Wine Gadgets

Reading the latest "Wine Enthusiast" over lunch made me feel like I do any time I visit a Sharper Image store - wow! what a lot of ridiculous, ridiculously expensive, and useless stuff! Get a life! But perhaps I'm wrong. So I'm prompted to ask...What is your favorite wine gadget and why? Are all of the aeration devices, instant wine aging tools, funnels, stainless steel wine kegs, $150 cork screws, decanter cleaning beads, decanter driers, stem grips for the dishwasher, chip smoothers, Italian marbel wine coasters, wine totes, cellar plaques, wine bottle tags, instant wine chillers, and the like, just useless widgets for those with more money than sense? Or are some of them really useful? Please include in your responses any experience you might have had with tasting and aroma kits.

Maybe not a gadget because it's so practical - the capsule cutter. I have several and have given several as thank you gifts. I especially enjoy giving them to folks after I've seen them struggle with capsule removal with scissors or the corkscrew, ending up with cuts on their fingers.

Favourite wine gadget?

A pulltap 'waiters friend' corkscrew -- why? Because it easily removes corks (essential until people have the sense to use screwcaps)

Chillsleeve -- why? Quickly chills wine down.

Both above cheap and effective.

Don't know if it qualifies as a "gadget" but I think I'm one of the few people who uses the "ah-so" pronged wine opener regularly. 9 out of 10 of them don't work, but a good one opens wine very quickly and easily.

I also find a funnel extremely useful.

Keep in mind that the vast majority of these are purchased as gifts. What else to give a wine geek? Unless you are one yourself, you can't give them wine.

Reading the latest "Wine Enthusiast" over lunch made me feel like I do any time I visit a Sharper Image store - wow! what a lot of ridiculous, ridiculously expensive, and useless stuff! Get a life! But perhaps I'm wrong. So I'm prompted to ask...What is your favorite wine gadget and why? Are all of the aeration devices, instant wine aging tools, funnels, stainless steel wine kegs, $150 cork screws, decanter cleaning beads, decanter driers, stem grips for the dishwasher, chip smoothers, Italian marbel wine coasters, wine totes, cellar plaques, wine bottle tags, instant wine chillers, and the like, just useless widgets for those with more money than sense? Or are some of them really useful? Please include in your responses any experience you might have had with tasting and aroma kits.

As Matt said, many are given as gifts. I would have never bought a capsule cutter, but actually use fairly often since I have.
I'm with Peter, the Pulltap (double hinged waiters corkscrew, with teflon worm) is my favorite corkscrew by far.

As to others:
instant wine aging tools- set off my BS detector
funnels - I have one with a screen I use fairly often, although I still use a candle. Also has come in useful when an old cork is basically sawdust
stainless steel wine kegs -unsure re what this is
$150 cork screws - I have a gorgeous Laguiole, but still use pulltap more often
decanter cleaning beads - I use Oxiclean, but you do need something
decanter driers -have, don't use (do cold water method instead)
stem grips for the dishwasher - I switched to the titanium stems, but I could see if you had regular crystal
chip smoothers - this is for stemware??
Italian marbel wine coasters -again, wouldn't buy, but do use the two I have at dinner parties
wine totes - I use a lot
cellar plaques - silly imho
wine bottle tags - I need to use these! Would save a lot of pulling out of wrong bottles
instant wine chillers- I use a ice bucket

A pulltap 'waiters friend' corkscrew -- why? Because it easily removes corks (essential until people have the sense to use screwcaps)

Chillsleeve -- why? Quickly chills wine down.

Me too. Pulltap and chillsleve in that order. Plus capsule cutter - handy for removing capsule from bottles held nearly horizontal without disturbing sediment - otherwise the pulltap knife is fine. Plus a jug/carafe/decanter, and er, well, that's it really. Glasses? Nothing else required.

by chill sleeve you mean those flexible packs you keep in freezer and put around bottle, correct? I have one of those, but mostly just use for picnics. I find an icebucket much more efficient for rapid chilling.

by chill sleeve you mean those flexible packs you keep in freezer and put around bottle, correct?

Yes, that's what I mean at least.

Because I like things that are mechanical, I do have some well made and nicely designed ratchet or “jacking” action cork screws and a locking combination bottle stopper.

Salute

funnels - I have one with a screen I use fairly often, although I still use a candle. Also has come in useful when an old cork is basically sawdus

Dale - could you illuminate the part about the candle?

Maybe not a gadget because it's so practical - the capsule cutter. I have several and have given several as thank you gifts. I especially enjoy giving them to folks after I've seen them struggle with capsule removal with scissors or the corkscrew, ending up with cuts on their fingers.

Recently watched a pourer just twist the capsule off the bottle. Ever since, I've eschewed the blade and do likewise.

At the other extreme is the waiter at a small French restaurant in San Francisco who cut the capsule with a knife but left it attached to the bottle by a slender thread of metal and turned it into a work of art!

I must say that I have found the decanter cleaning beads to be very useful. They work, remove stains that Oxyclean does not.

Chillsleeves? I'm in the ice bucket camp on that one....just add water and the bottle contents chill quickly, no gadget needed.

