In the first stages of Coravin’s development, Greg remembers saying: “We are going to be the fastest, easiest, and most fun way to pour wine. Pour a glass faster than removing a corkscrew.” It is said that “necessity is the mother of invention.” In other words, the primary driving force for most inventions and new ideas is “need”. All I know is that when I “need” a glass of fine wine, I will turn to Greg’s invention: The Coravin System.
Cheers,
Anna
(Thumbnail photo courtesy of Coravin)