The Essential Wine Tool Kit

Seven must-haves for optimum wine drinking consumption

By Henri Schock

Our favorite corkscrew. We all have one, and without it we would be lost looking into an empty glass of nothing (unless you find a screw cap, of course). But once that cork has been pulled, what do you do with the bottle? Well, drink it of course! But, what’s the best way to consume this juice? What is the appropriate vessel to put it into? What do you do with half drunken bottle on that off chance you don’t finish it? And, with all this wine you’ve been drinking, how on earth will you begin to remember what each bottle was like?

As a carpenter with his tools, a wine drinker needs the proper gear to guarantee that every experience is a pleasant one. Forget all that gimmicky shit you’ve seen; this is the real deal—your essential tool kit for the everyday wino.

1. The corkscrew is the king of wine accessories. As it’s difficult to say which one is better than the next, the one I endorse (along with many of my wine geek and foodservice amigos) is the double-hinge corkscrew. With less torque on the cork and ease of use, you can ensure a clean, fully intact cork pull every time.

2. Once the top is popped, the natural tendency is to reach for a glass. A plastic Santa-face goblet, keg cup from last night’s party, Ball Mason canning jar, or whatever else you might have that’s clean. STOP! Wine drinkers need a decent wine glass in their grip. My suggestion—keep your wine drinking segregated with a red wine and a white wine glass. If that is too much, a universal glass is a great option, too. Whatever you choose, look for a stemmed glass with a slight bulbous shape, thin lip, and light in weight. In wine glass land, the lighter the glass the better.

3. For those of us wino-philes who like to drink wine young (I’m guessing 99% of you) or have that special bottle waiting to be opened in the cellar, there are two essential wine tools you’ll need. For maximum aeration in your younger wines, look to the newest technology to hit the industry—aerating funnels. There is an onslaught of wine aerating tools hitting the market, with the original being the Vinturi. Many of them claim the same results—pour your wine through the magical funnel and witness an aeration miracle. What normally takes two hours in a traditional decanter only takes seconds through these funnels. If Oprah endorses it, how could you not give it a shot?

4. The traditional decanter might seem archaic when compared to these new aerating devises, but wine isn’t always about speed and convenience. Slow down, grab your decanter, and bring the romance back into your wine drinking. While decanters will pump life into your young wines, it will also help prevent sediment from forming in your glass. Plus, your wine looks beautiful in there. If your decanter is sitting at home collecting dust, bring it out sometime. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

5. It’s a weekday, you open up a bottle, yet you find it difficult to convince yourself that cashing a whole bottle on a Tuesday is the best idea. To preserve your wine to tomorrow, or even Sunday, pump evil oxygen out with a wine vacuum pump. Use it as many times as you need until you find the end of the bottle. It’s sure to preserve the life of your wine for up to a week.

6. 3, 2, 1…Happy New Year! Every other day, you might find it unsettling chugging copious amounts of sparklers. A similar concept to vacuum pumps, but specifically designed for sparkling wine, champagne stoppers will keep the fizz in your bubbly for an enjoyable mimosa both Saturday and Sunday.

7. After consuming your favorite beverage, it would be a shame if you couldn’t remember exactly what you saw, smelled and tasted. Because we don’t all have photographic memories and can’t remember today the subtle cassis notes from the 2002 Abeja Cabernet Sauvignon we had two weeks ago, grab a journal. They come in an array of sizes and styles, which you can find at any local wine shop. My advice is to find one that is tailored to your specific wine drinking style. If you’re new to tasting and have trouble describing what you’re drinking, they have journals to walk you through these steps. If scrapbooking labels is your thing, they have those, too. For the people that like writing five pages of notes just about the finish, you won’t find anything like that. I’m sure you can pickup a moleskin and create your own makeshift journal. The point is, get writing and start documenting these lovely wines you’ve been drinking. It’s worth your time.