Archive for the 'Corks' Category

With Valentine’s Day only weeks away, it’s the perfect time of year to appreciate the people (and wine!) we love. No doubt we will all be opening a special bottle on the 14th, but I’d like to highlight some of the products that will heighten your love of wine all year round.

Here are some personal favorites. Which wine gadgets and wine accessories do you own that tell your wine, “I Love You!”?

Label Savers – One of our all-time best sellers, label savers are a quick and easy way to make lasting memories from a special bottle.  Sold in sets of 10, these nifty laminators work by separating the front printed surface from the adhesive back of the label.

Cork Kits – Another classic product, we have offered cork kits in all shapes and sizes from coasters to barrel hoops for decades. And with our new heart-shaped option, there is truly love in the air!

Riedel Black Tie Bliss Decanter – An elegant wine decanter is the perfect way to let your wine breathe. Your love of wine is perfectly represented in Riedel’s unique design with its heart-shaped cutout which also serves as a pouring assistant!

Eurocave – One of the most infinitely rewarding wine investments you can make, a Eurocave will cradle and protect your wine for years to come. Show your collection some appreciation with the world’s finest wine cellars, crafted in France.

WineHug Self-Inflating Protective Travel Pouch – If you love your wine, the last thing you want is for it to fall victim to the bumps and bruises of travel! The WineHug acts as a life jacket for your wine, so you can take it with you everywhere you go!

Good Wine Glasses – Wine needs to express itself and the best way to do that is with the proper stemware. Our Fusion line is not only beautiful , but break-resistant! Your beloved bottles will be at their best in these glasses.

Bathtub Wine Bottle Chiller – Your wine gets to relax as it chills in our whimsical bathtub wine chiller. White wine lovers, this one is for you!

An Aerator – Whether a finer, a breather or a funnel suits you, aerators allow your wine to mix and mingle with the air around it! Improved aromatics and softer tannins will be the end result. Your wine will thank you!

Here at Wine Enthusiast, we know that exciting content is written every day about wine accessories. We strive to stay on top of it for our own benefit, but we want you to be in-the-know, too! As such, we are introducing an exciting new series on Winston’s Wisdoms: Around the Web in Wine Accessories, where we feature rundowns on the latest tips and ideas in various wine accessory topics. First up, our wine cork roundup!

Do-it-yourself cork projects are ever evolving in their creativity and practicality. We’ve compiled some of our favorite examples of inspiring wine cork creativity and wrapped them up in this page-length package to share with you. Below you’ll find ideas for key chains, picture frames and almost everything in between – the options for recycling and reusing your wine corks are seemingly endless. If we happened to miss a good post, or if you have some creative ideas to share of your own, feel free to drop a comment below!
Without further delay, the DIY craft ideas that we love the most…

Key Chains
Bring your favorite bottle of Riesling with you everywhere you go.

Wine Cork Key Chain from Cleverly Inspired

Key Chain from Rustic Crafts

Key Chain from Cleverly Inspired

For your Home

Who thought you could dry your feet with those old bottles of Cabernet?

Wine Cork Bath Mat from Crafty Nest

Bath Mat from Craftynest.net

Picture Frame from V-Spot

Drawer Pulls from Re-Nest.com

Tile from Re-Nest.com

Planters from Mychiclife.com

For the Kids & You
Don’t worry, there is fun for all ages here!

Wine Cork Tacks from The Wooden Bee

Tacks from TheWoodenbee.com

Dolls from Increations

Pens from Recycled Crafts

Stamps from Lilblueboo.com

Stamps from Zakkalife

Stamps from Craftzine

Monograms

Incredible recycling projects for those with an interest in design and typography.

Monograms from My Happily Ever After

Monograms from My Happily Ever After

Monograms from Green is Universal

Fashion

You are a wine enthusiast, and you’ve got the accessories to prove it.

