Vinturi White Wine Aerator Review

We've been excited to try out the Vinturi Aerator, especially considering the fact we'd never given much thought to decanting white wine, or even letting it "breathe" as we might a red. Vinturi was kind enough to send us a model to review, and when we opened the box we were impressed with the heft of the vaguely cylindrical gizmo that greeted us, and pleasantly surprised to find a no-drip stand and cloth storage bag as well.

We peeked through the Aerator, unsure how much effect it would really have on our wine, but decided to take it at face value. We poured two glasses from the same unchilled bottle of the best Chardonnay we could get at the supermarket for $3.49, one directly from the bottle and the other through the Aerator.

It sloshed through the gadget with a satisfying glugging sound, and we were fascinated by the bubbles we saw in the chamber, and if nothing else we felt like we got our money's worth for the show alone. But would it fulfill its promises of a tastier glass of wine?

We took the two aforementioned glasses of wine, and we put them in front of our Senior Wine Intern, asking for a blind taste test of the contents of the glasses, to identify which had been aerated. After going through the tasting rigamarole, our intern correctly identified the aerated wine, saying the flavor and bouquet were subtly, but noticeably improved. Further tasting with other interns confirmed the positive review - this thing really works, especially on wine that starts out not-so-hot. The price tag may seem high, especially for those who don't drink much wine, but it strikes us as a great gift and an exciting addition to the gadget-hound's wine rack.

Vinturi White Wine Aerator; more info at the Vinturi website.

Vinturi White Wine Aerator

We've been on a wine kick lately, and we recently got an email about a product that intrigues us quite a bit. A while back, we wrote about the Vinturi Wine Aerator for red wine, which we called "scuba gear for your wine." Little did we know you can also get an aerator for white wine - we're winos without being wine snobs, and we'd never really heard about people aerating whites. Anyone had luck with something like this?

Specially designed for white wine, the Vinturi Essential White Wine Aerator delivers a better bouquet, enhanced flavors and smoother finish to your favorite Chardonnay, Viognier or Sauvignon Blanc. When wine is poured in the Vinturi, its design creates an increase in the wine's velocity and a decrease in its pressure. This pressure difference draws in air, which is mixed with wine for perfect aeration.

The claim is the better aeration leads to better aroma, flavor, and even mouth feel. Who knew?

Vinturi White Wine Aerator; more info at the Vinturi website.

Book: Making Wild Wines and Meads

For some reason, the staff here at Liquor Snob have had a wild hair this autumn to try our hands at making our own wine. We've done some brewing in the past (we're no Brew Dudes, but we can hold our own), but winemaking has always seemed daunting. There's the longer maturation period, for one thing, and while we'd guzzle pretty much anything beer-shaped, we've been worried that our natural laxity about things like "cleanliness" and "reading directions" would leave us holding whole mess of vinegar.

Nevertheless, we decided to start out with some country wine, made with fruit we've picked ourselves, and we've got the Fruit Wine Making Kit to prove it. Our only problem? A complete and total lack of knowhow about how to get started or even what to make. Which is where Making Wild Wines & Meads: 125 Unusual Recipes Using Herbs, Fruits, Flowers & More (Amazon) comes in. With more than 100 recipes, including mead for when we're feeling a bit renaissance faire, we're sure there's a wine in there we'll be able to make without embarrassing ourselves. Here's hoping, anyway.

Making Wild Wines and Meads

TY KU Sake Bomb Kit - Y'know, for Dad

As you probably imagine, when we think "Dad," we usually think "sake bomb." Thankfully, TY KU sake has finally made that connection explicit with their Father's Day sake bomb set.

With no need to heat this premium sake, TY KU encourages experimentation and invites you to 'Sip it, Mix it, or Bomb it!' - Perfect for your dad who has taught you to remain flexible and versatile throughout your years.

So if you're looking to get your dad bombed on sake this year, you know where to turn for about $30. Finally!

@TryTyku.com

Scarlett Johansson, the New...Face of Moet

In a piece of news we wouldn't cover in a million years if not for two awesome reasons, Scarlett Johansson is going to be fronting the bubbly. Not for nothing, Luxist, but we think our picture is better. OK, can't talk now, staring.

Moet & Chandon has a new face for its champagne, the first movie star to front for the brand. They introduced celebrity spokesperson, Scarlett Johansson at the "Tribute to Cinema" gala at London's Big Sky studio.

via Luxist

Massachusetts Fights to Uphold Wine Shipping Ban

Ah, Massachusetts. Though it's a longtime home of liberal politics and conservative drinking laws, boozers in the Bay State recently won a victory due to a federal court overturning outdated laws about shipping wine to private homes. However, MA's Attorney General is fighting to overturn this boon, for reasons unknown (and unfathomable) to us. We're all for shopping local, but this is just the kind of throwback Puritanical bullshit that helped drive us away from Massachusetts in the first place, so we're not all that surprised.

Despite a decisive opinion and remedy order by widely respected U.S. District Court Judge Rya Zobel, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley will spend taxpayer dollars to appeal the judge's decision, which promised an expansion of consumer choice in fine wine.

What can you do? If you live in Mass you can head over to Free the Grape and send a letter to good old Martha (who we picture clocking in at 200 years old). If you live anywhere else, order some wine online in solidarity for your dry-lipped brothers and sisters, who have to drive all the way to a real liquor store for their wine. If you're not sure what to get, head over to our sister site Cheap Fun Wines for ideas.

