Are Fancy Wine Accessories Needed to Serve Wine?

No, wine accessories aren't needed at all. If you've got a touch of Macgyver in you, a pen knife can become a wine tool, a wood screw and pliers will suffice as a wine opener. As a matter of fact, the internet is full of information on how to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew. You can drink your wine out of Dixie cups and decant that old bottle of red wine into a jelly jar with a plastic funnel and cheesecloth (or coffee filter).

A wine lover would consider this sacrilege. Snobbery or not, aesthetics is a major part of wine service and entertaining in general. No, fancy wine accessories aren't necessary, but they certainly enhance your enjoyment of wine.

Wine Accessories Maintain Proper Serving Temps

A common mistake is to serve red wine at temperatures in excess of 70°F (the room temperature of many modern homes, instead of the room temperature of 18th century Europe). Full-bodied, high-quality white wines like Chardonnay tend to be served too cold. Over-chilling can be useful for masking imperfections in cheap wine, but it's a waste of good wine.

A red wine that is too warm will taste of alcohol instead of fruit, it may even taste bitter or vinegary. A white wine served too cold will taste more acidic, less fruity and sweet.

Here are some basic wine serving temperatures:

60 - 65°F: Barolo, Bordeaux, Cabernet, Chianti, Merlot, Old Red Burgundy, Pinotage, Rhone, Red Zinfandel, Vintage Port

58 - 64°F: Madeira, Pinot Noir, Port, Red Burgundy, Rioja

58 - 60°F: Valpolicella, Beaujolais-Villages

54 - 58°F: Best White Burgundies, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Young Chianti, Young Red Burgundies

50 - 55°F: Beaujolais Nouveau, Bual and Malmsey Madeiras, Fino and Amontillado Sherries, Gerwurztraminer, Johannisberg Riesling, Oaked White Rioja, Pinot Gris, Rhine and Mosel Kabinett and Spatlese Riesling, Sauternes, Tokay, Young Zinfandel

50°F: Rose Wines, Young Beaujolais

48 - 50°F: Amontillado Sherry, Chablis, Gavi, Orvieto, Pinot Grigio, Pouilly-Fume, White Zinfandel

45 - 50°F: Champagne, Sparkling Wines

40 - 45°F: Alsace, Asti Spumante, Chardonnay, Cheap Rose, Chenin Blanc and Riesling, Muller-Thurgau, Muscadet, North American Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre, Unoaked White Rioja, White Bordeaux

36°F: Cheap Sparkling Wines

35°F: Average Refrigerator Temperature

A bottle of wine will cool 4°F (2°C) for every ten minutes in the refrigerator, and depending on room temperature, will warm at about the same rate when removed from the refrigerator. Therefore, chilling Asti Spumante from 75°F (room temperature) to 40F will take approximately 90 minutes or 1 1/2 hours. Chilling red Bordeaux from 75°F to 65°F will take 25 minutes.

A fast way to chill a bottle of wine is to immerse it in a mixture of ice and water. Chill white wine for 20 to 30 minutes, red wine 5 to 10 minutes, add rock salt if you want to cool it more rapidly. Avoid cooling wine in the freezer, you may forget it and end up with a slushy mess.

If this feels like guesswork, VinTemp makes an excellent line of wine accessories for measuring actual wine temperature (not ambient temperature), without opening the bottle. If you're a serious wine drinker, you may want to invest in a wine refrigerator or cooler with digital controls. These wine accessories allow you to store wine for up to a year at proper serving temperatures. The storage capacity can be as small as 4 bottles, or as large as 100+ bottles.

If you would rather avoid the mess of ice and water to quickly cool your wine, the Vacu Vin Rapid Ice line of wine accessories allows you to serve chilled white wines in 5 minutes. Store them in your freezer until ready to use, it keeps bottles cold for up to 3 hours.

Wine Accessories Get Those Stubborn Corks OUT

The Professional Waiter's Corkscrew by Pulltap is a classic choice. A variation of this model is the Double Hinged Waiter's Corkscrew. This line of wine accessories has a lever that can be elongated for continued mechanical advantage after the cork is halfway out, which is great for long or stubborn corks. A foldout foil cutter is also included.

