We all have hundreds of wine gadgets, I’m sure - those we’ve purchased on a whim, and dozens and dozens purchased for us by friends because we are ‘into wine’. I was thinking this morning about the two that I can’t live without - WineSave and The Durand. I use WineSave almost every time I open a bottle of wine, and even the wines that I know I’ll later use for cooking. The Durand is without peer, of course - if you have a cork that is troublesome at ALL, one pulls out The Durand with ultimate confidence - ‘yeah, I got this’.
For sure my Coravin. Used for short term preservation so that I can drink from multiple bottles in a sitting. Changed the way I drink wine at home for the better.
And I wouldn’t go quite as far as saying I can’t live without em…but I REALLY love my Gabriel Glas Golds.
This thing. My wife bought it on a whim at CB2. I rolled my eyes, but now I use it almost every time we open a bottle. Completely unnecessary device, but it’s handy. It’s basically a funnel/filter/screen/pourer/cap. Good for filtering any cork or wax debris, and it will filter some sediment. Makes a nice drip-free pourer, and when we’re done, insert the cap/plug, and put wine back into the fridge. Again, it’s arguably completely unnecessary, but I’ve found it to be very handy.
Bruce L turned me onto this inexpensive insulated black picnic bag that holds 6 stems, bottles (even mags) or any combo. Perfect for offlines, costs like $30-40 or something. Infinitely better than bringing some Speiglau box plus a wine bag.
My Coravin. My wife doesn’t drink red wine so it’s nice to be able to open a single glass whenever I want. Also allows me to do side-by-side comparisons of wines I probably wouldn’t normally compare since I wouldn’t normally open those wines at the same time.
I’ve used mine to just drink one glass for a meal, but never thought of drinking two different wines in a sitting using it. That’s crazy enough it just might work!
Those cheap wine pout spouts and the drip rings. Categorically different products but both help me not make a mess. Some wines you want to pour slow but they have a tendency to dribble. So anything to help me pour more betterer and drip less is helpful.
The other is my little Vinturi device. Dont feel like/have time for decanting but wine is a little tight? These help give the aromatics a little boost. Bonus: you don’t have to clean a decanter afterwards.
I vote for neoprene wine bags from Built NY, for BYOBs. They provide insulation, breakage protection, a handy handle, and they fold up or roll up after the bottle is removed. Inexpensive. Should last forever.
My second choice after that is the Screwpull (now Le Creuset) pocket model corkscrew. Hard to beat.
Phil Jones
Zaltos. I use the bdx for almost everything, including IPAs
Efferdent tablets. There is nothing that cleans decanters and my Technivorm carafe better. I probably clean this way after every third use… or when I find a random decanter the next morning…
Cheap circular foil cutter. I hate the little knives on the end of corkscrews.
The Durand. Great for tough pulls
Metal screen: A coffee geek at Clive Coffee gave me a small metal filter with extremely fine holes. Works great for sediment, cork, wax bits.
Extremely sturdy corkscrew from Oakville Grocery I bought 12 years ago on my first trip to Napa
Foil cutter
Rice - This is the extremely easy way to get a good clean on your Captain’s Decanter. Soapy water, cup of rice and shake the effer like a wild thing then dump and rinse to get out any remaining soap residue. Piece of cake.
Tiny little ultra-fine strainer. Usually use it for squeezing lemons for dressings, but it’s aces for crumbly cork straining as well.