Wine Racks Blog

Well, the second month of 2009 has almost come to an end. February may be the shortest month, but it’s going out with a bang. February 28th is Open That Bottle Night.  Created by Wall Street Journal wine writers Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, OTBN is a great excuses to open that bottle of wine that you’re saving for a “special occasion”. You know how it is, you bought a bottle of wine a couple of years ago, and there it sits. In your wine rack. Waiting. Waiting for that perfect occasion. Well, as Dorothy and John put it:

“This is exactly why we invented Open That Bottle Night, a celebration of wine, friends and memories during which all of us finally pull the cork on that bottle and enjoy the aromas, tastes, tears and laughter that always spill forth. ”

While I’m a pretty optimistic person, even I know the importance of seizing the moment. We live in times where we need to cherish the ones around us, and celebrate life’s little successes. Besides, isn’t procrastination usually frowned upon? So, don’t procrastinate - open up that bottle! I think I’ll finally crack open a 2004 Harlan Estate that I got for my birthday. 

If you’re having your OTBN wine at dinner, why not display it on the table during the day? I just got this Blomus Stainless Steel Wine Holder, and I think it may become my new favorite tabletop wine rack. I like how it looks like a crazy paper clip, or one of those old-school hair barrettes. This wine rack does a really nice job of creating a showcase for your bottle.  With a centerpiece this nice, you may not even need a traditional bouquet of flowers.

A tabletop wine rack would be a great way to create anticipation for what will be a memorable night of good wine, good friends, and good times. Your friends will come over, see the wine, and you can spend some time talking about how fun it will be to drink it. Don’t forget to add the label to your wine tasting notebook! What will you be drinking this Saturday night?

Although sangria was popular in Spain for many years, it first gained popularity inAmerica during the 1964 World’s Fair. I love sangria, it’s easy to whip up and extremely versatile. You can make it with red or white wine, add any fruit you like, and finish it up with some carbonated water. In Portugal, it’s common to add some cinnamon to sangria!

Sangria is a perfect drink, no matter the season. In the warm months, it feels refreshing and invigorating. In the cold months, the freshness of the fruit makes you feel like you’re drinking summer in a glass. Sangria is also a perfect drink to serve to unexpected guests - it’s a way of stretching out a bottle of wine! Much better than giving everybody tiny thimble-sized servings of a bottle!

Here’s one of my favorite Sangria concoctions:

• 2 oranges, washed and sliced thinly
• 1 apple, washed and sliced thinly
• 1 lemon, sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/4 cup of brandy
• 1 bottle of medium bodied red wine

Pile the sliced fruit into a large pitcher. Pour the sugar on top of the fruit, and let sit for 20 minutes. Add the wine and the brandy, and stir gently. I like to served the carbonated water on the side, so people can control how much fizz they get.

There are a lot of great ideas for Sangria recipes out there! I saw one using white wine, passionfruit and kiwis! That’s definitely one I’m going to try. Do you have any awesome sangria tips? Let me know!

So, you don’t have any counter space. And you don’t have any floor space. Cabinet space? Forget about it.

If this is your situation, you may have given up on having a wine rack. But guess what? Storage possibilities are all around you - literally! How about a wall mounted wine rack?

This Wine and Stemware Rack is a great solution for a small kitchen. It holds up to five bottles of wine, and can hold up to 15 wine glasses. Don’t worry, there are retaining bars on top of the rack - and the grooves they make hold the wine bottles in place. Plus, if you’re not much of a wine drinker, but enjoy shaken drinks like martinis or cosmopolitans, this wall mounted rack would be a great way to accommodate liquor bottles and cocktail glasses.

If you want a wall mounted wine rack that’s a little bigger - and you like a modern, minimalist look, here’s the Estate Wine Rack. This wine rack is crafted from steel and chrome - so it’ll really give your kitchen a clean look. It’s a whopping 35″ wide, so you’ll be able to fit a plethora of wine bottles and stemware. 

Another bonus of wall mounted wine racks is that they can actually help free up space in your cabinets! No more accidentally knocking over wine glasses when you reach into your cabinet - they’ll be safely stored on the wine rack!

I admit it. For a long time, I thought decanting wine was something that only really fussy people did. For instance, I saw it done on Frasier - not always the best reference for real-world advice. But over time, I was lucky enough to experience decanted wine, and now I’m a convert.

The thing about decanting wine is that both old and young wines benefit from a period of decanting. Decanting gives young wines a chance to blend with oxygen - which helps release the fragrance and flavor of the wine. When you decant a young wine, feel free to “splash” it into your decanter - it helps the wine to breathe.