How to Open a Bottle of Wine: To use this corkscrew simply cut the foil with the blade under the second lip of the bottle. Next, center the point of the corkscrew in the middle of the cork and give it a firm turn to anchor the worm. Turn the corkscrew gently and firmly without pressing down, until the worm has been inserted entirely (depending on cork length, this will vary). Place the lever on the lip of the bottle and pull up slowly and firmly.

The Ah-so or Butler's Friend: The ah-so wine bottle opener is affordably priced but tricky to use. With this wine accessory, you have to slide two thin strips of metal between the cork and the glass, then twist and pull to extract the cork. This takes practice and can be frustrating, but the corks can be re-used (so you don't have to use a stopper), and it's helpful when removing fragile, dry or damaged corks.

How to Open a Bottle of Wine: To use this wine opener, insert the longer prong of the ah-so between the cork and the bottle and, while applying slight downward pressure, rock the prong back and forth until the shorter prong can also be inserted between the cork and the bottle. Once both prongs are inserted, rock the handle from prong to prong, applying downward pressure. When the ah-so is fully inserted, simultaneously pull the handle upward and twist it to release the cork.

Continuous-Turn Wine Openers: Screwpull is one of the finest lines of wine accessories. They created the original self-pulling corkscrew in 1979, which extracts the cork in a few turns without tugging or pulling. Invented by Herbert Allen, a renowned Houston space and oil industry engineer, this wine opener has been called "simply the world's best corkscrew". He created the Screwpull Table Model Corkscrew, featuring a frame that helps center the spiral, and the "continuous turn" design, that evenly extracts the cork. Allen also borrowed Space technology, coating the helical screw with Teflon, to help ease it in and out of the cork.

Hailed as the first significant advance in cork extraction in 200 years, this wine opener eliminates struggling with a corkscrew, damaging the cork, or dropping the bottle. An adjustable frame adapts to fit every bottle size. The nonstick-coated helical screw ensures precise penetration through the center of cork, preventing corks from being pushed further into the bottle. It has a 5-year manufacturer's warranty.

Lever Wine Openers: Screwpull is also the originator of another line of wine accessories, the lever corkscrew. Lever corkscrews effortlessly extract corks in about 3 seconds. Ergonomic handles steady the bottle and provide leverage while the cork glides out of the bottle. Screwpull's lever models have a 10-year manufacturer's warranty and include display stand and foil cutter.

The Screwpull Lever Model Elegance Corkscrew is top-of-the-line. It's the best of the best of the Screwpull designs, this wine opener exerts over 100 lbs./sq. in. of torque that no cork can resist.

How to Open a Bottle of Wine: Use the patented 4 wheel Foilcutter to remove the foil from the bottle with a quick twist of the wrist. Place the Lever Model in the open position. Firmly grip the bottle neck with the handles. While keeping the handles squeezed together in this position, bring the lever slowly into the closed position. The screw is then completely inside the cork.

To remove the cork, keep the handles tight and slowly move the Lever Model back until it is in the open position. Repeat the lever procedure for removing the cork from the Leverpull.

Electric Wine Bottle Openers: The Oster 4207 Inspire is the most popular of this group of wine accessories. This wine tool opens up to 30 bottles fully charged with the touch of a button. It includes a foil cutter to remove seals, and has cordless operation with recharging base included for convenience and mobility. It's designed to fit all traditional wine bottles, and opens a wine bottle in seconds. Stylish and ergonomically designed with soft grip handle to fit in the palm of your hand.

CO2 Wine Bottle Opener: This wine tool has experienced a boost in popularity since the Cork Pops Legacy was seen on the hit television show Desperate Housewives. Called the "fastest, easiest way to open a bottle of wine", you simply insert the needle straight down through the cork, press once on the top of the low pressure propellant cartridge, and the cork is lifted out with a celebratory "POP"! What wine opener could be easier? Each cartridge will open approximately 60-80 wine bottles before requiring replacement.

The Legacy line of wine accessories features a custom designed insertion guide and needle guard, a built-in 4 blade foil cutter, as well as a patented cork release feature which removes the extracted cork from the opener with a simple twisting motion.

