VoChill Wine Glass Chillers

It started simply enough. A warm sunlit day in Austin, Texas. A patio. Lisa and Randall Pawlik relaxing at a local wine bar with perfectly chilled white wine. It’s a perfect picture—but then the wine warms up and it’s ruined. Lisa to Randall, “If only there were something I could rest my glass in to keep the wine chilled.”

The next day they began planning and plotting and prototyping—until they came up with VoChill, the very first personal wine glass chiller. A fashionable way to keep your glass of wine at the perfect temperature for maximum enjoyment.

Vochill Before Shark Tank

Randall is a born entrepreneur and inventor. In grade school, he sold pecans he picked to his teachers. In high school, he sold grapefruit from the family farm throughout the Rio Grande Valley. When he wasn’t selling, he was taking things apart and putting them back together. Then he met CAD Design Software!

Lisa became a wine connoisseur on her first trip to Europe after high school. She had worked for the Australian Trade Commission and later for a prominent US grocery retailer in innovation, marketing and sales. Talk about perfect timing! The grocery corporation underwent a restructuring. Lisa could take a different position in the company or she could leave. She left and was free to go all in on VoChill.

Lisa and Randall wanted something that would provide a long-lasting chill but would not interfere with the wine-tasting experience. In other words, no metal, no plastic, no (shudder) ice cubes. They not only wanted something optimally functional but also aesthetically pleasing. A wine chiller that would beautify the wine glass as well as bring a sophisticated, artistic flair to any décor.

VoChill Features

• Keeps white, rosé and sparkling wines refreshing and crisp from the first sip to the last.
• Brings red wine from room temperature to cellar temperature in minutes, bringing out the wine’s best character and flavor by softening the tannins and lessening the presence of alcohol.
• Note: If you normally drink reds at room temperature, try VoChill and see what a difference a degree makes.
• Keeps your wine crisp, cool and refreshing by actively pulling heat out of your glass. Keeps wine chilled for an hour and a half indoors and 45 minutes in shaded outdoor heat.
• Gives control to the individual: Remove your glass for less chill and leave it in longer for more.
• No need to buy new wine glasses. VoChill fits a wide range of standard glass shapes and sizes. Just be sure that stemless glasses have a bowl no larger than 3.75 inches and stemmed glasses are no longer than 4.5 inches.
• Made of durable and recyclable materials that are engineered to last.
• Sophisticated array of colors: quartz, stone, blush, sand, graphite, cyan and rose.

FYI: Suggested Wine Temperatures

Each style of wine has an optimal serving temperature that brings out its intended flavor profile, character and bouquet.

• Sparkling + Light-Bodied Whites – 38-45°F (Ice Cold)
• Full-Bodied Whites + Rosés – 45-55°F (Cold)
• Light + Medium-Bodied Reds – 55-60°F (Cellar Temp)
• Full-Bodied Reds + Dessert Wines – 60-68°F (Slightly Chilled)

Using VoChill

1. Place the cradle in your freezer for at least 3 hours.
2. For your stemless glasses, use as is. For stemmed glasses, attach the cradle to the stand.
3. Pour in chilled wine.
4. Wine too chilled? Take your glass out of the chiller until the temperature is right for you.
5. Use a soft cloth to hand-wipe your VoChill and return it to the freezer so it’s ready for the next time.

Note: Never put your VoChill in the dishwasher.

Vochill in the Shark Tank

Lisa and Randall Pawlik went into the Shark Tank seeking an investment of $300,000 for 5% equity in Vochill. This put their proposed business valuation at $6M.

All eyes were on Kevin O’Leary, a wine connoisseur who already owns his own brand of wine and has extensive connections in the industry. Kevin thought the product was good for a $3M valuation, offering $300,000 for 10% ownership. In addition to equity, Kevin’s offer included a $2 per unit royalty, until he had received at least $1M in distributions, more than tripling his investment on just the royalty and then maintaining a 10% ownership stake in the business.

Without the margins to support the expense of a $2 royalty, Lisa and Randall declined Kevin’s offer and left the Shark Tank without an investment.

VoChill on the “Best” Lists

VoChill readily landed on many “Best Gifts” lists, including:

• Oprah’s “Gifts for the Friend who Lives for Wine O’clock”
• USA Today’s “Gifts that Wine Lovers Actually Want”
• NBC News “Best Gifts for Wine Lovers”
• Taste of Home, online magazine, “Best Wine Gifts”
• Reader’s Digest “Coolest Gifts for Wine Lovers”

VoChill Update After Shark Tank

After their appearance on Shark Tank, VoChill continued to thrive. Despite not securing a deal on the show, the company benefited from increased exposure, which led to positive feedback from wine drinkers nationwide. By 2023, VoChill completed five years in business and expanded its reach, shipping products to the United States, UK, Canada, and Amazon India. The company’s current valuation is estimated at $6 million, reflecting its growth and success.

A significant achievement for VoChill was the inclusion of their Stemless Wine Chiller in Oprah’s Favorite Things 2022 list, a notable endorsement that likely contributed to their visibility and market appeal​​​​​​.

The founders, Randall and Lisa Pawlik, are focusing on expanding their product’s presence into retail and hospitality sectors. Their goal is to make VoChill products accessible to every wine lover’s home, indicating a strategic shift towards broader market penetration​​​​.

vochill.com