From paintstripper to perfect in one easy step...

This story caught my eye in this morning's Metro newspaper. Some clever clogs has invented a gadget that apparently turns cheap plonk into the equivalent of oak-aged vintage stuff. Surely this has to be too good to be true.

The Ultrasonic Wine Ager can, according to its inventor Casey Jones, recreate the effects of decades of ageing in just half an hour and can turn a £3.99 bottle of wine into a "finest bottle of vintage". It even works with whisky, he reckons.

How, I hear you cry? Well here comes the science bit - the gadget uses ultrasound to collide alcohol molecules, thus inducing an artificial ageing process.

Still baffled? So am I. I have to admit that I was immediately tempted to go out and buy one to give it a whirl. Until I clocked the £350 price tag.

Mind you, if it does do exactly what it says on the tin, it could prove quite an investment. (At this point I would do the maths, but unfortunately I'm no mathematician).

I'm not going to rush out and buy one though. Call me a cynic, but I don't want to run the risk of ending up with a £350 dent in my credit card bill, a gadget that looks like an ordinary wine cooler (which it does), a disgruntled liver and a lack of enamel on my teeth. If anyone does give it a try though, please let me know - it's coming to a supermarket near you soon...

• Harpers Says...