eto inventor Tom Cotton sketching designs for the eto wine decanter

THE IDEA

ETO’s story began in 2012. While raising a young family, Tom Cotton and his wife found themselves pouring leftover weekend wine away. Wanting to preserve their wine instead, Tom discovered that the only existing preservation options were either ineffective or reliant on single-use consumables. With 20 years of product design experience, Tom felt there must be a better way.

THE DESIGNER

Tom’s early inspiration for ETO was discovering that wine experts routinely transfer leftover wine into a smaller container to minimise air contact. His vision began as a carafe that displaced air, and this grew into a eureka moment when he sketched a design that brought together decanting, pouring and preserving with elegance.

THE PROTOTYPES

Five years and 60 prototypes later, Tom had an invention that worked. Scientists at Bangor University monitored oxygen levels for a range of wines in the lab, and renowned wine experts ran blind taste tests. The results were unambiguous. The decanter preserved wine brilliantly. Tom was also granted a patent globally, and the ETO team grew to two.

THE BEGINNING

ETO was introduced to the world via the crowd-funding site Kickstarter and the response was incredible. ETO is still one of their most successful ever product campaigns, reaching its initial funding target in just 32 hours and gaining almost 20,000 backers in total. It was the perfect start. ETO orders began arriving in 2019, along with a swathe of new customers.

UK households throw the equivalent of 624 million bottles of wine down the drain each year.

THE FUTURE

Today, a global community of ETO users spans over 100 countries. Recognised as one of Walpole’s 12 Brands of Tomorrow and winner of the Red Dot design award, ETO has become a symbol of British design and innovation. Our recent rebrand and the introduction of ETO 750 marks an exciting new chapter. With a range now in seven finishes, we continue to serve and inspire customers worldwide — and we’re excited for what’s ahead.

THE NAME

The name ETO was chosen because it means ‘again’ in Welsh. It is both a nod to Tom’s proud Welsh roots and a recognition of ETO’s core talents. ETO allows you to enjoy the same bottle of wine again and again. And its sustainable, high-quality materials mean that you can use eto for a lifetime.

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