Older wines benefit from decanting because it allows sediment to settle to the bottom, leaving you with a clean glass of wine. Slowly pour old wine into a decanter - that allows the fine sediment to go straight down.

Plus - decanters are just plain pretty! I like the Orbital Decanter.This crystal decanter comes with a steel base. It also has a tight stopper. Using a decanter can make an ordinary bottle of wine taste a little more extraordinary.

So, give your wine rack a new friend and consider getting a decanter. You won’t regret it!

There’s something very charming about the Fuji Wine Rack. This wooden wine rack can hold up to 12 bottles of wine. I think what I really like about it is how the wine bottles alternate from tier to tier. It reminds me of a building block set.

This one of those wine racks that also works well as a serving table! Or put your favorite wine guide on the top of this table.

The Mendoza Rolling Wine Cart has all the potential to become party central. It can hold up to 8 bottles and 12 wine glasses. It has a storage drawer, and there’s a railing around the open storage area - so it can safely hold more bottles.

Plus did I mention it rolls? That’s a great feature for dinner parties - you know how it seems everybody first congregates in the kitchen, then the party moves out to the dining room and living room? Just roll the Mendoza Cart wherever you need it as the evening progresses!

I’m really starting to like floor wine racks?Have you seen any good ones out there lately?

It happens to the best of us - you’ve got an open  bottle of wine left over. Or perhaps, you got a less than stellar bottle - and you just don’t feel like drinking it. Don’t pour it down the drain! Give it a new, delicious life as Spiced Wine Syrup.

Spiced Wine Syrup is a totally decadent way to utilize leftover wine. Sweet, spicy, and boozy - it’s the perfect accompaniment to vanilla ice cream, or drizzled over brownies with whipped cream. It’s also good for dunking biscotti! Also, poached peaches or pears with this syrup - utterly sublime.

Mulled Wine Syrup

• 1 bottle of red wine
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 vanilla bean (split with insides scraped and mixed in)
• 1 star anise

Place everything into a medium pot or a skillet. Bring it to a boil. Lower to a simmer, and reduce until the liquid is reduced by a third. It will be slightly syrupy - it’ll get even more syrupy as it cools. Strain out the spice solids, and refrigerate your syrup.

Now, I do believe this keeps indefinitely. However - I can’t say that for sure because it never lasts too long in my house!

Do you need a way to store your delicious, gourmet, extra fancy mulled wine syrup? How about a Glass Canister with a Rubber Seal from StacksAndStacks.com? The rubber ring creates a vacuum seal that protects the quality of your food. Plus, it’s pretty enough to bring out to the table!

How do you deal with leftover wine? I’ve heard some success stories about turning it into red wine vinegar. If I try that, I’ll let you know. Who knows what we can create by plumbing the depths of our wine racks?

You know that big movie with transforming robots - well, there’s a wine lover’s equivalent! Behold! The Expandable Wine Bar.

Way cool. This expanding wine cabinet provides a small footprint during the day. It has storage for 9 bottles, glassware, and a pull out drawer. However - when company comes over - it transforms into a full wine bar. Perfect for entertaining. You can serve snacks, people can gather around and drink, and when the party is over it transforms back into it’s smaller form. It’s 16″ wide in its small size, and 50″ wide when it’s in full form.

I love versatile furniture like this. It’s all about the element of surprise. “Oh hey everybody, gather round my wine bar. What? You don’t see it? Well, here it is!”. Then, wait for the applause.

So, if you’re looking to upgrade from your smaller wine rack - take a look at the Expandable Wine Bar!

Little known fact about me: I have the upper body strength of a newborn kitten. My puny arms - when added to my naturally small reserves of patience - have led to countless botched wine bottle uncorkings. Cork broken? Check. Cork seemingly irreversibly stuck half-way? Check. Cork stuck, then broken, with half of it going down into the bottle? Check, check and check.

Luckily, all that changed when I got a Cork Butler. And, if you don’t have access to a discreet British valet, this Cork Butler is the next best thing. The Cork Butler grips onto the bottle, you push the lever down, you pull the lever up and presto! In three seconds, you have an open bottle of wine. And there’s a foil cutter, which is much more effective than trying to pick off the foil with your fingernails.

So, my fellow noodle armed and patience deprived folk: say goodbye to your old corkscrew. The Cork Butler is the perfect companion to any wine rack. Brisk and efficient, I won’t be surprised if the next model has a voice chip so that it will say “Very good, madam” after it opens a bottle.