Whether you’re a major connoisseur or just like to entertain friends over a bottle or two, a collection of wine bottles can take up a lot of space. The good news? Wall mounted wine racks are a great way to show off your vino collection and make a design statement at the same time.

Wall Mounted Wine Rack Decorating Ideas

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Everyone understands that Valentine’s Day is important. Overlook the jour d’amour too many times, or fail to find a suitable Valentine’s Day gifts, and your relationship could be history.

The History of Valentine’s Day

But what about the history of the day itself? Where does it come from and why do we continue to celebrate the occasion?

Saint Valentine himself dates all the way back to Roman times, and the name appears often from the second century onwards. ‘Valentinus’ was a popular name all the way through to the eighth century, so there are plenty of theories (and myths!) as to which one inspired the events we now celebrate every February 14th.

The most likely origin lies with Saint Valentine of Rome, who legend has it defied an order from the Emperor banning marriage of young men so that they could be saved for the army. This Valentine was inspired by love over all else and continued to marry young couples, until eventually he was executed for his defiance. The date of his death, or possibly birth, is believed to inspire the mid-February celebration.

Other versions of their story have the Valentine’s celebration as a Christian attempt to claim the Pagan festival of Lupercalia, which also fell in February. While it originates in those distant early days, we have to fast forward to the Middle Ages and the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer to find the first reliable connections with romantic love, and then to 18th century England for the tradition of exchanging Valentine’s Day Gifts. This is when flowers, love notes or cards, and sweet goods entered the occasion and form the celebration we enjoy to this day.

Nowadays Valentine’s Day is celebrated most fervently in North America, Western Europe and Australia, although recognition is also found in other countries influenced by western culture, such as Japan and South Korea. Whatever the day’s origins, it has clearly become one of the most important dates for young men to mark on the calendar!  Shop wine gifts now!

For the budding sommelier, wine connoisseur, and especially the casual enthusiast learning about wines takes time and diligence…having to sample and taste all those wines. As terrible as that may be, there’s still a lot more that goes into learning about the characteristics of wine. To fully appreciate wine one has to learn about the entire sensory experience of wine; taste, texture, aroma, and how it looks in the wine glass.

Wine Aroma Kits with Wine Essences

While most wines feature their own distinct aroma many will share common traits and some are easy to identify. If you’re looking to achieve a professional’s sophistication when it comes to knowledge of wine a wine aroma kit is a must have. This aroma kit allows you to master the skills in recognizing and evaluating wines without burning through serious dollars in actual wine bottles.

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New Year’s Eve has been celebrated since the time of the ancient Babylonians. Champagne has been traditionally used as a beverage for celebrations, even used as THE beverage for the coronation of French Kings. Our society toasts the New Year with champagne and not any other beverage.

How did this Champagne Celebration Tradition Begin?

During a coronation in Reim, France, the nobility would linger in the Champagne region and indulge in the local wines. During the Middle Ages, wine was consumed within the year it was produced, shipped in barrels and was “still”, lacking effervescence.

The wine trade grew over the centuries. When new barrels weren’t opened until spring, the wine would become fizzy because the yeast of the wine began consuming the grape sugars during the warmer weather. The Champagne region, with its navigational rivers, supplied wine to France, England and Holland. Dom Perignon, a famous monk at the end of the 17th century, is responsible for improving the quality of the wine and began packaging the wine in bottles with corks, maintaining the wine’s sparkle. In 1728, King Louis XV proclaimed that only Champagne’s wines could be shipped in bottles. This packaging ensured a reliable product delivered to the French court.

Producers wanted expansion and introduced Champagne to other major cities. It sold easily as the nobility imbibed the wine. During the 19th century, Industrialization opened up new markets. Champagne sold as an aspirational beverage to the wealthy new merchant class. It was expensive and used only on special occasions.

Champagne has maintained its popularity with an intentional association with luxury. The Rolls Royce of the wine world enjoys the benefits of persistent marketing and continues as the beverage of choice to ring in the New Year.

