I don't know about running cost but there's already a commercial system intended for restaurants etc. called Enomatic. It differs in being continuously attached to open bottles, but it has multiple taps per device. Comparison here: http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2014/05/is-coravins-new-win...

I wonder if there will be a grey / black market for non-original capsules. Seems promising since, as far as I know, argon is not _that_ expensive to buy.

10 litre bottle of argon is about $45.

The capsule contains 20ml and costs $10 ($500/litre).

So yeah, someone should be able to create non-original capsules for a lower price.

I've used the Pek Preservino system for years. Their argon comes in the same little cartridges as N2O or CO2 for siphons. In fact, I just started using N2O since it works well enough for just a couple days.

Looked it up. $12 for 4 cartridges, or $80 for 30 cartridges. That's pretty humane.

But given that Coravin has a separate page for their board of directors, each with a full bio and a mugshot, I think it's safe to assume that their cartridges are non-standard.

Chinese knockout will use helium gas :-)

Yeah helium is running around US0.10 a liter give or take in most places, and will sneak out through the cork pretty quickly too.