Useful Wine Accessories

Wine accessories can be incredibly useful and some are even necessary. For example, unless you're only buying screwtop or box wine, you'll definitely need a good corkscrew or pull. Other accessories enhance your enjoyment of wine but aren't strictly necessary, such as a red wine aerator or a decanter. LoveToKnow wine is here to help you discover which wine accessories are available, which are useful, and where to find them.

It Starts With Stemware

While you could drink wine out of a red Solo cup or plastic tumbler, the right stemware will enhance your enjoyment of wine. Properly shaped wine glasses help to direct the wine's aromas to your nose and distribute the wine to the perfect place on your palate to create an optimal wine drinking experience. And while you don't have to buy every type of wine glass available, having glasses shaped for reds, whites, and Champagne will cover all of your wine glass needs and provide the optimal wine drinking experience for each type of wine. It's not necessary to buy glasses for every wine varietal; Merlot glasses are available, but a red wine glass will work just as well, for example. And while plain, basic stemmed glasses are the classic choice, you can also select other types of wine glasses, such as stemless glassware or decorative wine glasses. For parties, you might even wish to consider buying plastic glasses or Champagne flutes.

Accessories for Storing Your Wine

If you buy a good bottle of wine and bring it home with plans to drink it within the next few weeks, then your fridge or a cool cupboard are perfectly fine places to store your wine for the short-term. However, if you belong to a wine club, buy wines meant to be aged, or buy wine by the case, then you'll need a really good space to store your wine. Ideal wine storage has the following characteristics:

• It maintains a consistently cool (but not cold) temperature.
• It is away from vibration (so a cupboard next to the washing machine isn't ideal, for example).
• It is away from UV light.
• It maintains a consistent humidity.

For many people, wine storage racks in a cellar are perfect because they meet all of these criteria and offer an affordable solution. Others may prefer a wine refrigerator, which provides the ideal storage conditions for wine. If you don't finish a bottle of wine, you'll also want a temporary storage solution so you can drink the wine within the next few days. Wine stoppers are the easiest and most economical choice.

Accessories to Serve Wine

It's perfectly okay to simply pour wine into your chosen glass and drink it. However, if you're drinking aged wines or big, tannic reds, you may wish to use serving accessories such as decanters, which help remove sediment for aged wines, or aerators, which allow the wine to breathe and can make a young, tannic wine more accessible. Serving temperature is also quite important to the quality of your wine drinking experience, so using a rapid wine chiller for whites or sparkling wine can help you bring room temperature wines to the perfect temperature quickly.

Accessorizing Your Wine

While wine accessories aren't strictly necessary, they can enhance your enjoyment of the wine and create an optimal wine drinking experience. You'll find that the more deeply you get into purchasing, storing, and drinking wine, the more accessories you'll want and need. Let LoveToKnow Wine be your guide to finding the perfect accessories to suit your passion for wine.