Proper tools add to pleasure for wine novices, aficionados

Aerators are growing in popularity as wine drinkers seek to cut down on the time spent letting their wine breathe. A Vinturi aerator like this one will aerate wine in the time it takes to pour a glass.
Aerators are growing in popularity as wine drinkers seek to cut down on the time spent letting their wine breathe. A Vinturi aerator like this one will aerate wine in the time it takes to pour a glass.

— Not everyone who enjoys wine will end up being a collector. In fact, most wine sold in the United States is consumed almost immediately, according to Clark Trim, owner of Colonial Wines & Spirits in Little Rock.

“The national statistic is that most of the wine sold in the United States is consumed within 24 hours,” he says.

That doesn’t mean those wine drinkers don’t need some tools to help them along the way, however. The No. 1 item Trim and other experts recommend for any wine drinker is a good glass.

GLASSY-EYED

Wine glasses come in different shapes and sizes from fine Riedel glasses that cost a pretty penny to the break-resistant Wine Enthusiast Fusion glasses made from crystal infused with magnesium to make them more durable. There is a different style of wine glass for each varietal of wine from Chardonnays and Moscato to Cabernet and Pinot Noir. As a rule of thumb, white wine glasses are slimmer with smaller rims, while red wine glasses tend to have wider bowls and rims.

“The shape of the glass has everything to do with how the wine hits your palate,” says Kim Crawford of Liquor World in Fayetteville. “When the wine hits your tongue, the glasses are designed to direct it to the right point on your palette.”

Not every wine drinker can afford a glass for each varietal, but wine enthusiasts tend to have at least a good set of red wine glasses and a good set of white wine glasses at their disposal.

“Typically, if you’re going to have a red wine glass and a white wine glass, you’re looking for a Cabernet-Savignon glass on the red side and a Chardonnay glass on the white side,” says Marshall Tillman III of Wine Enthusiast.

POP THE CORK

Another item every wine drinker should have is a good corkscrew. Finding the right corkscrew is a matter of personal taste, Crawford says.

“There are people who swear by those old-fashioned, winged corkscrews, and I personally don’t care for those,” she says. “The most handy corkscrew I have at my house that I use all the time is a plain old waiter’s corkscrew.”

Trim, on the other hand, recommends either a rabbit corkscrew or a Cork Pop. The former is a two-handled device that pops the cork out in one smooth motion without a lot of twisting or elbow grease.

The latter uses air to pop out the cork.

“Cork Pops are kind of high-tech,” Trim says. “You actually insert a needle down into the cork, and then apply air to gently release the cork out of the bottle.”

The process keeps corks - especially on older bottles of wine - from breaking.

One of the most high-tech options on the market is the Electric Blue, an electric, push-button corkscrew.

“The Electric Blue is great if you don’t want to do anything but push a button,” Tillman says. “It does it all for you.”

The model is extremely popular with older customers and wine drinkers who lack hand strength, Tillman says. It also comes with a Vacu Vin that allows you to seal wine so that you don’t have to drink the entire bottle in one sitting.

Another wine gadget that’s growing in popularity is the aerator. Aerators speed up the “breathing” process and allow impatient wine drinkers instant gratification.

“Air is necessary to open wines up and to release locked-in aromas and flavors,” Trim says.

Here’s how it works: Instead of pouring wine into a decanter and letting it sit for 30 minutes to an hour, simply pour the wine through the aerator and enjoy. Vinturi and Nuance are two popular brands of aerators - although each serves a different purpose.

“The Vinturi really allows the wine to open up very quickly,” Tillman says. “It’s great for home, bar or vineyard use.”

The Nuance aerator, on the other hand, is a long tube that fits into a wine bottle and can easily be taken to restaurants or friends’ homes.

“It has screens to block sediments and a ton of holes to let the air get in,” Tillman says. “You can travel with it. So, when you go to a restaurant, you can just pop the Nuance right in the bottle.”

The popularity of aerators hasn’t dampened enthusiasm for decanters, Tillman says. “A lot of people will aerate into a decanter - especially for older wines that need an hour or two to open up,” he says. Decanters also work well as decor, particularly the Riedel decanters like the Mamba and Dragon models which are fun, decorative and functional.

HomeStyle, Pages 42 on 11/10/2012

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