Before any wine drinker takes that first sip of delicious ruby or golden liquid it must first be freed from the glass container in which it has so lovingly been sealed by the winemaker. To do so usually requires the assistance of a corkscrew, something most probably think of as a utilitarian device that languishes in a kitchen drawer until needed.

Early wine bottles were sealed by corks inserted in such a way that a substantial portion remained above the bottle lip. The wine drinker would remove the cork by wrapping a cloth around it and pulling quickly –or using a set of strong teeth. At some point, perhaps to remove a cork that became lodged too deeply in a bottle’s neck, an enterprising and thirsty wine lover realized that a simple screw could solve the problem.  Attach it to a handle, screw it into the cork, and pull. Problem solved.

No one knows exactly when that happened but corkscrews are known to have been in use as early as the 1600s. In the centuries since they have evolved immensely. While still practical tools, they have become expressions of individualism and there is a corkscrew option for everyone.

Most corkscrews, but not all, still feature a steel “worm”, which essentially screws through the cork. For rest of the instrument, however, the sky is the limit. Handles can be as simple as plastic tube, as elaborate as a gold and ivory work of art, as silly as a ceramic cartoon figure, or anything in between. Over the years they have been crafted of walrus tusks, carved wood, porcelain, and even titanium. They have also been created in the shape of animals, human body parts (like feet), or ships and automobiles.

Some corkscrews are engineering marvels featuring rack-and-pinion levers and gears (check out the Le Creuset LM250L Lever Model Corkscrew and Foilcutter Gift Set). Electric motors power some modern versions, such as the Peugeot Elis Rechargeable Electric Corkscrew and Metrokane VIP Electric Rabbit, while others rely only on strong wrists. Some have knives for cutting foil built into them while some are built into knives (think Swiss Army knife).

By the 20^th Century, wine producers began to see the advertising potential of corkscrews. They began to embellish their names on them and give them away as promotional items. Who wouldn’t be proud to use a corkscrew that was a memento from a trip to a favorite winery?

Since corkscrews come in so many forms they have become a popular collectible for wine enthusiasts in recent years. Those with a passion for these functional, yet sometimes whimsical, or even beautiful, tools are known as helixophiles and there are even clubs for collectors of vintage corkscrews. (Take a look at the Cremaillere Wall Mounted Corkscrew a modern reproduction of  an early 20^th century model.)

So next time you open a bottle of wine, give the humble corkscrew a little of the respect he deserves. Without him, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy our favorite hobby!

By the way, it was mentioned that not all wine openers use the steel worm. If you want to try something different check out the Giovanni Cork Pops, which uses compressed air.

You came to the right spot for a  wide selection of wine luggage.  WineVine Imports has many wine travel cases and rolling wine luggage suitable for Wine Reps, Wine Producers / Wineries, Wine Organizations, Company Promotional Gifts,  Wine Tasting Travel Groups and International Travelers with Wine.

Rolling Wine Luggage for Wine Sales Professionals

For those of us who are in the trade of wine such as, beverage and wine representatives, we recommend selecting a rolling wine tote with pockets for folders, wine notes, pens, wine reviews / articles, business cards, wine aerator and other wine accessories.  There are two velcro pockets located on the sides and a zippered compartment located on the front of the bag where the logo is applied.  It’s the bottle limousine of wine carriers for wine sales professionals and wine tasting groups.

Wine sales representatives like this bag for organization but also due to the easy care and durable fabric, polyester, it is made from.  They also enjoy the inline skate wheels for easy movement.  The rolling wine tote allows for up to 12 bottle wine travel.  Six of the twelve bottle padded compartments are detachable.  This well thought out design allows for the wine traveler to travel with options.  For instance, you could travel with wine and other beverages, wine and glasses or use it as a cooler instead.

Silk screen logo production is the most popular logo application for these bags since it’s less expensive than logo embroidery.  Both options are available for customizable company logo wine luggage.

