WINE ACCESSORIES
Here are a few things which are handy gizmos.
Looking for a gift item?
PRIVATE PRESERVE $6.99
I realize the problem of having partial bottles of
"leftover" wine doesn't plague every household.
The can feels as though it is empty, but there's enough inert "gas" to give you
about 120 "shots" of spray to preserve your opened wine bottles. That's
what the manufacturer says.
I prefer to err on the side of caution, so I suggest spraying about 5 or 8 seconds' worth
of gas into your opened wine bottle. You have to be fast, though, and have the cork
ready to jam back into the bottle. Time is of the essence! Within a
nanosecond of stopping sparging your bottle, you'll need to insert the cork back into the
bottle.
If I've saved 10 bottles of wine, at an average cost of even $10 a bottle, I've more than
paid for the can of Private Preserve. Every wine drinking household should have a
can of this at the ready!
WINE AWAY $ 5.99
The
family business is called Enviro-Chem and they make all sorts of things like insecticides
and paint additives.
By chance they started making an all-purpose degreaser and cleaner. It was
called "Devour."
The Corn family had occasion to try this on a wine spill and found it to be somewhat
effective. They played around with the formula and today have a lock on the market
for a red wine stain remover.
It's not made of chemicals or bleach, though! Of course the Corns aren't about to
divulge the secret of their formula. All they'll say is Wine Away is a non-toxic
liquid made of fruit and vegetable extracts. The fragrance is rather citrusy.
We had a major spill to contend with at a friend's house. We sprayed Wine Away on
the stain and the red wine stain was, in fact, removed. The hostess took the stained
fabric to the cleaner's and they were able to deal with it and restore the fabric to its
original condition.
This stuff, supposedly, also works well in removing tomato stains and blood stains.
I suppose this is indispensable if you're having your own version of La Tomatina or
a Dracula Party.
We have a few selections of Riedel stems in the shop and can order whatever
style you prefer. There are some cost-effective stems which are sturdier
than the fancy Riedel glasses...
This is their Cabernet decanter...not expensive, either...we have them sale
priced for $39.99.
VINTURI WINE AERATOR
$35.99
VACU VIN
WINE SAVER
This
gizmo comes with two "stoppers"...
The idea is you seal an opened bottle of wine and withdraw the oxygen by
inserting a special 'stopper' and then pumping the air out of the bottle.
I've never been able to pump enough out that the bottle actually collapses,
though.
These presently come in a box with one pump and two stoppers.
$11.99.
There are packages of two stoppers sold separately. $4.99
NAPA & SONOMA WINE MAP $6.95
North Coast wine
country...fairly sturdy laminated map.
INAO styled Wine Tasting Glass
$3.99 a copy...good for tasting wines, but we also find these quite handy with
various spirits, such as small pours of good Calvados, Armagnac or Single Malts.