Pins and Hairclips from Kara Paslay Designs

Pins and Hairclips from Kara Paslay Designs

If craftiness isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other ways to recycle your wine corks. ReCork is an organization that takes recycled corks and then reprocesses them into sandals by partnering with the Sole shoe company. They have drop-off centers in the U.S. and Canada, including our own headquarters in Mount Kisco, NY.

For more great DIY projects, check out our Wine Cork Crafts section to shop our selection of kits to make trivets, serving trays and more.

After offering wine accessories to customers for over 30 years here at Wine Enthusiast, we’ve seen many things come in and out of popularity. But one product whose excitement has never waned is our fun cork kit.

Amongst all the innovative new products that our team has developed, there is no replacement for the joy of collecting corks and compiling memories into something useful. For years we’ve offered the original Wine Cork Board Kit and received rave reviews. “Great for a Wall Decoration“, “a great gift for anyone“, and “a cute addition to a wine-themed kitchen” are just a few of the positive comments we’ve received.

Then we decided that corks made a great accent to tabletop service and we created the Wine Cork Trivet Kit.  People love protecting their kitchen table from hot pots while artfully displaying corks from their favorite wines. “Love it love it love it, such fun!” Said one customer, while another uses it “at dinner almost every night.” It seemed like people could not get enough of these cork kits!

To satisfy all of the excitement, this year we welcome new cork kit creations in all shapes and sizes, like the  Wine Cork  Lazy Susan, Wine Barrel Hoop Cork Kit, Oval Wine Cork Trivet Kit, Round Wine Cork Board Kit , little Wine Cork Coasters and more!

No matter the type you select, we’ll supply the hardwood frame, some sandpaper for any rough edges, instructions and we even offer extra recycled corks if you need help filling the space.

If you already own a wine cork kit and need some design ideas, consult our Cork Patterns, which provides beautiful demonstrations to get you started.

What do you do with old corks? Have you tried our cork kits?

Stelvin is just a fancy name for a screw cap. It’s a particular brand of screw cap, made of metal, that has become almost universal. The brand name is used generically, much like “Kleenex” or “Xerox”. Screw caps have become a popular cork alternative as of late, as wineries seek to prevent the damages of cork taint. Much of the reason for using cork (aside from the romance) is to allow wine to breathe over time as it ages. Thus, wines that aren’t mean to age are fine under the Stelvin closure.

Cork has been used as a wine bottle closure for centuries. Many people would say they love the romance of pulling the cork from a bottle of wine, and no other closure will suffice. However, cork comes with a problem that has caused many wineries to move to alternative solutions like synthetic corks or screw caps.

A certain type of mold called Trichloroanisole (TCA) can attack the cork and spoil the wine. This is known as “cork taint.” It’s not common (1-3% of wine is infected) but it happens enough to cause wineries and consumers a lot of grief. Imagine paying $60 for a special bottle and opening it, only to find that it smells like a dank basement or wet newspaper! And imagine the frustration of the winemaker, that his/her wine could potentially reach your lips in this spoiled state.

Corks can break and crumble on old wines, or when a clunky corkscrew causes a problem. Unfortunately this often leads people to panic: Oh no! My wine is ruined! It’s corked!

Don’t stress. If the cork breaks in half and the remaining half is stil intact, simply give it another go and see if you can extract the rest. If the cork has completely crumbled, the best thing to do is to push the pieces into the bottle so they don’t block the neck. Most likely, the wine won’t be harmed by the cork. Pour the wine and give it a smell to look for off-aromas.  If the cork is tainted, the wine smells musty, like wet newspaper, or it has no smell. In this case, you’ll have to discard the bottle. If the wine smells fine, just ignore those pesky cork pieces and pull them out as you pour.

Having a great corkscrew and a humidity-controlled wine cellar (to keep the corks moist) are two great defendants against broken corks. We offer a wide assortment of corkscrews, wine cellars, and wine refrigerators, so you never have to deal with broken corks!