Wine Luggage for Wineries and Wine Country Travel

Are you visiting the wine country?  If so, be prepared with a 12 bottle rolling wine carrier.  Most wineries will ship cases of wine for free to your home town.  If you want to purchase a bottle from each winery, we highly recommend traveling with this carrier.  Wine tasting tours are the perfect way to take home a sampling of wine from each winery for future enjoyment.  Collect a bottle or two from each tasting room and use this rolling wine bag for safe wine country travel.  Make sure you request a 12 bottle shipping box from one of the winery tours.  This way by the end of your trip you can ship them back home.

If you are using this for an event with several sponsors, send us all the logos.  The Wine Luggage with Wheels and Logo has room for several logo applications.

International Air Travel with Wine

I wish I had a 12 bottle wine suitcase with wheels on a recent trip to Spain.  We tasted Albarinos that were to die for!  If I planned in advance, I could have brought home an entire case of this delicious wine found only in Spain.  Wine suitcases are the safest way to travel with wine on planes.  Have you ever boarded a plane and watched the bag handlers throw luggage onto the ramp?  If so, you know never to add wine in checked luggage.  It will break!

Wine suitcases are hard, durable cases designed for shipping air travel checked wine.

What makes our air travel bottle cases so unique?

• WATER AND AIRTIGHT SEALS- securely protect your wine from critical temperature situations.
• HEAVY DUTY CORE CONSTRUCTION designed with strength in mind but also lightness for ease of travel.
• CLOSED CELL FOAM INTERIOR offering thermal insulation as well as maximum protection against major risks of travel such as impact, vibration, and thermal shock.
• Secure and easy opening CORROSION PROOF latches allow for easy opening to show for security reasons, and easy re-closure.
• METAL REINFORCED PADLOCK provides added security and protection against possible theft.
• ERGONOMICALLY DESIGNED HANDLE AND WHEELS with comfort in mind.
• TELESCOPING AND HIDE-AWAY HANDLES offer additional convenience for travel and packing.

One of the most crucial aspects of enjoying a fine bottle of wine is storing that bottle until you are ready to pop the cork. We’ve put together a number of key considerations you should keep in mind when selecting a fridge.

Why a Special Refrigerator?

Wine is picky! No matter the vintage or variety, tight control on such things as moisture, light, humidity, temperature, and even vibration is important to proper wine storage. Wine refrigerators are designed to provide the optimum environment for your wine’s aroma and flavors to remain intact.

Remember Efficiency

When it comes down to it, we’re talking about a refrigerator, so we want it to be efficient, right? Cheaper models have cases made of plastic, which does not transfer temperature very well, meaning that the cool air is absorbed more than in stainless steel models.

Dual Zone or Single Zone?

Do you like reds AND whites? How about different varieties of reds? If the answer is yes, then you’ll definitely want a dual zone wine fridge which allows you to set different conditions in different ‘zones’ or compartments, specific to each wine variety.

Door Considerations

While great for showing off your fine collection, a clear door allows light to reach your wine, which is not a good thing. If you want to show off with a clear door on your wine refrigerator, placement is important to keep sunlight from reaching your bottles.

Bad Vibrations

Vibrations hinder your wines. As compressors stop and start, the fridge vibrates slightly. Go with a unit that absorbs these vibrations with wood shelves, or vinyl coated racks. Cheaper bare metal racks transfer vibrations straight to the bottle, killing your wine’s flavor profile.

Size Matters

Obviously the size of your fridge depends on the number of bottles you plan on keeping on hand. But also keep in mind that some of the wine refrigerator components are fixed costs, whether 12 bottles, or 300. Say for instance that the actual cooling unit costs $75. That $75 is the starting point for ANY wine fridge. A 12 bottle wine fridge case might add another $125 to the price, or $200 total. That’s $16.66 per bottle. That same cooling unit in a 100 bottle wine fridge, with a $900 case would be $975 for 100 bottles, or $9.75 per bottle. So, the larger the fridge, the less you’ll pay to cool each bottle. A good rule of thumb; stay between $5 & $10 per bottle.

Free Standing or Built In?

Refrigerators work by removing heat from the air within, and they have to send that heat somewhere, efficiently. Built-in units are designed to distribute that warm air out the front of the unit since they are often enclosed under cabinets. Doing this increases the cost of your unit, while free standing fridges don’t require the ventilation routing, and simply send heat out the back.