However, unlike other wine openers it comes with the following warnings:

WARNING: Contents under pressure. KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN. Do not puncture, incinerate or store above 120°F. Do NOT use on Champagne, Sparkling, or odd-shaped bottles; including square, rectangular, mixed, i.e., square to rounded. Misuse could cause fracture. A flawed bottle could rupture. If sprayed in eyes or on skin flush with warm water. If irritation occurs, see physician. Use only as directed. Intentional misuse by deliberately concentrating and inhaling contents can be harmful or fatal. Contains R-134A.

By the way, R-134A is a refrigerant. The manufacturer states that the product does not affect the taste of the wine or harm the environment. That may be true, but taken with the other warnings these wine accessories are not very appealing.

Wine Accessories Make Aeration More Effective

Aeration artificially speeds up the maturation process, causing subtle chemical changes that affect both the flavors and the texture of wine. It should only be used if you suspect the wine is not yet at its peak of drinkability, never on a very old bottle (15+ years). Remember, most wines are ready-to-drink.

Traditionally, decanting is the process of slowly pouring the contents of a bottle of wine into another container leaving any sediment behind. This is only necessary for wines with sediment like an aged bottle of red wine or Port (sediment is rare in a bottle of wine that is designed to be ready-to-drink). However, decanting a bottle of young wine is a more effective way of aerating wine than simply pulling the cork and letting it breathe (in the bottle, the surface area of wine exposed to air is minimal).

Effective aeration can be accomplished by pouring wine through a wine funnel into a decanter. A good decanter has a wide mouth and broad base to maximize the wine's exposure to air. The wine funnel typically has a mesh screen filter to remove any sediment, and holes in the tip to direct wine towards the sides of the vessel, gently aerating it as it's poured.

Aerating Rules of Thumb: If the wine still needs more aeration after decanting (i.e. it still tastes a bit harsh), let it breathe in the open decanter. The younger and more tannic the wine, the more time it needs to breathe. As a general rule, most tannic, young, red wines soften with one hour of aeration. An exception to the one-hour rule would be many young Barolos or Barbarescos that are very tannic and can benefit from three or four hours of aeration.

Young vintage Port is extremely tannic and demands many hours of aeration. Eight hours is a good target, some people even decant it the day before. White wines only need short-term aeration, maybe half an hour to achieve optimum aroma and flavor. Remember, you may have to put the decanter in the refrigerator to maintain proper serving temperatures.

The decanter is an effective wine tool, but some experts prefer to let wine breathe in the glass. Certain wine glasses are designed to enhance the aeration, highlight the fruit and mellow the acidity in young, full-bodied, tannic reds, but that's not all. In general they are the most important wine accessories for improving your in-home wine experience. For a full discussion on wine glasses and their effects on the perception of wine, see the following link:

Crystal Wine Glasses for the Connoisseur

Multi-faceted Wine Accessories

Wine Accessories Preserve Your Wine

Therefore, young, concentrated or tannic, red wines will last longer after opening than mature, light reds, and considerably longer than white wines. But no matter what type of wine, if a bottle has been poured from several times and left open at room temperature for several hours, what's left may not hold much interest a day later. Each pour exposes more wine to oxygen and mixes more oxygen into the wine, as well as allowing aroma and flavor elements to escape.

Note: Fortified wines, especially Madeiras, Tawny Ports and Sweet Sherries can last several weeks without any special efforts at preservation. Box wines or cask wines, due to their unique packaging, can last 4 to 6 weeks.

The first step to preserving your wine is to stop oxygen from entering the bottle. A wine bottle stopper is the right tool for the job (they make them for decanters also). You can try to reinsert the cork after each serving. But if you haven't mangled the cork while opening the bottle, the hole in the middle is far from airtight.

A sparkling-wine stopper fits over an opened bottle and keeps it airtight. This wine tool is really effective in keeping any remaining Champagne or sparkling wine fresh. If also kept in the refrigerator it can last for several days.

Both red and white wines should be refrigerated after they're opened. Low temperatures slow the oxidation of wine. Refrigerating the wine and using a wine stopper should be combined with any other wine accessories to produce better results. Also make sure to store the bottles upright to minimize the amount of surface area exposed to oxygen.

Not only should you stop air from entering the bottle, you should reduce the amount of air in the bottle. A bottle that's 1/4 full will have more air than wine and will oxidize much faster than a bottle that's 3/4 full. This is the basis of another wine preservation technique, the half bottle.

