GoGoKitty’s Wine Secrets

There is nothing quite like a good bottle of wine.  Its bouquet, colour and taste are important characteristics that will influence your purchase decision.But if you want to maintain that wine in excellent condition, the way you store your wine is just as essential as finding that perfect bottle of wine in the first place. To properly store your wine collection you need to consider how to insulate and how to maintain the correct humidity and temperature.

The right wine rack can help keep that expensive bottle of wine from turning into supermarket vinegar as any wine should never be stored upright and always kept slightly angled.  Equally important is the need to select wine racks that fit in with your home décor and express your personality.You can find some of the funkiest looking things that are considered wine racks ranging from multicoloured plastic ink blobs to what looks like an inside out peg board with wine bottles clipped in by the neck, hanging on the wall. Some are made from solid metal castings and are prime examples of functional modern art.   Giving these as wine gifts may also qualify as an artistic donation, but often function is sacrificed on the altar of form in the more unusual offerings.

The best wine racks are still probably the more traditional wood and metal creations that can look impressive as functional modern art.  Wooden wine cabinets will also store wine perfectly and conveniently and look great as a piece of designer furniture.Wine racks, whether ready-made or flat packed for self assembly, are designed to be versatile and robust using solid wood blocks and 18-gauge bright galvanised steel.The most popular choices tend to be Black Walnut, White American Oak, Maple, Douglas Fir or Ash.  Softwood racks are generally built from grade ’A’ furniture pine and it’s these which are usually supplied ’flat-pack’ for self assembly.

There are manufacturers out there to meet the needs of any person looking for a wine rack. Whether or not you are looking to custom build your own or buy one that is already made, there are literally hundreds of options available.

The growing prevalence of celebrity names (alive and dead) associated with wine seems to be a trend that’s almost irresistible.  True, we haven’t yet had a Michael Jackson cabernet, but the vineyards are crawling with vintages from dead celebrities including Elvis Presley (Elvis Blue Suede Chardonnay 2001, Jailhouse Red Merlot 2002, and Blue Christmas Cabernet 2002) and Jerry Garcia (Garcia Cabernet Sauvignon 2001) to name but two.Many other breathing celebs such as Sting, Olivia Newton John, Bob Dylan and former Bond girl Carole Bouquet (excellent name for a winemaker!) have recently started hawking their own wines or associated themselves with commercial vintages.

But before you consider breaking these publicity seekers on wine racks it’s best to realise that some seem to be doing it for the right reason: they are interested in making good wines.French actor Gerard Depardieu produces an excellent Lys de Volan Condrieu 2003 with the acclaimed Northern Rhone winemaker Alain Paret.However, the king of serious celebrity winemakers has to be Francis Ford Coppola.A wine buff from his childhood days on Long Island, Coppola got into the wine business in 1975,using the profits from the first Godfather movie to purchase most of Napa Valley’s Inglenook estate.  He has been one of the seminal figures in the valley’s rise to international acclaim and Niebaum-Coppola wines still command a dedicated following and make excellent wine gifts.

Other equally serious and perhaps unexpected wine making glitterati include golf players Ernie Els and Greg Norman who own vineyards in South Africa and Australia, respectively.The Greg Norman Limestone Coast Shiraz 2002 is quite restrained on the palate (particularly welcome in an Australian syrah).   At the other end of the spectrum must be Australian cricketer Shane Warne.  More used to a bottle opener than a corkscrew from his hard partying days, Warne’s foray into more genteel booze was greeted with a certain scepticism that he did nothing to dampen.He confessed it took him a while to understand what red wine is and what made a red and a white wine different!

Fine wine is expensive and relatively fragile but ages superbly in the sort of conditions found in underground cellars.  Most wine storage systems attempt to replicate this environment as closely as possible for a really healthy wine.  There are a number of companies who will cellar wine for you, but if your wine is intended for consumption, off-site storage has its drawbacks. You can’t just pop in and retrieve the bottles you want when you want and there are delivery charges each time you put in or take out—costs which soon mount up.