Compressor vs. Thermoelectric

Thermoelectric units have fewer vibrations and are more efficient. Built with fans that circulate the cool air inside the refrigerator, there is a small amount of noise from the fans, however it is a quieter wine refrigerator when compared to compressor fridge. Aside from being quieter, the major benefit is the non-disruption of sediments in the bottles due to minimum vibrations. So why even make compressor model wine coolers? While compressor units are more expensive to run, they are more effective when the environmental temperatures reach more than 80°F. Thermoelectric coolers are only able to keep temperatures 20° below the outside temperature. If you are placing the refrigerator in an area that can get warm, we recommend buying the compressor wine cooler.

It’s no secret that there are few things in life that are as complex and refined as wine.  It is great to see so many people with an appreciation of those complexities too.  As a retailer of complimentary accessories and furniture, we share that same love of wine.

Wine bloggers are an essential provider of great information, opinion and fun facts to the public as a whole, and there are some absolutely great posts out there.  Beginning in January, we’ve decided to start recognizing the GREAT posts that we come across, and choose our one favorite post every month. Here are our choices so far!

Wine Blog Post Wall of Fame

First step is finding a white oak barrel.  Our barrels are made from premium quality American White Oak. The staves are air dried for two years and all barrels have a medium char.  We have a variety of small oak barrels that range from 1 to 10 liters.  You’ll find the traditional shaped barrel in addition to the NEW oval barrel design.

How to Use Oak Barrels for Making Wine

No glue or nails are used in the making of our barrels. As such, barrel preperation called “curing” is required prior to use.

Curing a Barrel

This process serves two functions;

• Allows the barrel to swell to prevent leaking, and
• Limits the amount of alcohol absorbed by the barrel

Start by placing the appropriate number of storing tablets in the barrel and filling the barrel with boiling or hot water.  Allow it to soak for 3 to 5 days.  Water may leak from between the staves or at the barrel head seam.  This is normal and will stop within 24 hours as the wood swells.

Barrels that do not leak should still be cured for 3 to 5 days.  This will minimize the amount of alcohol absorbed by the barrel staves.

After curing the barrel, empty the solution and rinse with hot water 3 times.

And there you have it!  You very own barrel is ready to age wine.

Important to remember: To prevent the barrel from drying out and minimize the possibility of contamination, barrels should always be stored full with spirits or sterilizing solution.  With proper care, you can use your barrel for 8 to 10 years. Following the cleaning and re-charing instructions (that come with barrel) will insure a long life for your product and be sure to not let your barrel dry out.

Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County contains 9,000 acres of vineyards with more than 60 wineries.  This area is known for Old Vine Zinfandels that were planted in the early 1900’s and of these we toured Mazzocco and Esterlina / Everett Ridge Wineries.

Mazzocco Winery

Open Daily from 11 – 5:00

Zin lovers have to visit Mazzocco Winery.   It’s always fun when you taste great wine after another with a host as bubbly as Charlotte.   What a wonderful experience of tasting Antoine Favero’s great wines and sharing giggles.

The first thing you’ll notice from their tasting list is an enormous collection of  Zinfandels, which makes sense since they are known for single vineyard Zinfandels from all over Dry Creek Valley.  The next thing you’ll notice is that most of them are sold out – and with good reason – we arrived a week too soon.  We were informed their next vintage was soon to be released.  Hopefully some of you can stop by and let us know what you think.

Most of their wines are produced in the Dry Creek Valley, however their Stone Zinfandel is from their Alexander Valley vineyards.  We were interested in tasting the difference between the Zinfandels from these two different areas side by side, but the Stone was sold out.  Be sure to check this out on their next vintage.

