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

Grape Eco-Friendly Wine Rack

We're always on the prowl for cool new wine racks, considering our current wine storage method is buying it by the case and leaving it in the box it comes in. Definitely functional, but maybe not the most stylish way to present our bottles. We've found a cool-looking and eco-friendly wine rack in the form of The Grape.

...is made of a very strongly, super-light material. There can be stored wine bottles, but also most champagne bottles will fit. There are many ways to pile up the Grape and can be made to a beautiful 'wall'. The Grape is packed in a nice carry trunk.

Greener Grass Design [via Intoxicated Zodiac]

Happy V-Day, Suckers

Valentine's Day is upon us once again, and once again, we're unprepared. Luckily, we've done a bit of research and we have the makings of a few great romantical cocktails around the house, so all we have to do is stop by the store and pick up some champagne. After all, what drink could have more romance in it than the bubbly?

For the great champagne cocktail recipes we found at About.com, check out their last minute valentine cocktails and champagne & wine cocktails, and you're on your way to cuddly town. Or, if you really want to fast track things, figure out how to turn a Death in the Afternoon pink.

Absinthe plus Champagne equals Shazam!

The 750ML Wine Glass - It Holds a Whole Bottle

There are times when you want to sit down and have a nice glass of wine, reseal the bottle, and get on with your day. There are other times, however, when you want to make your way through that entire bottle, and damn the consequences. For whenever you have that kind of day, we've found this wine glass that holds a full 750ML of wine so you don't have to keep getting up to refill, but you look slightly less like a drunk because you're not drinking directly out of the bottle.

We bought one of these as a Christmas present, and the lucky recipient loved it so much he ran out and got more to distribute to his friends. Behold the power of the whole bottle wine glass.

Jumbo Wine Glass

The Red Wine Diet

We've often heard about the health benefits of wine, with studies appearing in dribs and drabs about how the stuff helps keep everything from your heart to your brain healthy. But we've never been quite sure exactly how wine helps so much, and that's where the new book The Red Wine Dietcomes in. Sounds like an interesting read, with suggestions for which types of wine have the biggest benefits, recommendations for other foods that will accentuate the wine's good properties, and recipes to try out as well.

In a landmark study, Roger Corder revealed that compounds called procyanidins are the key components of wine for preventing illness. Now, in The Red Wine Diet, he argues that drinking the right kinds of red wine and eating procyanidin-rich foods such as dark chocolate, apples, and berries can help us live to a ripe old age-while enjoying all the pleasures of life.

You had us at "drink more wine."

The Red Wine Dietat Amazon

Wine Clip: Fantastic or Fabulous Fiction?

Our sister site Cheap Fun Wines just put up an interesting post about a gizmo called the Wine Clip. Here's what they had to say: "(it's) a clip you put on the neck of your wine bottle, and the creators claim it uses the power of magnetism to break up the tannins into smaller tannins or something like that, and give you a smoother taste."

Our experience ends with the BeerClip, but does anybody out there have experience with this? Sounds like those copper bracelets people wear to stop arthritis or something...does it really work? We also wonder what would happen if you put it on the neck of some bottom shelf bottle of bourbon or something...

The Wine Clip [via Cheap Fun Wines]

Bodum Double Wall Sake Glasses

This is probably a post we should send over to our compatriots at Cheap Fun Wines, but we like Bodum glasses a lot and hey - we found it. Let 'em link to us. We saw these double walled Bodum sake glasses over at Josh Spear's site and we instantly developed a little crush. Whether you drink your sake hot or cold, the double wall will help keep it at the temperature you like, and they just look damned cool.

We found them over in a set of six at Amazonfor about $25; Josh found they're also available at Kitchen Universe for a couple bucks cheaper.

Amazon - Bodum Double Wall Sake Glasses Set of 6[via Josh Spear]

Screwpull Lever Action Corkscrew

If you had asked us 24 hours ago, we would have told you there's no reason to get a fancy schmancy corkscrew. We would have told you our four dollar plastic one works just fine. If you'd pressed us we would have asked you if an expensive lever-action screwpull would open a bottle quicker or otherwise enhance our drinking experience. Of course, that's before we tried out the LE CREUSET Lever Action Corkscrew (Amazon). Find out more after the jump.

Continue reading: "Screwpull Lever Action Corkscrew"

Jay-Z Likes the Gold Bottle With the Ace of Spades

It's no secret that Jay-Z has is boycotting Cristal champagne due to some unflattering comments the managing director of Cristal's parent company about the relationship between hip hop and his champagne. What you might not know is that Jay-Z isn't just sitting around with an empty glass - he's moved on to greener pastures.