As a result, where space affords, most wine lovers find it more convenient to keep their wine at home and the bottle opener handy. Wine should be kept at a cool constant temperature in the dark, so for those of us lucky enough to have proper cellars, storing your wine in a wine rack will provide close to the ideal conditions.  That’s especially true with cork-sealed bottles which are best stored horizontally rather than upright.Humidity is also an important factor because it helps keep the cork in good condition. In a humid cellar a sound cork can comfortably last for around 70 years.

For most of us city dwellers, though, where living space is at a premium, a cellar is not available.  In that case a wine cooler or wine cabinet is the most versatile and affordable way of storing wine at home. Temperature-controlled storage conditions of some kind are a necessity as the vast majority of homes in the UK are not air conditioned, and during summer ambient temperatures can reach as much as 30° C. Wine coolers come in several different shape and sizes, ranging in price from the relatively cheap to the enormously expensive.Some are little more than adapted refrigerators, while the top of the range models are quality pieces of furniture designed with wine storage in mind.

Wine racks, whether ready-made or flat packed for self assembly, are designed to be versatile and strong using solid wood blocks and 18-gauge bright galvanised steel.They are robust and durable and provide convenient wine storage, but they can also be visually attractive and interesting items of furniture in their own right.Even without bottles, they can be surprisingly appealing in an architectural way.

Most hardwood wine racks are constructed from quality materials and are available in a variety of stains and finishes, including oiled or waxed effects.  The most popular selections tend to be Black Walnut, White American Oak, Maple, Douglas Fir or Ash.Softwood racks are generally built from top grade furniture pine and it’s these which are usually supplied ’flat-pack’ for self assembly.These wine racks too are available in a number of stain effects such as Natural, Light Oak, Yew, Mahogany, Rosewood, Dark Oak, Weathered Oak and Black Ash.Matching plinths are also available for a range of free standing hardwood and softwood racks.  

In the commercial sector, counter top wine racks offer the perfect combination of storage and display, holding bottles securely in a unit that is visually pleasing and functions as an effective counter top Point-Of-Sale system.    These counter top units come in variety of styles such as stainless steel or wooden finishes and will accommodate anything from six to nine bottles.  They provide easy access for serving staff and some even have matching glassware, so together they can enhance the ambiance of any bistro, wine bar or restaurant.

For both the business user and the more advanced and dedicated wine enthusiast with larger volume requirements,  a  wine cooler or wine fridge from major manufacturers such as Dometic, Liebherr, Transtherm, Artevino and Caple can also be both practical and stylish.Many feature glass fronts, so the wine collection can be seen without compromising the temperature.

Coming up with gift ideas can be a very frustrating thing that people must do from time to time. Many people are not able to think of what a person may want to receive as a gift, or you may be shopping for a person that has everything already. This can be one of the worst situations to be in when it comes to gift giving. A gourmet wine and cheese gift basket can relieve a person of this worry and be a very nice gift that most people would love to get.

Once you have decided that a wine gift basket is the perfect thing to mark the occasion that you need a gift for, you can then go about the task of planning it out. You need to put the wine in something. Seeing as most people drink wine chilled, an ice bucket makes a perfect choice for a container.

Try putting a corkscrew in the bucket as well. Many people are in need of this item when they want to open up a bottle of wine. I know in my own experience that it can never be found at the time that a person needs it. So, with this in mind it could be the perfect item to go with the wine.

Also a good option as a companion to the wine that you are giving is cheese. There are many different kinds to choose from and you can select one that will amplify the taste of the wine selection that you have made for the recipient.

While looking around the specialty shop, take a look at the variety of crackers that are also available. They could be the perfect little extra that you can add to the basket. It is always a nice snack when you pair cheese and crackers with one another.

If the gift is for a couple that is getting married, or celebrating an anniversary, they might like a pretty set of wine glasses that can mark the occasion for them. They will remember the thoughtfulness of the gift they received every time that they have a glass of wine from them.

You can do anything you want when it comes to wine gift baskets, all that it really takes is a bit of an imagination. Just let yourself go and brainstorm a bit. You will be surprised at the things that will come to mind. Keep in mind the occasion of the gift basket and the person or people that it is for and it will surely turn out to be a very well received gift.