Thin

Used to describe a wine lacking character and flavor, possibly because it was made from grapes produced at a very high yield. An extremely thin wine tastes watery.

What is this antique tool called and what does it do?

A. Hoop Driver for tightening, loosening and removing the steel hoops that hold barrel staves together

B. Champagne Pliers for opening a bottle of sparkling wine

C. Wine Bottle Brush for sweeping away powdery mold and cobwebs from long-aged bottles before opening

D. Barrel Bung Puller for unlocking the seal on barrel bungs during fermentation

There’s nothing worse than not being able to get a cork out of a bottle of Champagne. And it happens quite a lot. The answer is not to let the bottle warm up (as some people do). Because if the bottle warms quickly, the cork will eventually come out explosively. A better, safer, quicker answer is Champagne pliers. These “pliers” look a bit like regular pliers only they are more elegant, and they are designed to fit perfectly around a stubborn Champagne cork. One small twist and voila, your Champagne is open and ready to be poured. You can get a new pair here.

National Ice Cream Month

With July being National Ice Cream Month, the pressure’s on to answer a fundamental question: what wine is best with ice cream? Being something of a traditionalist, I’m going with vanilla ice cream and PX… Continue reading

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