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If you have ever wanted to open a bottle of wine, but forgot your wine key – here is a solution.

Watch and enjoy!

You may have heard of the Decantus.

Watch how it works.

Grapes are a unique fruit in their power to create some of the most sought-after drinks in the history of mankind, and even today.  There are more than 600 grape varieties in existence; however, only a select handful of them are used to create everything from wonderfully dry white wines to deep, luscious reds.  Each grape is utilized for its varying characteristics.  These characteristics are almost like a grape’s fingerprint: skin thickness, acidity, color, size, yield per vine, and, of course, flavor.  Many grapes can include some of their surroundings when it comes to flavor, influenced by the soil they grow in and the plants around them.

Particular grapes are considered “noble grape varieties” because of their distinctive flavors.  However, in order to obtain a truly noble grape, they must be grown in the right sort of micro-climate and utilize specific winemaking techniques to bring them to their full potential.  Sometimes learning about the grapes that made the wine and where they were grown can help you determine which wines you will enjoy over others.

There are times when getting the foil off the wine bottle transforms into a bit more of a chore than you bargained for.  It can be especially frustrating if you have guests waiting.  Looking into a bartender’s toolbox, you may find some pretty delightful wine toys, and the foil remover is one of them.

Foil removers make the job amazingly easy.  They are small tools that can fit anywhere you need them to in your kitchen, and also come in various styles, which allows you to choose precisely what you like.  Whether your style calls for silver heart-shaped cutters or a wooden hand-held version, there are plenty of choices available to you.  All it takes is a quick twist with the cutter, and voila!  The foil is gone.  No more nonsense with scissors or knives for those bottles that provide a challenge with their foil.

All you have to work on now is the cork!

Ever since the creation of wine and the discovery that oxygen + wine = a less than fresh taste, people have attempted to create wine-preservation gadgets to help keep wine fresh.  You can find many on the shelves at stores, but the real question is knowing whether or not they actually work.

A Vacuvin is a pump device that uses suction power to draw the air out of the bottle, which then leaves behind a partial vacuum.  While the idea behind it isn’t a bad one, several testers find that it has no real effect in maintaining wine freshness.

The Private Preserve claims that it is the number one wine preserver in the world.  You spritz in a bit of nitrogen into a bottle, and because nitrogen is heavier than air, it settles in as a layer over the wine, thus protecting the wine from oxygen.  So far, testers are so-so about this gadget.

You can always go completely old school and drop clean glass marbles into a bottle, forcing the wine to the neck, pushing oxygen out completely.  Of course, as you reach the end of the bottle, you’ll need a lot of marbles!

Corsica is a lovely little island just off the southern coast of France that produces some delectable wines that carry along subtle flavors and light tones that will put a smile on your face.  Some of the best Corsican wines come from right along the coast, giving them a light and airy quality.  Corsican wines are also best consumed when they are fresh, which also means they’re readily available and don’t take long to create.

Drink these wines with a light meal or aperitif – just before a meal as an appetizer to stimulate the appetite.  The best known Corsican wines are Patrimonio and Ajaccio.  Patrimonio includes both red and white grapes and can create a full body red wine, a light and fruity white wine, or a dry rose.  The Ajaccio takes 3 to 5 years with unique aromas such as pepper and candied fruits.  Try it with lamb or a bit of goat cheese.

The next time you find yourself in France, be sure to take a trip to Corsica to luxuriate in the soft sands, beautiful coastlines, and delicious wines. 

When you are cooking up a dish, throwing in some wine does not automatically make it into a gourmet meal.  Likewise, just because a meal includes wine does not necessarily mean it is a complex dish to make.

Many people aren’t sure how to handle wine in cooking.  The idea that wine makes a meal upscale often makes people afraid to use it.  They also don’t want to purchase a full bottle of wine, use it once, and then the rest of it slowly goes bad.  But there is nothing wrong or scary about cooking with wine.

This is exactly why when you decide to cook with wine, you choose a recipe that includes a wine you are willing to drink.  Many “cooking wines” actually lack much of the unique flavors that real wines have, and also include additives and other undesirable ingredients.  It is simply a good rule of thumb; cook with wines that you are willing to drink.  This also ensures that you will more thoroughly enjoy some of the flavors that a wine can impart upon a dish.

Getting the cork out of the bottle can occasionally turn into an unflattering escapade.  No one wants to wrestle with a wine bottle.  But corks are still the best when it comes to keeping a bottle fresh as the rest of us wait for it to blossom into its full maturity.  So while we can easily appreciate the job the cork does, getting it out so we can enjoy the wine is another matter.

Some typical cork removers do the job well enough.  Other, less sophisticated versions can occasionally eat up the cork, leaving you with a cork in bits.  Not quite what one wants when a bottle is being opened.  Bartenders ready to offer up wine take a different approach with a mounted cork remover.  These can either be mounted on the wall or on a counter, making them a very stable device as you work the cork free.  It is simply a matter of putting the cork in at one side, pulling a handle, and the cork is free.

Just about anyone can appreciate the ease of cork removal.  After all, when you love wine, you always know that the first thing it comes with is with a good cork!
For the finest in mounted cork removers, CLICK HERE

If you want to find some good wines but you aren’t sure where to go, then it may very well be time for a wine guide.

Take some time to peruse your local bookstore in search of wine guides.  Consider whether or not you are willing to go out of the country or if you just want to visit another state, and then choose your book accordingly.

There are many great wine guides to choose from, and most of them tend to put out a new book each year in order to keep information up to date.  Kevin Zraly brings out the American Wine Guide, which can be great if you want to stay within the United States.  Food & Wine Magazine has a wine guide and it is organized alphabetically by country, allowing you a broader look at the world.

Most wine guides are also small in size, which allows you to carry them wherever you decide to go.  They also tend to include additional information that you may find handy, from wine prices to a wine-tasting guide.

The most important wine region in France, the Bordeaux region has around 7,000 chateaux constantly producing delectable wines.  Bordeaux also has a huge range of wines that come out of the area.  In fact, there are 21 different appellations that are produced in Bordeaux:

Médoc

Haut Médoc

Margaux

Saint Estèphe

Pauillac

Moulis Saint Emilion

Saint Julien

Cotes de Castillon

Listrac

Cotes de Francs

Pomerol

Cotes de Bourg Graves

Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux

Fronsac

Barsac

Sauternes

Pessac Léognan

Bordeaux aoc/supérieur

Entre deux mers

Located in the southwestern area of France, it makes one-third of all high-quality French wines.  These wines also range greatly, from full-bodied red wines to sweet white wines.  Many of the wines made here are so good that a ranking system was created in order to separate the best of the best.  Though critics now question the system, it still can’t be denied that Bordeaux is a prime place to taste wine.