A wine thief is a glass or food-grade plastic pipette used in the process of wine making. It may be anywhere from 30 to 60cm (12 to 24in) in length and may have a bend near one end. The wine thief is used to remove a small amount of wine from a cask, carboy, or other fermentation device for testing. Wine funnels aid the decanting process by funnelling the wine into a decanter. Wine funnels are fitted with a gauze or mesh to trap natural deposits in the bottle. A tastevin is a small, very shallow silver cup or saucer traditionally used by winemakers and sommeliers when judging the maturity and taste of a wine. [4] Larger refrigerator-style units that store dozens of bottles at selected temperatures. These are useful for those who do not have access to a wine cellar, as temperature and humidity conditions can be replicated. Most units allow the user to select the ideal temperature for wine, and some even have options to control two separate areas for different wines. Some units are controlled by a thermostat. These can be Peltier units.

Yes. Like any kitchen utensil, give your corkscrew a good wipe with a damp cloth after use. Units like a Coravin require more rigorous cleaning procedures, so read up on your particular unit before use. During testing, we noted that while pros will love this unit, it has a learning curve. Consider testing out your first Ah-So with a few low-stakes bottles before opening a premier cru Burgundy. Also, note that no foil cutter is included with this unit, so you will have to use a separate knife. A good, high-quality Ah-So makes an excellent gift for any wine collector or advanced enthusiast in your life. MONOPOL Germany’s expertly crafted two-prong steel opener comes in a sleek, silver satin finish with a decorative cover and five-year warranty. A wine decanter is a glass serving vessel into which an entire bottle of wine is poured. They are used to remove sediment, aerate the wine, facilitate pouring, and provide elegant presentation. Decanters are important when serving older vintages which are more likely to accumulate potassium bitartrate crystal sediment in the process of aging; these can be removed both by filtering when pouring into the decanter – so that the wine in the decanter is sediment-free – or due to the shape of the decanter (flared bottom), which catches sediment. Decanters promote the aeration of wine by having a flared bottom, hence large surface area of wine, maximising the wine-air interface, thereby introducing more oxygen which changes the wine's bouquet and taste – it also allows the evaporation of undesirable organic compounds, particularly sulfides and sulfites; this use is controversial, and some argue that this is unnecessary and harmful, with swirling the wine in the glass being sufficient and preferable. [3] Because they are a serving vessel, not a storage vessel, they also can make wine pouring easier by preventing dribbling, and elegantly display the wine's color in clear glass, rather than the green glass used for storage. Besides its affordability, we noted during testing that it is easy to use and requires less skill than a waiter’s friend. If you’re not one to drink a lot of wine, but desire an opener for when guests swing by, this option is an excellent all-purpose option. However, keep in mind that there is no foil cutter, so you will have to use kitchen scissors or a paring knife to open the foil.

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2010) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Some wine stoppers can be vacuum-sealed with a hand pump, to remove oxygen from the bottle, thereby extending the life of the wine by several days after opening the bottle. A simple, double-walled or otherwise insulated container that keeps a chilled bottle of wine cold, also called a glacette.

If you drink wine often, you want something durable that will last through many bottles for years to come. It's also wise to think about extraneous parts that you may have to replace from time to time, including batteries. A wine aerator is a small, in-bottle, hand-held pour-through or decanter top device for aerating wine. These devices mix air into the wine as it flows through or over, increasing exposure to oxygen and causing aeration. They offer an alternative to swirling, traditional decanting, and to aldouze (i.e. to wait for wine to breathe). Purpose-built wine aerators became fashionable among enthusiasts by around 2010. [5] The Ah-So style is something that most wine professionals own. Featuring two prongs that slide down the sides of the cork, this tool is designed to gently and effectively pull old and brittle corks. This type of opener is great to have around if you drink the occasional older wine, but it’s not exactly essential for the casual everyday drinker and shouldn’t be the only one you have on hand. Still, having one is essential for wine lovers; if you feel that the cork in your older Barolo or your aged port is at risk, whip out this two-pronged opener to avoid having to use cheesecloth and a decanter.

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A Coravin is every wine pro’s secret weapon. While it’s not technically an opener, it not only pours your wine but preserves whatever you don’t drink. Essentially, you’re accessing your wine without actually opening the bottle. Think of it as a fancy tap that bypasses the cork using a needle and inert gas, allowing you to pour your wine without exposing it to oxygen, so it will keep as if you'd never opened it at all. Céline Bossart, the original author of this roundup, is a wine and spirits writer and sommelier-in-training. She interviewed Linda Trotta, director of North Coast Winemaking at WX Brands, and D.C.-based blogger and wine pro Alicia Chew for expert opinions and recommendations. There are a number of styles of wine aerators and approaches to accomplish aeration. While injection-style hand-held acrylic aerators are currently most common, in-bottle and decanter top aerators are also available. Sieve-style decanter top funnels have long been used for aeration and catching sediment. Aerators are made from food-safe plastic or glass, and decanter top aerators are commonly stainless steel. Under most use, a bottle opener functions as a second-class lever: the fulcrum is the far end of the bottle opener, placed on the top of the crown, with the output at the near end of the bottle opener, on the crown edge, between the fulcrum and the hand: in these cases, one pushes up on the lever.

Testing found this item very easy to use. We thought the learning curve was low and that it pulled out fresh glasses with ease. We were impressed with how the wine maintained its freshness, and we were able to enjoy a few glasses over the course of a week (even of an unfiltered natural wine that typically dies within a few hours of opening). All in all, the Coravin was surprisingly easy to use. It required minimal effort and poured a perfect glass of wine.A wine journal is a journal for recording notes on wine consumed or tasted. It provides a catalogue for the wine enthusiast to record information such as producer, region, vintage, price, date, name of store or restaurant, ranking and tasting notes for wine, champagne and liquors for future review. Some journals offer a space for pasting in the label. A bottle opener is a device that enables the removal of metal bottle caps from glass bottles. More generally, it might be thought to include corkscrews used to remove cork or plastic stoppers from wine bottles. Invented at the same time as the crown cork, it is the original bottle opener. But as well as being portable it also comes as a fixed device to be attached to vertical surfaces, often with a tray to catch the bottle tops. It does not open wine bottles. Works the same as the lever variation, except that it is attached to the wall, to allow for simpler bottle-opening, which can be done with one hand. The bottle cap can fall into a bottle cap catcher mounted below the opener, or it can be retrieved after removal from the bottle. Flexibility is also another factor to consider with the design of a wine opener. If you're drinking old wine, the cork may be decayed and fragile, and you don't want an opener that will completely destroy it. On the contrary, other openers may be more suitable for newer corks and even synthetic ones.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Bottle opener"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( January 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) If a lever opener is more your style, consider this elegant tool by Brookstone. With its ergonomic grip, streamlined metal construction, and new design defined by its extra-long lever for optimal leverage, you can pull any cork (natural or synthetic) with little to no effort in three seconds flat. The saucer-like cups were originally named by Burgundian winemakers [4] and allowed them to judge the clarity and color of wine that was stored in dim, candle-lit wine cellars. Regular wine glasses were too deep to allow for accurate judging of the wine's color in such faint light. Tastevins are designed with a shiny faceted inner surface. Often, the bottom of the cup is convex in shape. The facets, convex bottom, and the shiny inner surface catch as much available light as possible, reflecting it throughout the wine in the cup, making it possible to see through the wine.A simple opener is a piece of metal with a rectangular or rounded opening in one end and a solid handle large enough to be gripped between the thumb and forefingers on the other. The opening contains a lip that is placed under the edge of the bottle top, pulling it off when upward force is applied to the handle end of the opener.