Three Essential Accessories for Wine Drinkers
I’m also a lover of gadgets and accessories (though I tend to admire from afar rather than empty my wallet), and the number of wine accessories that exist is many. I’m not even talking about bottle openers. The endless parade of simple and small to overly clunky, just plain ridiculous bottle openers may tempt someone who feels the need for the latest and greatest wine opener, as promoted by magazines and home shopping networks. But I’m fine with a traditional corkscrew that fits neatly in a drawer or my pocket.
I’m more interested in accessories of practicality, and that narrows the playing field by quite a large number. Excluding such items as compact wine storage units and chillers, and fancy ice buckets or serving sets, and we are left with a decent selection of products that folk like myself can easily appreciate.
An opened bottle of red wine typically has a remaining shelf life of only a few days before losing its valuable flavor, white wines a few days longer. We rarely finish a full bottle of wine in one sitting, so opened bottles are common. But then we find ourselves forced to play a game of beat the clock, so to speak, to consume the wine before its alloted period of freshness has expired. A handy item that seeks to remedy this is the inexpensive Vacu Vin Wine Saver. Essentially, the Vacu Vin Wine Saver is a rubber stopper and a small pump that work in conjunction to conveniently remove the air from the bottle, thus halting the oxidation process and adding another week or two to the countdown.
Some bottles of wine have considerately thought to include a small lip at the edge of the foil seal over the cork, allowing you to grab hold and tear it off with little effort. Others have disregarded this feature, requiring you to clumsily slice at the seal with a knife or other sharp tool. The Bonjour Foil Cutter eliminates the fuss in the form of a compact little tool that fits neatly in the palm of your hand. Simply place the cap-like gadget over the top of the bottle and press down. Blades are extended from within the contraption (they are concealed when not in use), and a quick twist easily renders that seal a problem no more.
Wine stoppers are a dime a dozen, but the practical combination of a stopper and pourer is perhaps worth a bit more than a thin dime. You’ll likely find several varieties of these on the market, but the Patent Wine Pourer & Stopper is designed exclusively for wine bottles. Its effective design works to keep wine sealed within when acting as a stopper, and pours cleanly and efficiently, even aerating the wine as it pours in order to enhance the flavor.
These simple yet practical wine accessories should be enough for anyone who enjoys wine but doesn’t intend to make a serious hobby of it. Otherwise, feel free to go ahead and purchase that fancy tabletop bottle chiller, or two-foot tall bottle opener. I’ll stick with a corkscrew and the fridge for now.