Enter Armand de Brignac, a champagne in a chi-chi gold bottle with a big old ace of spades on the bottle. Is he making a little dig at Cristal and the comments he found to be racist with the spade thing? Maybe not, but it's damned shrewd if he is. Plus, from what we've read the champagne is out of sight - probably something we'll never experience unless we become rap moguls. We'll let you know how that works out.

Armand de Brignac; via Awake in Naptown - Jay-Z Shows Off New Champagne in New Video. Thanks for the tip MJ. Also, you can check out the video for Show Me What You Got, Jay-Z's video where he debuts the new bottle, at Youtube, at least until it's taken down for copyright infringement.

Nights in Black Velvet

If you ask us (and we know no one did), stout, and Guinness in particular, is the single greatest beer ever created. Sliding Guinness sales aside it's the perfect beverage, fine to drink alone or alongside any meal from Bangers and Mash to ham and eggs. While we usually drink our stouts straight, there's a long history of combining this black gold with other liquids, from Bass beer in a Black and Tan to a shot of Chambord in a Black Fog.

The redoubtable Wine X Magazine has opened our eyes to another Guinness concoction - the Black Velvet. A combination of stout and sparkling wine, the Black Velvet has a reputation of transcendence. Or, it has that reputation in the few places the bartender has heard of it anyway. A lot of bars around us in the Boston area serve them, but we've never sampled - we're going to make sure to fix that mistake after all the praise being lavished on the drink. Learn more about the Black Velvet, including tips for good stouts to try and choosing the wine to pair it with at Wine X; we've also found some other stout recipes at DrinksMixer.

Cheap Fun Wines on Fortified Wine

We've been waiting for weeks, and those winos over at Cheap Fun Wines have finally stepped up to the mic and spit out something we want to hear. They've put up a story profiling five notorious fortified wines, including Cisco, Mad Dog and Thunderbird, and we think they're finally living up to their potential. Hopefully we'll see more stories like this from them in the future.

Some fortified wines can be classy - that would be your ports, your sherries, etc. But those aren't the ones we're talking about here today.

We're talking about the fetid liquids you think of when you think of winos - Cisco, Mad Dog 20/20, Night Train, Thunderbird, and Wild Irish Rose. We've had every single one of these wines, though not since college (or high school), but each has its own special kind of magic. Read on for pics of the bottles and full descriptions thanks to BumWines.com, along with notes about our own experiences with them, and feel free to chime in with your own.

via Cheap Fun Wines

What Do You Remember About Sly Fox Wine?

We got an email from a gentleman named Terry who is looking for a for details for a brand of wine called "Sly Fox." We've got our compatriots over at Cheap Fun Wines doing some research, and we've been doing some digging of our own, but we thought we'd ask you, oh handsome and brilliant reader, if you know anything about it. Here's an excerpt from Terry's email:

I am looking for a product of growing up in the 60's and what a time/era it was. Back then we could get a wine called "Sly Fox" that was absolutely great!

In trying to relive the less harmful times of the 60's I started looking for it but I feel the company who made it is out of business. I have had a few Internet hits on it but it was mainly people who remember it like me but alas no product to find.

Do you know of Sly Fox and if it is available? If not do you know of a similar substitute? I guess it fell into a category of the Boons Farm,Thunderbird, Richardson "fortified wines".

We've found a site that calls it nasty stuff in a green glass bottle, a reference on another site called Bum wines, and even a poem that refers to it, but we can't find any particulars. If any of our loyal readers (or maybe your parents) know anything about Sly Fox wine and possible substitutes, please add a comment below or email us at news at liquorsnob.com.

Liquor Snob Interns Jump Ship, Become Winos

If you're paying attention you might have noticed some changes going on over at our sister site, CheapFunWines. Turns out a couple of our Interns have gone rogue and decided they'd rather do wine reviews of their own than stay under the lash...we mean tutelage...of our esteemed Editor in Chief. We imagine they'll do well because we taught them everything they know, so all we can do is say goood bye and good riddance...we mean good luck.

All kidding aside, these kids know quite a bit about wine, especially finding good cheap stuff. Here's a note from their "Under New Management" post:

We plan to let you know about great wines you might not have heard of for under $20, give you some tasting notes and most of all let you know whether you're getting a good value for your hard-earned bucks. We'd love it if you'd drop us an email at news at cheapfunwines.com, especially if you've got wine suggestions, know of good wineries to visit or even if you want to send us a bottle for review. You keep reading and we'll keep drinking wine. We thank you for your support.

via CheapFunWines.com