Wine Racks Blog

One of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, Haiti in recent years has struggled with problems ranging from near-constant political upheaval, health crises, severe environmental degradation and an annual barrage of hurricanes, which killed an estimated 800 people and caused vast damage in 2008.

On Jan. 12, 2010, a massive earthquake struck Haiti, reducing much of its capital to rubble. It was the worst earthquake in the region in more than 200 years. Since then, there have been aftershocks, causing even more devastation.

It’s far too easy to feel powerless to help in the face of such heartbreaking news. But you can help!

To give to the Red Cross, phone users can text the word “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10, and when prompted, hit “YES” to confirm the donation.

The donation is added to the cell user’s bill, and receipts are available.

Other text-message codes for donations include:

• Text the word “HAITI” to 20222 to donate $10 to the Clinton Foundation Haiti Relief Fund.

• Text “HAITI” to 25383 to donate $5 to the International Rescue Committee.

• Text “HAITI” to 85944 to donate $10 to the International Medical Corps.

Also, some of my favorite companies have started donation campaigns for relief work in Haiti. Through January 28, StacksAndStacks.com will be donating $10 on every order over $100 dollars to the American Red Cross. You can make this a philanthropic double whammy - buy some organizing supplies for a local charity in your neighborhood, and if you spend over $100 dollars, you’ll be helping Haiti as well! It’s a new version of “Think Globally, Act Locally” - it’s “Act Locally, Act Globally”!

Can you believe 2009 is almost over? Soon it will be 2010. I’m excited about the new year, except I’m disappointed that I won’t be able to wear those New Year’s Eve glasses, where the lenses are the ‘00′ in the number. Oh well, times change! Whether you’re raising a glass of wine, champagne or milk - here’s a list of New Year’s toasts you can say:

In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, but never in want. ~ Traditional Irish toast

Stir the eggnog, lift the toddy, Happy New Year, everybody. ~ Phyllis McGinley

Here’s to us all, God bless us every one! ~ from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol

Here’s a toast to the future, A toast to the past, And a toast to our friends, far and near. May the future be pleasant; The past a bright dream; May our friends remain faithful and dear. ~ Anonymous

Cheers to you, Cheers to me, Have a Happy New Year’s Eve!

Beaujolais Nouveau is the most famous of the vins de primeur – wines that are permitted to be sold the same year they are harvested. Released the third Thursday of November, the BoVo seems to go hand in hand with the holiday season. It’s a lighter, fruitier wine with very little tannins.

Now, I know the bum rap that Beaujolais Nouveau gets – it’s immature, just grape juice with alcohol - but I think it’s a guilty pleasure. It’s pretty inexpensive, and since it’s meant to be served slightly chilled along with food, I think it’s a great wine for impromptu winter dinners with friends. In fact, it doesn’t even need a dinner to go along with it! Just load up a serving cart with some good bread, cheeses and a bottle or two! It appeals to the part of me that likes to snack on leftovers directly from the refrigerator, with the door open. In pajamas.

Plus, Beajolais Nouveau is a great choice for when you’re making mulled or warmed spiced wine. Because of it’s light nature, it doesn’t take on that cloying quality that some hot wine drinks have. Try topping off your next party with a few rounds of warm BoVo! You and your guests are sure to be delighted.

When I turned 21, one of my gifts was a large, 36 bottle wine rack. Not only was I brand new to the world of wine, but I was living in a tiny apartment – with roommates! Not to mention, on my starving student budget, it would have been hard to fill it with 36 bottles of quality wine. The huge wine rack was totally impractical for my life – and, to tell the truth, I felt kind of intimidated by it!

Which is why I say, with the wisdom of experience – if you’re just starting to drink and collect wine – go modular! Most modular racks start small – holding only six bottles. Check out this Modular Storage System! If you start noticing that you’ve constantly got more than six bottles on hand, all you have to do is buy another component, and snap (or stack) them together! Presto – double the storage. It’s a great way to introduce people to the ways of wine storage, without scaring them off. Plus, modular storage systems are easy to move around! You can move them from room to room depending on your mood. Am I saying that modular wine racks are great decorative tools? Yes, I believe I am!

Modular storage racks also make great housewarming presents – especially when they’re already stocked! (Hint, hint!)