Tasting List Includes:

2010 Sauvignon Blanc Alexander Valley

2008 Stuhlmuller Reserve Chardonnay

2008 Briar Zinfandel

2008 West Dry Creek Zinfandel

2008 Orchard Reserve Zinfandel

2008 Warm Springs Ranch Zinfandel

2008 Warm Springs Ranch Reserve Zinfandel

2007 Aguilera Petite Sirah

The wines here are all fantastic.  We highlighted a few in bold that stood out but they are all delicious!  The 2010 Sauvignon is very unique with it’s HUGE presence of grapefruit.  Mazzocco’s 2008 Briar is award winning, earning the Best of Class / Gold at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.  Another Gold medal winner is their 2008 Smith Orchard Reserve.  This Zinfandel has flavors of berries and spice.

At top of our list is their 2007 Aguilera.  This Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah is so delicious.  It’s dark fruit lingers with hints of  vanilla and cacao.  The winemaker’s tasting notes describes it perfectly, “The robust finish is laced with black cherry, cinnamon stick and a smidgen of laurel.”  In addition to tasting delicious wines, Mazzacco Winery’s new and airy tasting room is filled with one of a kind stave musical instruments and wine furniture pieces.   It’s worth a stop if you’re in their area and love Zins.

Everett Ridge Vineyards & Winery

Open Daily from 10 – 5:00

Everett Ridge Vineyards has outside seating overlooking an unbelievably stunning view of rolling vineyards and mountains.  Our tasting host Bobby nailed our tasting experience from start to finish.  We Highly Recommend tasting at Everett Ridge.  We had such a great experience, we decided to kick back, take an extended visit and finished our tour here sipping winemaker Lynn Krausmann’s well crafted wines.

Tasting List Includes:

2010 Everett Ridge Sauvignon Blanc

2009 Esterlina Cole Ranch Riesling

2010 Diabilta Rose

2008 Esterlina Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir

2007 Estate Zinfandel

2007 Diablita

2006 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

2007 Everett Ridge Petite Sirah

Estate Port

You won’t believe what they serve with the tasting — cheese puffs!  This childhood favorite snack went surprisingly well with their wines.  It warmed our appetite so we tried some of their enticing Sonoma Pesto cheese that’s for sale in the tasting room.

Adam’s favorite wine is their 2009 Riesling.  This refreshing wine has an elegant balance of acidity and sweetness while the aroma shares notes of both fruit and floral.  Bobby shared a story about sharing this wine with his family on Thanksgiving.  Shortly after everyone had a taste, it vanished within minutes.

One of my favorites is their 2008 Esterlina Pinot Noir.  This exceptional wine has a lovely nose of strawberry, black cherry, allspice and vanilla.  The flavor is rich with dark fruit flavors with a lingering finish.  The 2007 Zinfandel has aromas of plum, vanilla and clove.  The mouth feel is fruitful like some Paso Zins but then has this unique spice to it.  You’ve gotta try it!  You also have to try the Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah blend called Diabilta.  This wine is named after the families first female child, Heather.  Bobby told us the story is even after 65 years she’s a little devil, LOL.  The 2006 Cabernet is unique too.  It has the bouquet of a Zin but the finish of a Cabernet.  All the wines are amazing!  You’ll have to fit this family owned winery into your tasting tour.  Thanks Bobby for a memorable time!

Downtown Healdsburg

We finished off the evening in downtown Healdsburg which offered an impressive number of shops, restaurants, art and bars.  Here are some of the recommendations from Charlotte and Bobby which included:

• Flying Goat which is a locals spot for coffee
• Spoon Bar recommended for it’s cute atmosphere
• Bar & Diva for a unique selection of modern drinks
• Bistro Ralph
• Scopa Italian Restaurant
• Baci Cafe & Wine Bar

We dined at Baci which we also highly recommend.  Our waitress recommended the Stinco d’ Agnello Al Forno for a dinner entree.  It’s organic slow braised lamb shank in the natural jus, polenta, wild mushrooms, lamb demi and vegetables.  Wow!  I can’t wait to visit and have it again.  Adam enjoyed their homemade Gnocchi.  This is an excellent Italian restaurant located in downtown Healdsburg.  I wish we  had more time to check out those other locales — at least we have a reason to come back.

You start off with what your local big boxes like Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Total Wine offer as a wine selection. Then you watch some shows, takes some classes, and attend some real wine tastings. Soon enough, you’re loving the taste and aroma of wine. And before you know it; the better wines you drink; the pickier your selections. Now you’re becoming a Wine Snob.

