Category Archives: Wonderful Wine Accessories

Beyond the “Cage” – Home Entertaining Accessories

OK, it is fair to say that the internet is over populated with wine accessory websites.  Every click of the mouse finds you staring at wine glass charms and cork cages… oh, cork cages!  I hate cork cages!!  Why would anyone want a cork cage??  And if you are asking yourself “what’s a cork cage?” than consider yourself a better person for not knowing!

Bottle Candle

Five Candle Cadelabra

Pearl Stirrers

Pearly Girl Stirrers

Bottle Jewelry

Fleur de Lis Bottle Jewelry

Well, I came across EpicStyle.com, a site that offers the same level of all around cuteness as most wine accessory shops, but offers a wider array of merchandise as an “Entertaining at Home” site.  This means you also purchase  fancy platters, olive boats, cheese boards, hors d’oeuvres pics and forks, in addition to that good old fashioned wine decanter…and yes, even cork cages.  Plus they sell some items you would not expect like, err, flip flops.  Some of my favorite products are the wine bottle candelabra (most places just sell single candle toppers…yawn), the Pearly Girl Stirrers (comes in pics too), and if the pearls weren’t enough glam… the “bottle jewelry” so your pinot can dress as fabulous as you do!

I have to admit I like their party themed collections as well.  Not that I am biased or anything, but I personally recommend the Pet Party Collection – which features the great tag line of “Sit, Stay, Drink!”  I believe even MY human family could master those commands!  The collection includes bottle openers, stoppers, glasses, coasters, and more!  With

Pet Party Collection

spring on its way, turn that weekly puppy play date into a yappy hour party!!  Just make sure you take the right dog home after you have had a few!!

Winefully Yours- Bennett

Small Fast Cars, Evening Dresses, and Champagne Flutes

Are all things that generally just get “sexier” if they are black.  I know the great adrenaline rush of New Year’s Eve expectations has subsided and no one is really talking about their flutes anymore, but I am!  Any good home entertainer always has at least 6 sophisticated champagne flutes at the ready for any occasion.  And I find that flutes with color, especially black, make for a fabulous evening.

Here, of course, you can spend anywhere from $10 upwards of $150 per flute.  Below are some fine examples of an elegant evening black champagne flute:

“Jazz Flutes” by LSA Glassware are flirty and fun for about $60 for a set of 4

John Roche Black Cut Crystal Flutes by Waterford are simplistically modern while remaining true to classic styling and come with an impressive price tag of $325 for 2

Sorelle Black Tulip Champagne Glasses have a striking modern shape and are super perfect for everyday bubbles at $35 for 6

The Harpinna Black Crystal Champagne Flute by Ajka is an affordable lead crystal (at $100 for 6), with a glittering clear stem that makes a dramatic contrast to its black body

PS- for obvious reasons, January is the best time to nab great deals on champagne flutes!

PPS- Miniature Pinschers also look very good in black

Winefully Yours- Bennett

Is all of this really necessary? Frontgate’s Granite Base WIne Opener

Wine Opener

Welcome, Dear Friend...

The easy answer is YES!  Christmas is almost here and the presents have started to arrive.  This one just came today and at first I will admit I was a little intimidated.  It’s so big… and heavy… like humans have to go to the gym in preparation for lifting heavy.  But now I see that its heft is part of its beauty.   It is not some flimsy (no definitely not flimsy) bottle opener to toss in a drawer only to search for days later – “which drawer???”  This is a stately statue to be displayed proudly.  Do not be scared of its size (who?  me?  scared of size?).  Do not fret that it will take up square footage in your home.  Yes, yes it will take up space.  But it will define your space.  It announces “Here!  Here is where the drinking will be done!”  Gorgeously crafted and transitional in style (oddly enough the ornate design makes it all the more powerful in a minimally styled environment), it cannot help but elevate your drinking experience.  Oh, and its performance… smooth as silk… one gliding movement and your beverage is prepared (which in our home will definitely prevent the battle wounds left by previous openers).  To get one for yourself, visit Frontgate online.

Winefully Yours- Bennett

It Doesn’t Matter If You Are Nautical or Nice…

Swordfish Cocktail ShakerYou don’t have to be a seafood or nautical fan to appreciate the simple modernist beauty of Frontgate’s  Swordfish Cocktail Shaker.  A stylish sculpture in gleaming chrome will invite comment at your holiday, or any other, gathering.  Stainless steel swordfish olive picks sold separately.   So, go ahead, shake it up!Winefully Yours- Bennett

Best Wine Lover Gifts from the 2011 Sherry-Lehmann Holiday Catalog

I have been a good dog this year… a really, really, really good dog.  And I know Santa will reward me with a nice rare filet mignon and new goose down dog bed.  If you have been a really, really, really good human this year, you may want to nudge Santa in the direction of the Sherry-Lehmann Holiday Catalog.

The catalog, like the store and website, of course contains copious amounts of wines and spirits for the festive human’s consumption, but also contains perfect gift ideas for the wine lover in all of us.

ThCity Wine Racke best for 2011, in our opinion, is the modern  L’Atelier du Vin City Wine Rack in Black (shown left).  It can be mounted vertically or horizontally and holds 9 bottles in style.

For a naturally sculpted wooden wine rack, we like the Bali Wine RackBali Wine Rack for 12 bottles (shown right).  Perfect as a table top object d’art in any room.  Both are under $100 and thus can be purchased in quantity to give and to keep one for yourself (since we already decided you have been really, really, really good!)