It’s been a while since we’ve had a big, furniture sized wine rack on the blog. Tabletop wine racks are great for small spaces, but if you have the luxury of a large living space, why not make the most of it? There’s no sense it not enjoying life to the fullest, and there’s no sense it not taking advantage of extra space to show of your love of wine and wine racks. So, let’s take a look at this Bistro Wine Rack!

Elegant and beautiful, this Celtic Bistro Wine Rack will help with storage, display and organization all in one. Two lower hand stained rattan baskets function as removable drawers while two open shelves and a top rack are extremely versatile. Twelve bottle racks and a set of glass holders makes this an ideal addition for any beginning wine connoisseur. Decorative scrollwork laces the top for a classic touch.  Constructed of powerful, dependable metal, with rattan storage baskets.

I love how the strong metal complements the natural beauty of the rattan baskets! This is the sort of centerpiece style wine rack that lets your guests know that:

You are have very good taste.

and

You like wine.

I’m always impressed if I’m at somebody’s house, and I can tell what their passion is as soon as I enter! Take my friend Emily, she is a dedicated stamp collector. When you go into her house, you are greeted by posters of stamps. She has stamp themed china in her kitchen. She even has sheets with stamps on them! So, if you like wine, why not get a big wine rack? It only makes sense!

All right. I’ve been asked about this particular product too many times now, so it’s finally time we talk about The Wine Rack.

Yes, the Wine Rack is a bra type apparatus, that can be filled with wine, beer, or any other beverage. It can hold up to 25 ounces, and increase your bustline up to two cup sizes! Apparently, the younger crowd likes this sort of thing for pub crawls, or concerts or other things. However, I can think of several reasons why this is not a practical way to store wine.

1. Wine needs to be kept at a proper temperature. If you are wearing this, chances are your wine could be getting up to 80 or 90 degrees. That would utterly ruin the quality of your wine, and degrade the taste of the wine.

2. If this is meant to sneak wine into establishments that would otherwise not let you drink alcohol, I’ve got news for you - that’s illegal, and you will end up in jail. You might think jail is glamourous, and you will get to meet Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton, but that is not the case. I think. I wouldn’t know for sure, because I’ve never been to jail, because I don’t do things that would involve jail as a consequence.

3. If it increases your cup size by two sizes, you will stretch out your shirts. Buying new shirts in this economy seems like an unnecessary expense.

Now, I know I sound like a stick in the mud, but I’m not. I know how to have a good time. One time, in college, I stayed up so late that I was 5 minutes late to my morning history class. So don’t tell me that I haven’t lived on the edge. I just think wine racks are serious business, and you shouldn’t have your wine rack be part of your wardrobe!

Anyway, what do you think? Let me know in the comments!

Some people say that we are living in the electronic age. Well, that’s probably true, but I think we’re also living in the infrared technology age! At my day job, we have an infrared retinal scanner, and I think it’s just the neatest thing ever. Although, I don’t think I’m supposed to talk about it. Okay, forget you heard anything. Anyway, that infrared technology has come to the wine cellar with this Infrared Wine Thermometer.

Sometimes when you’re checking the temperature of your wine, all you have to go by is how the bottle feels in your hands. What if you naturally have cold hands? You’re not going to be able to accurately gauge the temperature. Likewise, if you’re one of those people with warm hands, you’re not going to know exactly how cool the bottle is.

That’s why this keychain style wine thermometer is a must. Using infrared technology, this thermometer detects wine temperature from outside the bottle. Simply put the end of the thermometer on the bottle to read internal temperature. Made of premium quality stainless steel, this wine thermometer features a laser-inked wine menu and upscale thin cylinder with a keychain hanger.

I love the fact that this thermometer is so portable. You can take it wine tasting, or take it over to your friends house for a dinner party. You can even make a little game of it, by having people guess what they think the temperature of the wine is, and then you can verify who is the closest to being right. It would be a fun party game, and a great way to get to know each other.

Have you found any great wine gadgets lately? Wine racks are great, but they’re not always portable, and it’s nice to be able to show off a cool gadget when you’re traveling. So let me know what you’ve seen lately!

Summertime can definitely be a little too warm for a hearty bordeaux or merlot, but just because the weather is warm doesn’t mean you have to give up on drinking wine.