With the air beginning to chill and the holidays rapidly approaching, winter is officially on its way. While nothing beats a cool glass of wine on a hot summer evening, wine goes great with the cold weather, too! Here’s three perfect ways to enjoy your wine this winter:

Mulled Wine

Instead of hot chocolate, consider making mulled wine next time you’re in the mood for a hot beverage! Mulled wine is simple to make: all you have to do is find your favorite bottle of red or white wine, and heat it in a crock pot for an hour or so with some spices. You can find a great kit for the mulled wine spices to make a hot wine tardy.

The longer you let the mead simmer, the better it will taste! For even better mead, consider adding a cinnamon  stick or two while it simmers.

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Most everyone accepts the idea that an aged red wine has to “breathe,” which means it needs exposure to air for some time in order to achieve the best drinkable quality. Before the advent of the modern wine aeration systems, this time for the wine to “breathe” was to open the bottle and wait about twenty to thirty minutes.

The Science of Wine Aeration

It is easy to understand why traditional methods are lacking. By simply opening a bottle of wine and allowing a small bit of air to enter the bottle, there is little contact between the liquid inside the bottle and the air. This is a traditional method, but the results are less than desired. The reason for this is, the surface area of the wine exposed to air is so small, and the rest of the wine in the bottle remains unchanged.

Aeration Improvements

Newer methods have advanced the aeration effects. Decanting is very popular. Decanting achieves two things: 1) the wine mixes with air by the process of pouring it and 2) decanting achieves the removal of any sediment that could interfere with the perfect flavor. Decanting is a beautiful process. Not only does the flavor of the wine improve, there are many accessories to make the experience as delightful as possible. Read more »

My cork board making skills are at an experience cork crafters level.  I have an assortment of fabulous pieces of cork wall decor in all shapes and sizes.

You’ll find cork board making instructions online that instruct cork crafters to glue the corks down first while working on filling in their pattern.  I do not recommend this.

How to Fill a Wine Cork Board with Corks?

Pour yourself your first glass of wine and enjoy!  This is no quick project.  The over-sized magazine cork board took 16 hours for cork placement and gluing. If you are short on patience, spread out the project across a few days.  You are creating a lasting piece of art. Don’t rush it!  The following steps are how to make a tight, unique cork pattern that fits well in any shape cork board. Read instructions thoroughly before starting.

1.) Create a Pattern within the Cork Board Frame

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When a waiter opens a bottle of wine properly, the waiter shows the patron the label and offers the cork. This allows the patron a chance to determine is if the wine spoiled from a mold, which grows in cork. If this mold is present, it has a distinct odor of mustiness. It ruins the flavor of fine wine.

Next, the waiter offers a small sampling of the wine. The patron swirls the wine in the glass, inhales the bouquet, and takes a sip, to verify any suspicions about moldy flavor and check for the smell and taste of vinegar. Wine sometimes goes bad. In modern times, these problems are a rarity, but they exist in older vintages stored in wine cellars. Read more »

Gentlemen who know wine have refined tastes, which are attractive to women. There is probably nothing more romantic than having a candlelit dinner accompanied by fine wine. Nothing sexist implied here, because ladies this goes for you also. There is something incredibly powerful about a woman who knows her wine and pours it with a sense of panache.

The Art of Serving Wine

With fine wine, it is not only what wine is served, but also how it is served, which creates the best experience. This is called “the presentation.” Just like masterpiece artwork is on display in elegant buildings instead of some rundown space, fine wine is best, when kept and served in elegant ways.

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As we’ve discussed in a previous blog post, storing your wine at the proper temperature can be crucial. And, different types of wines have different requirements. Reds, like cabernet sauvignon, are ideally stored around 64°F, Riojas a bit cooler, whites such as Chardonnay a bit further down the thermometer, while Champagne and Cava thrive just above 40°F.

Storage Options are Unlimited With Today’s Wine Refrigerators

Fortunately, in order to keep your different wines stored at their optimum temperatures, the dual-zone refrigerator was invented. In these, you can store your collection at two different temperatures in the same unit.  Maybe set the bottom part cooler for the whites and so on…you get the idea. Of course, single zone units are a great option as well. Even if you combine reds and whites, they will be maintained at a stable temperature. Whites can be chilled further before serving. Then again, you could always buy two units and keep red in one and white in the other. Read more »