“Toys are hereby declared illegal, immoral, unlawful AND anyone found with a toy in his possession will be placed under arrest and thrown in the dungeon.”

Old Burgermeister might not have been such a party pooper had someone given him a cool little wine gadget like the Vinturi Deluxe 7-Piece Wine Aerator Set.

The wine aeration arena is certainly starting to get pretty crowded with all sorts of devices claiming to yield a better tasting glass of wine.  The peeps at Vinturi have some of the most popular wine aerators on the market and a boatload of favorable reviews and testimonials about their products all over the internet.  A little while ago, they were kind enough to send me the Deluxe 7-Piece Wine Aerator Set to try out and review.

Here’s what Vinturi has to say about their aerator:

“Wine needs to breathe to allow it to open up, release its intended aromas, and of course, make it taste better. Vinturi’s patent-pending design speeds up this process by instantly aerating with ease and convenience in the time it takes to pour a glass of wine. Hold the aerator over a glass and pour wine through for instant aeration. It mixes the proper amount of air in the right amount of time.”

The result is supposed to be a “noticeable” and more enjoyable wine experience.

So, is there a noticeable difference in the way a wine tastes when it’s poured through this little contraption, versus being poured straight from the bottle into a glass?  The answer is…yes.  However, I’m not going to sit up here and say that your wine will taste better:  I think this really depends on the wine and the person drinking it.

After multiple “tests” with the Vinturi Aerator, I’ve found that it has a way of smoothing out much of the upfront assertiveness that a given wine might possess.  With these wines, it spreads things out a bit to give you a little more taste in the middle palate and at the backend on the finish.  Most of the people that I’ve shared this device with noticed a difference, and did in fact prefer their wine poured through the Vinturi aerator versus straight from the bottle.  However, I’ll admit that I’ve also had a few people tell me that they preferred the taste of some wines before they used the aerator.  Their reason was that they felt that the aerator smoothed out or softened up the wine too much for their liking, and that they missed the upfront kick that the wine initially displayed.  Overall though, most people, including myself, chose the aerator over the direct pour.

One more thing that I would be remiss to point out about the Vinturi Aerator is that there are a lot of reviews or comments about some dripping from the air holes on each side of the aerator while using it.  If you check out some other reviews at sites like Amazon, the dripping “issue” is mentioned quite a bit.  This is true.  There is a very small amount of wine that will drip out and run down the sides if you don’t follow the manufacturers’ instructions to “Start pouring on the side of the bowl, instead of directly down the center”.  My helpful hint:  I find it’s easier to get the “right pour” (i.e., no drips) by holding the aerator rather than using the stand.  With that said, I will continue to work on my “stand method” because, well…it’s just fun!

All in all, the Vinturi Deluxe 7-Piece Wine Aerator Set is a nifty little wine toy.  Any wine lover in your life will get a big kick out of it and they will undoubtedly conduct countless tests to taste the before and after Vinturi difference.

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1.    What’s considered a “full” glass of wine?  Answer: About a ½ glass.  A half full glass allows the swirling folks to play “merry-go-round” with their wine.

2.    How many bottles of wine should you purchase for a full evening of entertaining?  Answer: Assuming you have a bunch of wine drinkers – at least 1 bottle (750ml) per person.  Note:  You gotta know your crowd and plan accordingly.  If you’ve got guests coming that you know can throw’em back; best to buy more wine or be prepared to holler “Last Call! But you’re welcome to stay for a cup of Nescafé Crème de Menthe coffee…”

3.    What’s the approximate number of servings in a standard size (750ml) bottle of wine?  Answer: 5. The pour is a tad light at 5.  But generally speaking, you get about 4-5 glasses per 750ml bottle depending on the generosity of the person pouring the wine.

4.    How many calories are in a glass of wine?  Answer: A standard bartender’s pour is considered to be 5 ounces. The approximate number of calories based on a 5 oz pour is between 100 and 150 calories.

5.    How many different glasses do I need?  Answer: 1 red and 1 white wine glass.  Or, just one great all-purpose glass.  If you like the bubbly stuff or wear an ascot and a smoker’s jacket, then you’ll need a Champagne flute, a brandy snifter, or maybe even a cocktail glass too!

6.    How long do I need to fully chill a white wine in the fridge before serving it?  Answer: About 2 hours.

7.    How long do I need to fully chill a red wine in the fridge before serving it?  Answer: None.  Most red wines should be served at room temperature unless you’re dealing with a “cross-dresser” red wine like Beaujolais or Pinot Noir.  It all depends if you prefer to serve these particular types of reds at room temperature or with a little chill on them.

8.    What’s the best storage temperature for wine to not freeze or “cook” it?  Answer: Generally speaking an ideal storage temperature would be somewhere in your home that is constantly between 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit.  That’s why the basement makes for an ideal cellar.

9.    How many days do leftover wines keep?  Answer: Generally speaking, about 2 days. White wines tend to last a little bit longer than reds. I would say that red wines should be finished the day after opening it.  If the wine comes in a box, you’ve got a month to suck it all down.

10. How many different bottle openers do I need?  Answer: One that is sturdy and capable of opening several bottles over the course of an evening.  Any wine bottle with a cork enclosure can be opened with a decent and relatively inexpensive Spinhandle Screwpull.

