By Margaret Swaine
1. What are some good wine accessories worth buying?
Until screwcaps become ubiquitous, the most essential is a corkscrew. There are many types, styles and price levels. The most basic is the sommelier corkscrew that looks like a pocketknife with the worm (i.e. screw that winds into the cork) and foil blade folding into its base. These are inexpensive (generally less than ten dollars) unless you go for the ultimate luxury of those hand made by Laguiole which will set you back well over $100. My favourites for ease of use are made by Screwpull. Swissmar is the distributor in Canada – to find your nearest retailer call 187-swissmar (1-877-947-7627) or visit www.swissmar.com The Teflon coated worm and brilliant design pulls the cork out as you turn the screw. The basic table models cost around $40 while the top of the line professional lever model is amazing but pricey ($200). As a result there are many copycats. The best version is by Trudeau, a Montreal based kitchenware manufacturer that spends much time and money on research for their lines. Their Trulever that sells for $100 has a snazzy design that’s cool enough to leave displayed on the kitchen counter. Wine coolers are a handy item. Vacu Vin (www.vacuvin.nl) makes Rapid Ice Coolers ($15.) in colours and fun designs that you keep in the freezer and slip over a bottle to cool wine quickly. Systems to preserve an unfinished bottle of wine are useful for those who like to enjoy a glass at a time. Vacu Vin’s Concerto wine saver ($20. – $25.) is a wine pump with a vacuum indicator that clicks when all the air is out of the bottle. Swissmar sells a duo function one that purges air or with the flip of a knob puts air into a Champagne bottle to keep the bubbles under pressure ($30 a gift set). A spritz or three into the bottle and then you can recap with its own cork. I always use Screwpull’s Champagne “Star” to easily remove corks from bottles of bubbly. To recork these type of bottles you’ll need a “champagne stopper” which seals pressure, hence the bubbles, in the bottle. To decant a port without spillage, a wine funnel is handy. Both these latter two items can be found in various designs and prices at many retailers. Trudeau makes a nifty funnel ($30.) that comes with a stand, sieve and little saucer to catch drips. Swissmar has just come out with two new stainless steel funnels with stands ($26.) If you’ve opened a bottle that turns out to be harsh and tannic, The Wine Cellar Express made by B & W Marketing can come to the rescue. By putting the bottle on this high powered magnetic coaster, in about half an hour the wine tastes silkier. Finally Wine Away ($12/6oz) is a red wine stain remover that actually works. I keep a bottle handy at home and travel with a purse size one.
2. How should I store my wine?
There are a few major principles to keep in mind. Sunlight, heat and smells are enemies of wine. Therefore look for a dark, cool and clean area for storage. That means forget the furnace room, the top of the fridge (which lets off heat) or above the stove and any windowed area where the sun can reach the bottles. Winter cloth closets with mothballs, paint storage areas, or musty cellars should also be avoided. Vibrations can also be detrimental, dry air will cause the corks to shrink as they lose moisture and rapid fluctuations in temperature will prematurely age the wine. Therefore forego the inside of the fridge (unless it’s just for a few days), the laundry room and the garage. If you are in an apartment, a closet (but not the one where you store the cleaning fluids) will be best. However if you keep your place quite warm, the wine will age faster than if it’s kept at an ideal 57 to 59 degrees (14 to 16C). In a house a basement works best as long as it’s reasonable clean and not wet or musty. Humidity however is good; around 70 per cent to 95 per cent (above that mold can set in) is ideal. If you have a serious collection, you will want to consider building a special temperature controlled wine cellar room. Professional cooling units are available that humidify as well as cool a room. Vintage Keeper (to find a dealer near you visit www.vintagekeeper.com or call 905-501-8582) is a Canadian manufacturer that sells cooling units, racking systems and prefab wine cellars all over the world. They sell thousands annually of their most popular 220-bottle wine vault ($1,595), a self-contained, refrigerated unit that plugs into an electric outlet.
3. Does the shape or type of glass matter when serving a wine?
Yes you can appreciate wine’s aromas and flavour components much more in a fine glass (with stems) appropriate to the type of wine. Georg Riedel (www.riedelcrystal.com), tenth generation of an Austrian stemware making family, has made a career of proving this point. His company produces five million lead crystal glasses a year and he travels the world to convince skeptics that the size and shape of a glass profoundly affects our perception of the wine. Riedel sells a different glass for just about every type of wine but I think that’s going too far. A few basics are all most of us need. First all glasses are best if basically clear to show off the colour of the wine, and for the optimum feel against the lips, as thin and fine as is affordable and practical. For sparkling wines a tall elongated tulip or flute shaped glass with a capacity for 8 to 12 ounces works to hold in the bubbles and concentrate the aromas on the nose. A balloon shaped glass, holding anywhere from 12 to 24 ounces will aerate red wines because of its shape and works well for burgundies, barolos and other elegant, refined wines. An oval shaped bowl that’s narrower at its mouth, with a capacity from 12 to 24 ounces, is ideal for cabernet sauvignons, merlots and other bordeaux style reds. For whites, a capacity of 10 to 12 ounces is enough in a regular tulip shape or oval. Riedel’s Vinum line (about $25 per stem) is machine made crystal hence costs less than their hand-blown ($35. to over $90.). German manufacturer Speigelau (www.spiegelau.com) makes a knock-off of the Vinum line called Vino Grande that’s about half the price and very good. Waterford Crystal (https://www.waterford.com) in their Marquis Vintage Tasting Collection has created a stylish line, well shaped for wine appreciation. NovaScotia Crystal’s mouth-blown, hand-cut line are on the heavy side for wine but my husband loves their single malt scotch glass ($83.) which can be ordered on line at www.NovaScotianCrystal.com or 1-888-977-2797.