A great summertime wine is Pinot Grigio. Pinot Grigio, when produced with a little love, can be an utterly charming wine! Unpretentious, with flavors of citrus and stone fruit, light floral notes, and a bracing minerality that just cries out to be enjoyed from your patio.

Pinot Grigio is the Italian name for the French grape Pinot Gris. It’s like a trip around Europe whenever you say it. It’s starting to gain a lot of popularity, and new vineyards devoted to Pinot Gris are popping up from New Zealand to Oregon.

You can find a lot of quality Pinot Grigio for under 15 dollars, which makes it great for BBQs or lazy summer afternoons. Pinot Grigio is best served chilled. If you just bought a bottle, and don’t have time to chill it in the refrigerator, there’s a solution! Take a look at the Vinotemp Electric Beverage Cooler! This easy to use wine cooler plugs into standard outlets and keeps wine, beer or soda at the perfect drinking temperature, between 28.4-46.4 degrees. Wheels make relocating a piece of cake! Two side shelves are great for setting drinks or cutting garnishes, and a hanging basket offers extra storage, perfect for bottle openers and accessories.

So, you’re all set! You’ve got the wine, you’ve got good friends, and good food. What more do you need for a perfect summer day! How’s your summer going? Let me know!

Wine never goes out of style - I think we can all agree on that. But sometimes, home decor styles come and go. For instance, what about avocado colored kitchen appliances? Remember those? Or shag carpeting, in that peculiar burnt orange color? Or those weird dolls that were also toilet paper roll cozies? Those things were very odd, and I still don’t really understand the logic behind them. Somethings are better left in the mists of time, that’s for sure.

Trends may come and go, but some design elements remain timeless. Like modern style wine racks. What’s better than a tall wine rack, with bold lines and striking decor? How about a wine rack with those traits, that’s also a wall rack? Or it’s freestanding? And how about two of them? Sounds good, right? Let’s take a look.

Here’s the Blomus Wall Mounted Wine Holder. This wine rack holds the bottles vertically, so you can display the full range of your wine labels. If your labels are a little dull, you can always turn the bottles the other way to just show the bottle. This stainless steel wine rack holds up to eight bottles of wine. Standard sized bottles, that is. This wine rack looks great whether you alternate the directions of the bottles, or just keep them in one direction. The choice is yours! I love the striking look that the chromed steel has. It would be great in a kitchen that gets a lot of light - this rack would be gleaming!

There’s also this sleek wine rack. This tall wine rack is freestanding. A freestanding wine rack means that you can move it around when you redecorate, and you don’t have to worry about putting holes in the wall. This wine rack holds up to 12 bottles, and features a walnut finish. This wooden wine rack also has silver colored accents.

So, as you see, modern design can be a great choice for your home. It’s versatile, and functional, and those are traits that ought never to go out of style.

Sometimes I think it would be really cool to be a superhero. First - you have superpowers (By the way, choose quick! Flight or invisibility! You can’t have both, and whichever one you choose shows the character of your inner being.) Second - you have a cool costume, which really solves that ‘what should I wear today’ issue. Third - You get a cool superhero name. My superhero name would be Conflict Diamond. Fourth - you have an inner sanctum, with recessed areas only available to you. As a middle child, I would have greatly appreciated that while growing up.

Well, this is a wine cellar that is truly appropriate for any aspiring superhero. The Spiral Cellars will come to your home and create a custom wine cellar for you. They can create walk-down cellars, hidden door cellars and more. I’d want one where I pull a candle stick, and the fireplace moves away to reveal an epic wine cellar.

Check this one out!

Pretty cool, eh? All you need is a loyal butler and you’re good to go.

But I must admit, stately Wine Racks Blog Manor isn’t quite - well - stately enough to accommodate a wine cellar of this size. That’s why people have taken the idea of a spiraling wine rack, and scaled it down. Way down. Down enough for your kitchen table. May I present Le Loop?

Le Loop is a single bottle wine rack, perfect for a countertop or table. This stainless steel loop has pewter bead accents at the tips. Le Loop is tres chic, no? The good thing about this wine holder is that it’s perfect for the Fortress of Solitude, or that cheap one room apartment that Peter Parker lives in. In fact, it’s downright super. It will also be a great addition to a mere mortal’s home, and anyone who says otherwise is a villain.