Image via Celebrate Boston (We cherish the city; that's why we moved away)

How to Open Champagne...With a Sword

Let's face it, kids...Valentine's Day is on its way, and if things go right you'll probably be opening a bottle of the bubbly. What better way to impress the object of your affection than by opening them a bottle of champagne...with a sword? The technique, apparently called "sabering" looks pretty simple, and is WAY impressive.

Just make sure you alert your flame somewhere between pulling out the champagne bottle and drawing a sword, to keep them from thinking you're about to perform seppuku or engage in murder/suicide. We're not the most romantic guys on the Web, but we think that might kind of spoil the glow of the evening.

Glogg Recipe, or "Let's Get Glogged"

Last weekend, we were introduced to Glogg (aka Gluvine, aka Gluwine, aka a heated cup o' heaven). When our hosts told us it was a Swedish mulled wine recipe we almost declined in favor of beer, because we've had some "mulled wine" in the past where it tasted like a cinnamon stick and a bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 had mated. We're glad we were feeling adventurous, though, because the Glogg we had was warm and fruity and had us full of holiday cheer in no time. Glogg is drank almost exclusively at Christmas in Sweden, and we can see why - if we had this stuff available all year 'round, we wouldn't get a thing done.

We don't have the exact recipe of the stuff we tried, but find the closest thing we could find online after the jump. If you're having a holiday party, it is a moral imperative that you make this for your guests. Because if you don't, they'll find out this stuff exists and that you didn't make it, and they'll never talk to you again.

Continue reading: "Glogg Recipe, or "Let's Get Glogged""

Keychain Corkscrew

We know it's not even Black Friday yet, but we're pretty sure we've already found the greatest stocking stuffer known to man. Do you know how many times we've had a bottle of wine and forgotten to bring a corkscrew? Many times. And whether you're on a picnic, in a motel room, or just about anywhere other than home, it can be a real pain in the ass to find one. We'll never have to push the cork into the bottle with a pen again, thanks to this little baby.

Key Ring Pocket Corkscrew Wine Bottle Opener

Wal-Mart $3 Wine a Surprising Value

We're always on the lookout for the newest, best, cheapest wines that won't burn our nose hairs out or make us go blind. It probably comes from our days moonlighting over at Cheap Fun Wines, but our motto is "if it's under ten bucks we'll try it." But who'd have thought our next place to go find a good cheap wine was at...Wal-Mart? We thought they'd be way too busy censoring music and movies to have time to make wine, but we guess we were wrong, at least according to this article:

With more than two dozen comments about Wal-Mart's Oak Leaf Vineyards wines on The Dallas Morning News Eats blog, most of them positive, we knew we had to put them to the test. Could a $2.97 bottle of wine really taste better than swamp water? And would it "fool" experienced wine drinkers?

As it turns out, the wines are better than you might think. The chardonnay won a gold medal at both the 2008 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (chardonnays under $14.99) and the 2008 Florida State International Wine Competition. The Oak Leaf merlot and cabernet sauvignon earned bronze medals in the San Francisco contest.

If it's the same quality or better than good old Three Buck Chuck, we'd love to give it a try. Read the full article, including the results of the blind taste test, at Dallas News.

Wine and Beer Glasses Made from Recycled Windshields

There seems to be some kind of attrition rule for beer and wine glasses in our house - we can never have more than a few of each. That's probably because the more people drink, the more likely they are to drop or knock over their glass. That's why we like the idea of these sturdy-looking beer and wine glasses made from recycled auto windshields. The bonus is they're thick and strong and made from safety glass; we just hope they washed all the bugs off 'em before they turned them into drinking vessels.

Uncommon Goods [via Uncrate]

Wine in a Pop Top Can: Not Just for Hobos Anymore

We're all for booze-related innovations here at Liquor Snob, and we can see some real potential for drinking wine out of a can with a pop top. We could finally live our dream of shotgunning wine, and it would be much easier to sneak it into movie theaters - we won't tell you where we had to hide our corkscrew when we watched The Dark Knight this weekend.

The Wine Can [via DVice]

Vacu Vin WineMaster Corkscrew

We had to feature this product because we've never seen such a dire-looking corkscrew in our entire lives. It kind of reminds us of the Glaive from Krull meets the Road Warrior, in a way that would totally screw your corks, if you know what we mean. Who run Bartertown? Vacu Vin Winemaster Blaster run Bartertown!

Vacu Vin WineMaster Corkscrew

Vinturi Wine Aerator

We don't cover a lot of wine accessories here, leaving that to our compatriots over at Cheap Fun Wines, but we saw this gadget and just had to write about it. You always hear people talking about letting wine breathe, to improve the flavor and open up the bouquet. But seriously, who has time for all that? That's why we like the Vinturi wine aerator, which is basically scuba gear for your wine. Just put it over the glass, pour the wine through, and it pumps the air right in. No muss, no fuss, no waiting. We likes.

Simply hold the aerator oven a glass or decanter and pour the wine through. The Vinturi draws in and mixes the proper amount of air for the right amount of time, allowing your wine to breathe instantly. You?ll notice a better bouquet, enhanced flavors and smoother finish. It?s that fast and simple. The Vinturi is made in the USA of FDA approved plastic and is dishwasher safe. It comes in a beautiful gift box and includes a stand and travel pouch.

Vinturi Wine Aerator