QUESTION: Isn’t box wine by definition cheap and horrible and nasty and low quality?

ANSWER: No!! You have outdated views of box wine! Box wine has risen in quality by 100%, and many reputable vintners are getting in the boxing ring ( ha  ha ).  For instance, Chateau de Bonhoste Bordeaux Blanc $33.99 for 5 Liters.
This crisp blend of Muscadelle, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon has classic slate/mineral notes and a dry finish, along with fruity burst of kaffir lime and grapefruit. Does that sound cheap and horrible? No. It sounds delightful.

QUESTION: Five liters? That’s a lot of wine. Won’t it go bad?

ANSWER: No!! As Maggie Hoffman said “Unlike a bottle, which goes bad after a few days even when you pump the air out, spray preservers in it, or dance around it waving your hands in the air, wine in a box lasts. Inside the box, the wine bag collapses as you drink and the liquid doesn’t get exposed to oxygen. We’ve been told the shelf life after opening is around seven weeks, and so far, the wine we opened six weeks ago is still tasty. You can have a half-glass with dinner, or put a cup or two in the stew you’re making, and not worry about what you’re going to do with the rest. No more throwing out bad half-bottles.” Well said, Maggie. Well said.

QUESTION: Won’t box wine make wine racks obsolete?

ANSWER: No! You can’t just stack wine boxes on top of each other - that would look bizarre. But perhaps wine racks will evolve. If anybody wants to send me a prototype of what a wine box driven society would like from a wine rack - let me know in the comments.

The 9 Bottle Wine Storage Rack is a great way to store your bottles in an elegant and modern fashion. This wine rack’s modular design allows for adding additional units side by side on the ground to organize a larger wine collection. The nickel-plated steel wine holder is great to keep in your kitchen, cellar or anywhere else you plan to keep your wine of choice.

How are you celebrating Spring? Have you bought a new wine rack yet? Also, do you know of any other fun seasonal traditions? Let me know, I’d love to pair a cultural celebration with a wine rack.

Isn’t he just dreamy? The contemporary satin nickel metal is complemented by a Black Coffee finished wooden storage base. The storage base on this wine storage rack includes a useful pull-out drawer and matching nickel knob, felt lined and great for wine-accessories. This wine rack holds up to 6 bottles. And all of my problems I was having - the lack of a dynamic yet sophisticated tabletop wine rack for my dining table? Well, Howard makes them all go away!

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”!

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!)

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!

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!