Half Bottle: Buy a half bottle of wine, drink it and wash out the bottle. When you buy a regular size bottle, pour half of it immediately into the half bottle. Fill it to just below the top, seal it and you'll have basically no air in the half bottle. The wine will last 3-5 days, perhaps longer if you also refrigerate it.

A decanter can also be used for this technique. Decanters are useful wine accessories that come in different sizes. They can not only be used to serve, but preserve your wine (don't store alcoholic beverages in lead crystal decanters for longer than 3 months). Compared to the half-bottle, they're also more attractive.

Vacu-Vin: This wine accessory is another attempt at removing air from the bottle. In this case the idea is to pump it out. In place of the cork you use a rubber stopper, then you put the Vacu-Vin on top of it and pump it several times. The basic model is often criticised for requiring too many pumps and having leaky stoppers. The response to this criticism was the Concerto.

The new Vacu-Vin Concerto features a special vacuum indicator that clicks when the maximum vacuum level is reached. The ergonomically-designed pump and tighter stoppers feature a stronger and longer-lasting vacuum.

However, these wine accessories leave plenty of air in the bottle because only a weak vacuum is formed. They also tend to suck out the light aromatic molecules and bring CO2 out of solution, leaving some wines a bit flat and definitely lacking in aroma. Never use this tool on a bottle of Champagne.

Private Preserve: This is a very popular preservation technique. It's a can of inert gases (a mixture of purified carbon dioxide, nitrogen and argon) that, when sprayed through a long, thin straw into a partially-filled bottle of wine, displaces the oxygen and forms a protective blanket over the wine (in theory, see below). The bottle is then stored upright, minimizing the exposed surface area.

Properly used, Private Preserve can protect a number of different wines for extended periods ranging from a few days to a couple of weeks. Once again, a bottle that is 3/4 full will last longer than one that is 1/4 full. A bottle that was treated soon after opening will last longer than one that was treated after a few hours.

The manufacturer says it's good for 120 uses. That's a bit optimistic, but a can does last a long time and compared to other wine accessories, it's cheap ($10).

Wine Dispensers: Wine dispensers are definitely in the realm of fancy wine accessories. This is not a reference to box or cask wine, but a nitrogen-based wine preservation system for dispensing opened bottles of wine. Winekeeper is the best known brand. A single-bottle wine dispenser (unrefrigerated) costs $100 (nitrogen cylinder must be replaced after 20 uses), an 8-bottle, refrigerated unit costs $4,000 (Wow!), it's probably best suited for restaurants. An opened wine bottle lasts 3 weeks.

Pek Wine Accessories: Pek is the middle ground between wine dispensers and cans of inert gas like Private Preserve. Why not just use the cheapest method, Private Preserve? First, Pek uses pure argon gas. Argon gas is heavier than air and not readily absorbed by wine, providing a true protective blanket.

Argon is 80% more effective than nitrogen because nitrogen is lighter than air and doesn't have a blanketing effect. Nitrogen also requires a large volume of gas to be effective and therefore costs more. For example, the nitrogen replacement canister for the single-bottle Winekeeper (20 uses) costs $40, a set of 4 argon replacement cartridges for Pek systems (15 uses each, 60 in total) costs $15. Although carbon dioxide is heavier than air it is also readily absorbed by wine, negating its blanketing effect.

Second, Private Preserve is difficult to apply consistently. It must be sprayed into the bottle for a certain amount of time, at the correct distance and angle to prevent turbulence that can draw in extra air. The cork must be quickly re-inserted without snagging the applicator straw or losing it inside the bottle completely.

The Pek Preservino Professional ($70) is a portable system that includes an injection nozzle, two "Click and Pour Technology" stoppers and an argon cartridge. After opening a wine bottle, put in one of the custom stoppers. Then insert the injection nozzle into the stopper and apply the gas. "Click and Pour Technology" means that individual glasses of wine can be poured directly through the stopper, which saves up to 67% in argon gas usage (i.e. the gas doesn't have to be re-applied).

The Pek Vino Vault ($300) can be added to the growing list of multi-faceted wine accessories. It is both a wine refrigerator and a wine preservation system. The Vino Vault can store up to 14 wine bottles at optimum serving temperatures, and has a built-in argon gas injection nozzle including two argon gas cartridges and two custom stoppers.

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