For many wine lovers, opening a good bottle is a moment to celebrate. Champagne, Barolo or a fine Bordeaux – every wine needs the right setting. Chilling, opening, decanting: enjoying wine properly is an art in itself. And if the bottle isn’t finished, it comes down to proper preservation. For Christmas, here are a few sensible and stylish accessories to give to good wine friends – or to wish for yourself.
The Right Drinking Temperature, Indoors and Out
Le Creuset’s active wine cooler sees almost daily use: just chill it in the freezer and it’s ready any time. Thanks to elastic bands it fits standard 0.75-litre bottles perfectly, keeping wine and sparkling bottles at the ideal temperature for ages. The large contact surface of the two built-in cooling pads even lets you actively chill a wine quickly – ideal for a spontaneous outdoor picnic. In many colours for 35 francs. (lecreuset.ch)
So the Cork Doesn’t Fly in Your Face
Anyone who, opening sparkling wine, has ever given a guest a black eye or the kitchen a fresh coat of paint will be delighted by Le Creuset’s sparkling-wine opener. Connoisseurs know the famous «pop» should be very quiet – and that’s exactly how this tool removes the cork. No effort: place it, press, slowly turn the bottle until the cork lifts and stops in the catch. Voilà! In solid metal for 72 francs, in a plastic version for around 29. (lecreuset.ch)
Vacuum Pumps in Pepper-Mill Style
A bottle not quite empty, the rest too good to pour away? The «Preserve» vacuum pumps launched by French pepper-mill maker Peugeot Saveurs preserve the aroma and taste of opened wine. The manual «Preserve Duo» preserves both still (vacuum) and sparkling wines (overpressure) and extends shelf life by up to five days; the electric version pumps still wine down in around seven seconds. Manual from about 30 francs, electric from about 70. (peugeot-saveurs.com)
Preservation Deluxe
Anyone wanting to invest more reaches, for 329 francs, for the Coravin Timeless Three. The Dutch company’s system pours wine without pulling the cork: a precision-made needle gently pierces it, while introduced argon gas guards against oxidation. Once the needle is removed, the cork re-expands and seals the hole. That way fine wine can be enjoyed by the glass for weeks, months, even years. (coravin.com)
A Purist Glass for Complex Wines
Austrian glassmaker Zalto has released the first glass designed specially for structure-driven wines. The mouth-blown «Balance» glass, developed over two years by managing director Christoph Hinterleitner and his brother Michael with winemakers and sommeliers, is a little smaller than the «Denk’Art» glasses, with a sharper bend and shorter sides. It thus showcases wines that rely more on structure than fruit – such as skin-fermented or oxidatively aged whites. From around 50 francs. (zaltoglas.at)
The Wine Swirler From Denmark
Decanters are often beautiful but cumbersome. Anyone wanting to aerate their wines simply and quickly is well served by Audo Copenhagen’s «Wine Breather» – stylish, handy and functional, typically Danish design. You insert the opened bottle from the top and later pour the wine back upside down; as it flows, it swirls across the whole inner wall and gets the air it needs – no funnel required. Depending on the model, between 65 and 100 francs. (audocph.com)
This article appeared in MEN issue 2/24 (November 2024).
