By Peter Dunne of Vin Bouquet.
Practical barware that works brilliantly and is a talking point round the dinner table or at parties. That’s not as difficult to achieve as it may sound! If you’ve been disappointed by expensive gizmos and gadgets which promise to solve all your barware woes, then don’t despair. Here are some top tips of the type of products to look out for. ¡Salud! Cin cin. Cheers!
Chilling
If you don’t have room in your fridge to keep a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc on the off chance friends pop over or you just fancy a refreshing glass, then you need to look for quick solutions to chill that warm white wine. There are thin steel tubes you can keep in the freezer which you then just pop into the open bottle of white wine and it will chill in minutes or similarly flexible sleeves which you take out of the freezer and put round the bottle. There are also models with a built-in thermometer if you’re keen on getting the serving temperature just right!
Warming & Breathing
Did you know that reaching the correct temperature for a red wine will maximise its full bouquet and flavour? A quick way of reaching that temperature is to use a red wine sleeve which will warm cold reds to the perfect temperature in minutes. They work by activating a gel – on average wait 5 minutes for a light bodied red like a pinot noir and 12 minutes for full bodied reds like merlot. They’re reusable – simply simmer in boiling water for around 10 minutes or until the clear gel has returned.
Then there’s allowing your red wine to ‘breathe’. That’s another lengthy task unless you have an ‘aerator’ which basically speeds up the breathing process by aerating in the time it takes to pour out a glass full. There are some very expensive options on the market or you can opt for models you just pop into the neck of a bottle and pour.
Opening
Waiter’s friend, wing, lever, even electric corkscrews. The choice is yours and how deft you are at using them. Wing corkscrews are a good cost-effective model and there are some heavy-duty styles around if you need that extra push for plastic corks.
Opening Prosecco or Champagne though is a whole different league! It should be a celebration, not a battle and if you want to avoid the drama of flying corks (especially in the garden if your neighbour’s greenhouse is a bit too close!) then you need a champagne opener. Choose one with an ergonomic handle which gives you, comfort, grip and control. The models that retain the cork with the barrel are safest, requiring minimal effort.
Serving
Decanters can be a beautiful piece of theatre at a dinner table or just look fabulous on a sideboard! But they also serve a practical purpose too, especially if you opt for ones with integral aerators and pourers. It’s all about maximising the flavour of your favourite tipple, whether wine, spirit or liqueur.
Another practical – and in some scenarios essential – piece of kit are wine charms and glass markers. These are especially useful at parties to make sure everyone keeps hold of their own glass!
Preserving
As soon as you open a bottle of wine, it starts to oxidise and degrade. If you have wine left over then you need to look at solutions to preserve it. There are combination models available which are bottle stoppers and preservers and others which are vacuum pumps, removing the oxygen and slowing down the degradation. Remember it’s the oxygen that destroys the wine and it’s the air that maximises flavour!
Don’t forget the beer
This is simple – good solid opener if it’s a bottle and looking ahead to summer, if you’re out in the garden with friends and a BBQ, have some can or bottle coolers (basically neoprene sleeves) to keep the drinks chilled.
About the expert
Peter Dunne has over 35 years’ experience in developing innovative wine and drinks accessories, usually with a distinct USP, including products for chilling, preserving, warming and decanting wines, beers and spirits! Peter has a real passion for originality and is a member of the ACID (Anti Copying in Design) council. He is now in partnership with renowned Spanish drinks accessories brand Vin Bouquet, which is being stocked in-store and online at a number of local and national retailers this Christmas.