Relax. This is OK. In this day and age, being a wine aficionado is one hell of an accomplishment to pad your life’s resume.  I’ve been through this transition and quickly found myself searching for ways to enhance the overall experience of my wine tastings.

Here are a few tips for starters:

1.)   Wine Glasses

Once you refine your taste and appreciation of higher quality wines, hopefully you’ll explore the wonderful selections of wine glasses.  The shape and thinness of the rim on a crystal glass enhances the wine experienced immeasurably.  As you learn the different subtleties that exist in glasses, you can have your own wine tasting parties and confidently pair glasses with whichever wines you wish to sample.

2.)   Decanters and Wine Aerators

The next step to becoming a total wine lover is tasting the effects of wine aerators. These magnificent wine tools magnify the flavor and bouquet of wine. Try a blind taste test with yourself or with a group of fellow wine lovers; you’ll marvel at the difference. If you have an hour or two to kill try a bottle of wine with a Ravenscroft Crystal Decanter you’ll be floored by the difference!

3.)   Wine Carriers

Now that you’ve learned about the wonderful improvements of a more expensive better quality wine, the affects of aerators and wine glasses, you’ll be on the road to ‘Wine Snob’.  You might even buy a wine carrier and bring a bottle to the restaurant because their selection isn’t up to your newly heightened standards.  It’s OK — I do that too!  Not all restaurants have owners that love wine, nor do they understand that their dishes complimenting it with the right glass of wine. So, pick out a stylish wine carrier, buy a corking fee, and enjoy savor the meal with YOUR glass of wine.

4.)   Wine Racks

The last step I’ve experienced as a growing wine lover, is — well, let’s face it; hoarding.  I love wine tasting and stocking up for the year on the hard to get, savorful wines from all the places I visit. I store them correctly in a dark spot in my house, with the corks facing down and turning them throughout the year in a wrought iron wine rack; assuming they last.

A flurry of snow is coming down!

It’s too chilly for a crisp Chardonnay.

Even though I love the floral aromas of a Viognier, I think I’ll have to pass on this one too.

It’s the perfect day for a warming winter hot drink made with wine.

Mulled Wine Spices

Plan a hour in advance to brew a delicious hot wine drink.  There are many ways to prepare mulled wine.  You can make it from scratch or use  a wine country Wine Mulling Spices spice bag.

Whenever I’m with my best girlfriend, Helena, we make it her way which has a special touch of sweetness to it.

Helena’s Hot Mulled Wine

Ingredients:

• 2 bottles of Red Wine
• 1/2 Cup of Brown Sugar
• 2 Cinnamon Sticks
• About a Tablespoon of Anise Seeds
• About a Tablespoon of Cloves
• 1 10 ounce Jar of Maraschino Cherries w/ Juice
• 1 Orange
• 3-4 Cups of Water

Optional to add:  Brandy, Cherry Liquor, Amaretto or Vodka

1. Use blender to blend the cherries and juice until smooth.

2. Slice the orange in rings.

3. Mix all ingredients into a large saucepan.

4. Heat until simmering for one hour.  DO NOT let it boil.

Optional Secret Ingredient:

For those of us who prefer a stronger mulled wine, add some brandy, cherry liquor, amaretto or vodka to the mix.  Add to taste.

Please share your family hot wine drink recipes with us.

Learn how to set up a simple wine tasting at your home.  Read about tips on set up, suggestions for wine glasses / accessories and wine tasting process.

Hosing a wine tasting party is pretty easy. Simply send invites, provide glasses and a way for guests to write notes. It’s a great way to try a variety of wines in one night.

How to Host a Wine Tasting Party this Halloween

If you are planning on hosting a large get-together for your wine tasting party, we recommend using www.evite.com to send your free invitations.  It’s an easy way to invite your Facebook friends or send invites via email.  Friends can easily respond with a yes, no or maybe with a click of  a button.

Don’t forget to set up the Ask Guest to Bring Something in invitation options.  This is where you can ask guests to bring wine wrapped up in a costume or bag.