Cheers to a really, really, really good holiday season!  Winefully Yours- Bennett

Aside

Everyone dreams of having the big heavy oak door with antique iron work at the entrance to their wine entertaining area, but in today’s economy, not everyone may be able to afford such a feature. We just discovered a door … Continue reading

Chill… And Show It Off

Last week’s post introduced you to the great Skybar Home Wine System for chilling, serving, and preserving your wine.  This week I feel it my duty to alert you to other great wine accessory products by Skybar – the Wine Cool Cover and the Wine Glow Cover.  Both are perfect for taking your wine on the go, while keeping it perfectly chilled – WITHOUT ice!

The Wine Cool Cover features a no drip base where you place your bottle.  The bottle is then covered by a sleek and sculptural aluminum cover.  The cover is double insulated and blocks all UV light – can you say “Pinot poolside!”

For those of you, like me, who are a bit more flashy and enjoy wine presentation (aka a good show off), I suggest the Wine Glow Cover.  Basically the same as the Wine Cool Cover, but this model displays your wine under a clear double insulated cover.  And to highlight your wine even further, the LED lighted base illuminates your bottle from below.  It looks absolutely stunning with whites!

So dine al fresco, hit the pool, the dog park, wherever… and always have a perfectly chilled, impeccably dressed bottle of wine!

Winefully Yours- Bennett

Summer’s over – but the Mosquito is yet to come!

Now I am not a fan of long lead times for great new products… or getting all excited about something I cannot have for six months… but I can’t help it… I’m already excited about this one!  It’s called the “Wine Mosquito!”

The Wine Mosquito will be launched in early 2012 and is worth the wait.  It is a unique device that allows you to pierce (yes, much like a mosquito does you at the family BBQ) the cork of a wine bottle without exposing the contents to air.  For the happy casual drinker, this affords the easy ability to drink the wine without opening the entire wine bottle (do I hear bottle stoppers quaking in their boots?).  For a more serious collector, it provides the opportunity to taste an aging wine without compromising the contents.  Simply brilliant!

I have not actually used the Mosquito in person, but have been privy to its many testimonials and demonstrations.  I, too, must wait until next year for my very own (unless Santa has an advance lot).  You can go to their website to be added to email updates on the release of the Mosquito.

They have two sites… the edgier side of the “S’quito” at http://www.coldbacon.com/winemosquito.html  – fabulously and entertaining  site and, in my opinion, one of the best websites on the internet and should be required viewing for all online marketing students.  Worth the view, even if you never ever drink wine.  (Note to office hour surfers- turn down volume before visiting.)

And for those of you who prefer the traditional website, visit the “refined S’quito” at http://www.winemosquito.com/home.html

Go get on the list!!

Winefully Yours- Bennett

Help! The TSA agent took my wine!!!

Another nifty little item Mom picked up on her recent travels was this fabulous, and ever so practical, gem called the “Wine Skin.”

Now I am not sure how many of you humans have experienced the horror of being caught in the no win situation of heightened airline security measures and increased checked baggage restrictions… as you try to explain “nicely” to the ever so cooperative and friendly TSA security agent that you realize that your bottle of wine is over the allowed 3.4 oz carry on, but that maybe they could make an exception this one time as you just purchased it. No go!! That friendly security agent is eyeing your bottle for his evening’s dinner wine… “sorry ma’am, I am going to have to confiscate that.” Grumbling and frustrated, you no doubt stop and contemplate pouring your precious Saint Emilion into a multitude of stolen hotel shampoo travel bottles. Really? There has to be a better solution…

There is! The Wine Skin, which Mom bought in bulk to ferry her bounty of Sonoma wines back to New York, is the solution for safely transporting your wine in your checked baggage. Each wine skin is ideally shaped to snuggle your wine bottle in a tight sleeve of bubble wrap encased in water-tight plastic. Each “skin” features a super tight reusable seal to keep the transport bag closed… safe and secure!

So next time you need to transport vino via air… I suggest the Wine Skin over more “creative” solutions. Fly safely!!

Winefully Yours- Bennett

High end wine stemware moves East

Greetings all! Although I, being a “fine wine design canine,” sip most of my beverages from my stainless steel water bowl, I do understand that humans would never, ever, ever drink their beloved wine out of such a vessel. Humans require, among many things, refinement, sophistication, and elegance in what they put to their lips.

Within the wine community there is great debate as to whether it is really required to drink one’s wine from fine crystal stemware. True, many of the today’s better stemware artisans have turned to high technology to engineer glasses that perfectly position the contents on the drinker’s tongue for optimum enjoyment – so that may be cause for arguing in favor of fine stemware. But if you ask me, the best argument is that things just taste better when drunk from something pretty and expensive. Even orange juice, for goodness sake, tastes better when served in a champagne flute at Sunday brunch instead of the standard juice tumbler. Juice tumblers remind me of diners, don’t know why, but they do.

Oh, right, back to the subject of gorgeous works of art crafted from crystal, employed solely for drinking pleasure. Typically Europe holds the bragging rights to great crystal wine glasses, but recently Asia arrives on the crystal scene with Lucaris.

Lucaris Wine GlassNot that our household needed any more crystal stemware, mind you, but the beauty of these glasses just begged to be procured for the collection! They possess a thing,  light clarity not seen in many of the European brands. When illuminated, these glasses almost seem to float in air as if an ephemeral soap-bubble. The delicate crystal never competes with the wine, but provides the ultimate showcase for its many pleasures of the senses. Lucaris takes it beyond just aesthetic beauty, it also adds a note of humble practicality. Designed for the food service industry, these glasses are made for extreme durability – something every true wine drinker can appreciate.

Although I stand little chance, I do hope that some day I can upgrade from my water bowl… but you do not have to wait… you can go now… go now and enjoy the beauty of Lucaris!

Winefully Yours – Bennett