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The Way To Pop Open Up A Bottle Of The Bubbly Stuff

I’m not sure if I should be giving advice on how to open up a bottle of bubbly since my wife usually does it.  She fears that I may hurt myself or someone around me.

Opening up a bottle of bubbly always feels special to me.  Maybe it’s because we don’t do it very often or maybe I just enjoy the unique “pop” or “puff” sound that it makes when you open a bottle.  Whatever it is, it’s a beverage that calls for attention at that moment in time.  However, it also calls for your attention to be safe while opening it.  Friedrich Balck of Clausethal Technical University in northwest Germany found that a vigorously shaken bottle of Champagne, with a pressure of 35 psi (2.5 bars), expelled its cork at 24.8 miles per hour (40 kilometres per hour).  Not that you plan on doing this in your dining room, but you get the idea that a champagne cork can pop out with great speed!  With the steps below, you can open the bubbly stuff with confidence and put away your safety goggles.

Step 1 – Chill it.  Get the bottle ice cold.  The colder the bottle is, the less pressure it will have when opening.

Step 2- Protect and check yourself.  You never know when a cork going to cut loose.  Always point the bottle in a safe direction and keep your thumb over the cork.

Step 3- Peel the foil and unwrap the wire cage covering the cork.  Always be aware that the cork may fly-have your thumb ready just in case.

Step 4- Take a towel or cloth napkin and slip it over the neck of the bottle.  The towel will help you grip the cork and catch it in the event it that it decides to blow.

Step 5 – Hold the bottle at a slight angle, grip the cork firmly with the cloth towel or napkin. Then, with your other hand, turn the base of the bottle slowly in one direction.  Turning the bottle is safer and more effective than trying to yank the cork out.

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1.)    What’s considered a “full” glass of wine?  Answer: About a ½ glass.  A half full glass allows the swirling folks to play “merry-go-round” with their wine.

2.)    How many bottles of wine you should plan per guest during a full evening of entertaining?  Answer: At least 1 bottle (750ml) per person.  If it’s my sister-in-law Linda, we triple it! :) So know your crowd and plan accordingly.

3.)    What’s the approximate number of servings in a standard size (750ml) bottle of wine?  Answer: 5. The pour may be a tad light at 5.  But you get about 4-5 glasses per 750ml bottle depending on the generosity of the person pouring the wine.

4.)    How many calories are in a glass of wine?  Answer: A standard bartender’s pour is considered to be 5 ounces.  The approximate number of calories based on a 5 oz pour is between 100 and 150 calories.

5.)    How many different glasses do I need?  Answer: 1 red and 1 white wine glass.  Or just one great all-purpose glass.  If you like the bubbly stuff or wear an ascot and a smoker’s jacket, then you’ll need a Champagne flute and a brandy snifter or “cocktail glass” too!

6.)    How long do I need to fully chill a white wine in the fridge before serving it?  Answer: About 2 hours.

7.)    How long do I need to fully chill a red wine in the fridge before serving it?  Answer: None.  Most red wines should be served at room temperature unless you’re dealing with a “cross- dresser” red wine like Beaujolais or Pinot Noir.  It all depends if you prefer to serve these particular types of reds at room temperature or with a little chill on them.

8.)    What’s the best storage temperature for wine to not freeze or cook?  Answer: Generally speaking an ideal storage temperature would be somewhere in your home that is constantly between 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit.  That’s why the basement makes for an ideal cellar.

9.)    How many days do leftover wines keep?  Answer: Again, generally speaking about 2 days. White wines tend to last a little bit longer than reds. I would say that red wines should be finished the day after opening it. That’s why I wish more wines used the bag-in-box system, it stays fresh much longer than a bottle.  Box wines can stay fresh for a month or more.

10.) How many different bottle openers do I need?  Answer: 1.  Any wine bottle with a cork can be opened with a  decent Spinhandle Screwpull.

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A friend of mine recently asked me to address this question.  It’s an excellent question, but one that’s a bit subjective and sort of difficult to answer quickly.  In my opinion, every “varietal” or type of grape has its own optimal serving temperature.  Additionally, your own preference may be to drink all of your wines either warm or chilled. 

If you are anything like me, you stick your white wines in the refrigerator and get them ice cold. The wine experts say that this practice is not the right thing to do because a typical refrigerator temperature is usually in the high 30s or low 40s.  They say that this temperature is too cold for most white wines.  A white wine’s ideal serving temperature should be somewhere between 50 and 60 degrees.  If you chill your white wine in the fridge like I do, just take the bottle out and sit it on the counter for about 15 minutes before serving to let it warm up a bit.

Red wines are a little bit easier. The rule of thumb for red wines is to serve them at about 65 degrees.

The one thing that you definitely want to avoid is serving or storing your wines above 70 degrees.  Anything above 70 degrees will speed up the aging process of the wine. The wine is sort of “cooking” on a slow simmer inside the bottle, thus killing the wine’s aromas and flavors.

My rule of thumb is to serve white wines at about 55 degrees and red wines at about 65 degrees.

I hope that this tip helps!

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