About us | Qivino

From passion to perfection …

Vinventive NV, the birthplace of Qivino, was set up on 1 February 2004 as the result of a few individuals’ unbridled passion for wine.

Solve the problem yourself

Every wine-lover knows the problem: you open a bottle, drink two glasses, set the bottle aside for a couple of days … and the wine has become unrecognisable. Clearly there was no ready-to-use system to prevent oxidisation of the wine in an opened bottle sending the taste and aromas into a downward spiral. Until someone said: “Let’s try and do something ourselves”.

Pioneering work

From the passion of these pioneers, coupled with their intrinsic qualities and a shared sense of perfection, there eventually emerged Qivino.

Know-how at home

In the initial years, the pioneers themselves carried out or assisted all research, comparisons, scientific tests, organoleptic tasting, surveying of wine-lovers and wine professionals, and evaluation of the technical possibilities.

Cooperation with scientific research institutes and government support

The initiative had a catching effect, and few arguments were needed to arouse interest in scientific circles. This translated into active involvement of the Organic and Analytical Chemistry section of the Catholic University of Leuven’s Chemistry Department, and controlled innovation support by the Flemish government via the Institute for Innovation, Science and Technology. Following an audit, the project was also selected by Mechelen’s Chamber of Commerce for participation in the workgroup for Technology and Marketing.

Market launch

Only once outsiders had been impressed by the results of the initiative and had confirmed the chances of a possible commercial launch did the developers start thinking in that direction. Helped by the Chamber of Commerce in Mechelen, they entered into close cooperation with the Flemish government, which provided the necessary grants to draw in people and organisations for getting started with a successful commercial launch.