Request guests to bring 2 of the same bottle.  This way if your party consists of some heavy pourers or lots of tasters, you’ll be sure to have enough wine for everyone to complete their tasting tour.

There are several themes for wine selections:

• Decide if you want the wine tasting party to be focused on one varietal
• Let guests bring their favorite wine
• Select a specific wine producing region

If your wine tasting party is composed of different types of wine, we recommend numbering the bottles in order from the first tasting being white varietals, then red varietals and lastly dessert wines and port.  Try your best to order wines from light to full bodied.

Black Bat Wine Tumblers

A wine tasting party must have glasses!  Bring a touch of Halloween to the party with black stemless wine glasses.  Each glass is decorated with a large, spooky bat.  Black Bat Tumblers are a new addition, this Halloween, to our designer wine glass collection.

These top quality wine glasses can be arranged with the Black Bat Silver Dinner Plates for a complete Halloween dining experience.

Wine Tasting Process

Number the bottles from light bodied to full.  Next, arrange the disguised bottles in order around the room.  Do it in a way where wine tasters can easily move from bottle location 1 to 2 to 3 and so on.

Once your guests arrive, point them to your wine glass station.  Make sure you have wine tasting journals so that tasters can score and record tasting notes.  Tally the results at the end of the tasting.  Finish off the party with wine discussions and announce the results.

Sometimes I imagine that romantic scenario; in my kitchen with the stove sizzling, the aromas of sauteed garlic, maybe a roasting chicken in the oven, all deliciously smothering the air, arousing appetites and doing its part in creating that sweet domestic scene .  My boyfriend admires my prowess as I gracefully move from one task to the next.  Dishes simmer to their perfect temperatures as I finish the last bits garnish for the entree.  Then, it’s time to open the wine.  With one hand I reach for the foil cutter and corkscrew, an elaborate piece that matches my wine set, and with the other I show him the label, to which he appropriately admires.  Then, as I’m all set to open it with a smooth flourish, another small but noticeable act of competent grace, it’s a damn screw cap.  Annoyed, I hand it over to him like it were a pickle jar.

As do many oenophiles, I see uncorking as part of the ritual, a lead-up to the tasting.  It’s been around since ancient times so why change it?  With the increase of substandard corks for the growing vineyards and demand, ‘corked wines’ (wines that are bottled with a contaminated cork) have been on the rise to as much as 8% for some wines.  In a business climate that demands consistent quality, the trend to switch to screw caps or synthetic corks is more prevalent, especially in the New World wineries.  And while many wineries are compromising with a mixture of both, I still see the eventual phasing out of cork as a prominent closure solution.  As with many traditions, I see this one fading due to economy, ease, and demand.

There are advantages to screw caps, as my boyfriend reminds me.  Aside from keeping an extremely tight seal versus the cork, they do prevent that TCA infection, but at what cost?  TCA infection sounds worse than it is in relation to wine. It doesn’t provide a health risk from the levels affecting the wine. It impairs the flavor and aroma of the wine. Anyways, he has no problems with screw tops but this isn’t the case for me.

I guess for me is the association with screw cap wine.  I think of my friend, who drinks one of those $10 a gallon screw top jug wines from a water glass while he reads his W. Somerset Maugham novels.  He laughs at me when I make my point about the tradition of corks and how it enhances the experience.  I understand that in today’s day screw top wine shouldn’t be perceived as a lesser wine; well maybe in my friend’s case.

Sean was just in Oregon and sipped on many great Oregon wines served with screw tops.  I guess I’ll be one of those late adopters to the topic of screw top versus cork.  I understand the potential decrease of corked wines by the use of screw tops.  It’s not only that, I collect the corks.  They look nice in decorative cork cages in my kitchen, or I use them for cork art projects.

Over the past few years, a number of wineries have made the switch, or as I’ve mentioned, offered both, and it’ll be interesting to see how this affects the quality as well as their sales. I just hope corks aren’t limited to expensive wines.  While it won’t be impossible to get one for those romantic, special occasions, my cork art will suffer.