Chillsleeves? I'm in the ice bucket camp on that one....just add water and the bottle contents chill quickly, no gadget needed.

But you DO need a plentiful supply of ice, which I don't have. You also then have to chuck out the contents of the bucket, and wipe it and the bottle. No contest for me. Actually, the method I prefer is to plan in advance and use the fridge!

Actually, the method I prefer is to plan in advance and use the fridge!

Agree 100% -- Chillsleeve is invaluable for those occassions when you forget, or decide to get an unplanned bottle...

I've not used an icebucket for years, in fact I can't even remember where it is...

Chillsleeves? I'm in the ice bucket camp on that one....just add water and the bottle contents chill quickly, no gadget needed.

But you DO need a plentiful supply of ice, which I don't have. You also then have to chuck out the contents of the bucket, and wipe it and the bottle. No contest for me. Actually, the method I prefer is to plan in advance and use the fridge!

Good point about the ice supply. I overlooked that detail....I have two icemakers, one in the fridge plus a small freestanding one at the bar. They come in handy!

I usually twist off the capsule. Rarely one will stick and I'll have to cut it off.

Chillsleeve? Is that really something that can take a bottle of room temp wine and bring it down to 55-60 degrees? I had one thing that claimed to do that, but really it would only keep a chilled wine chilled for longer. And it was ugly. And eventually leaked. But if someone has one that really works I think that could be useful. How long does it take?

Re: Dale's candle comment...I think he was referring to using a candle to see the sediment in a bottle when decanting an older wine. If you're still unclear I can explain the process. I use a tiny flashlight, personally.

could you illuminate the part about the candle?

Good one!
Matt is correct. I'm referring to lighting a candle then watching through neck as wine is decanted for sediment trail to start. I use the traditional candle method because my wife insists on candles every night for dinner anyway. Others use flashlights as Matt noted. A friend who just built an absolutely gorgeous cellar included a decanting station with a built-in very bright LED spot that is very cool.

I usually twist capsules, but sometimes they are stuck, and the little screwpull foil cutter is faster than corkscrew's blade.

We always have ice (one tray is plenty, with cold water). But 95% of the time I have enough warning to stick wine in fridge for 20-30 minutes if needed (some wines like white Burgs are cold enough when they leave cellar). Last time I needed an icebucket it was to chill replacement for a corked wine. But I do keep the chillsleeve, it works well for picnics.

Oxiclean has always worked on red wine stains for me, but maybe if you have hard water or something its a different kind of stain.

I don't consider a funnel (with a screen) a useless gadget at all. I often "double decant" wines-decant them at home, pour them back into the bottle for transport to a restaurant or friends' house, then redecant. Trying to pour wine back into a narrow 750 ml bottle is a frustrating experience, at least to me. Note that the funnel I bought cost $5 or so, so...

Matt

Cannot give you degrees, but I find a sleeve will cool a white from cellar temp to a good cool serving temp in around five mins. If you keep the sleeve on it will insulate for another hour or so. From room temp, I often found myself using 2 sleeves one after another, but I think I tend to like my whites cooler than most. It helps if you cool the bottle when it is horizontal, or give the bottle a shake before serving, otherwise the first glass or so will be warm. A wine cooler with ice will certainly cool more - too much if you don't pull the wine out at the right moment.

I forgot to mention my VERY FAVORITE wine "gadget".

Plastic reusable ice cubes. They are fantastic. Put one or two in your glass, that will cool down your wine right quick. Sometimes I drop one in a glass of too-warm red wine for a minute.

Wash em. Use em again.

[Jenise]

I forgot to mention my VERY FAVORITE wine "gadget".

Plastic reusable ice cubes. They are fantastic. Put one or two in your glass, that will cool down your wine right quick. Sometimes I drop one in a glass of too-warm red wine for a minute.

Wash em. Use em again.

Oh that's bloody brilliant! Must get some soon.

In the order of most to least used gadgets in my home:

Glass scrubber - This is a soft foam tipped scrubbing unit that is perfect for cleaning the inside and outside of deep wine glasses without scratching the glass.

Vac-u-vin stoppers and pump
Foil Cutter
Wine Tote
Wine Away Stain Remover
Champagne Stopper - This screw action stopper expand in the neck of a Champagne bottle to form a seal.
Decanters
Funnel - for double decanting
Cork Retriever - a 3 prong gadget that fetches a cork that pushes into the bottle when you press the corkscrew.

Maybe not a gadget because it's so practical - the capsule cutter. I have several and have given several as thank you gifts. I especially enjoy giving them to folks after I've seen them struggle with capsule removal with scissors or the corkscrew, ending up with cuts on their fingers.

Recently watched a pourer just twist the capsule off the bottle. Ever since, I've eschewed the blade and do likewise.

At the other extreme is the waiter at a small French restaurant in San Francisco who cut the capsule with a knife but left it attached to the bottle by a slender thread of metal and turned it into a work of art!

Mike, I always try to twist and pull up on the capsule on my way up from the cellar - sometimes it works but for me, most time, it does not.