Vinamor - Shark Tank Update

Gary DeJohn was a Fort Collins, Colorado wine enthusiast who had parlayed years of professional wine service at a local Melting Pot restaurant into a deep understanding of how wine's characteristics change during serving. Most wine aerators on the market were designed to improve an entire bottle's expression as it was poured.

DeJohn had identified a more specific gap: the ability to aerate wine by the individual glass, allowing a table of diners to experience the same bottle at different stages of evolution, or letting a solo diner aerate only what they were drinking without committing the entire remaining bottle to a particular treatment. His Vinamor device addressed this with a by-the-glass aeration chamber that created maximum surface area exposure during the pour, dramatically accelerating the oxidation and aromatic release that typically required an hour or more of decanter aging.

DeJohn arrived in Season 3 Episode 9 seeking $75,000 for 30% equity at a $250,000 valuation, bringing personal credibility as a working wine professional who had personally tested every commercially available aerator. Kevin O'Leary, himself a passionate wine collector and the most engaged Shark throughout the pitch, pushed hard on the feasibility of a licensing model – approaching major wine accessory manufacturers who could bring Vinamor to distribution scale quickly.

DeJohn resisted the licensing approach, preferring to build his brand independently, a position that prevented what might have been the deal most likely to reach commercial success. All five Sharks ultimately declined, leaving DeJohn to pursue distribution on his own terms.

Despite the Shark Tank rejection, Vinamor initially became a success story, demonstrating that sometimes not getting a deal can benefit a business. Gary secured a $50,000 loan shortly after taping and transitioned from hand-making each unit to mass manufacturing.

The product gained distribution in over 100 liquor stores and vineyards nationwide, with web sales performing well. A feature in Wine Enthusiast Magazine provided significant online sales boost, and Gary secured a test deal with Melting Pot restaurants with potential for nationwide expansion.

The success enabled him to raise over $8,000 for St. Jude's Children's Hospital in 2012.

However, around 2015, Gary lost passion for the wine aerator business and pivoted to property rental. As of 2022, the Vinamor website no longer offers products for sale, marking the end of what was once a thriving post-Shark Tank success story.