The number of people who brew their own beer at home as a hobby has grown over the past few years, so it's no surprise that someone would put together a gadget that would let you do the same with wine - and do it well, from all accounts. The WinePod is a gadget geek's dream when it comes to wine making: a self-contained steel unit that handles pressing, fermentation and aging, controlled by a wireless connection to software on your computer. The software, called Dashboard, organizes information about your wine and asks you questions about the fermenting brew to adjust settings to provide the exact wine you're looking for. Provina, the WinePod's maker, gives you connections to buy premium grapes, so your wine has the best possible base.

What I think is really cool about this expensive ($3500 retail) gadget is the excellent balance between simplification (small and cheap enough to fit in your house, does most of the wine management for you) and experimentation (you provide the overall control over the taste of the wine); it really seems like the WinePod takes the messy parts of wine making out of the picture without completely automating the process.

Via CantonRep.com