Archive for April, 2008

A bouquet of roses? Pedicure? Jewelry? Yawn. I’m tired of that stuff and I bet my Mom is as well. Most Moms just want to relax on Mother’s Day and if your Mom is anything like mine, a little wine can go a long way toward relaxation.

Whether your Mom is elegant, crafty, unique, or indulgent you can enhance her wine drinking pleasure with these gorgeous gifts. There’s no need to search for something creative this year, we have it all right here. No matter what Mom’s personality is, we have the gift to suit her. Without further ado, our top ten favorite Mother’s Day gifts!

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As a Wine Storage Consultant, we often have customers ask us, “I’m thinking of building a wine cellar, should I use the designer kits or is it worth it to move to the custom level?” This is a question that comes up quite often when customers are determining their desired wine cellar racking style. There is not a clear answer to that, as everyone’s needs differ, and so do budgets. But hopefully I can shed some light on the situation for you.

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With decanting, we refer to the benefits of air on wine, yet for preservation, air becomes an enemy. Why is this?

Wine can only take so much air before crying out, “mercy!” A half-hour of air exposure for an old wine or a few hours for a young tannic red can help a wine express itself. However, longer periods of time begin to damage the wine. This is where preservation comes in.

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Lips are still smacking as the buzz following our second annual Toast of the Town, San Francisco echoes through the blogosphere. We’re honored to have met so many readers and customers, and to have received such positive feedback following the event.

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I don’t make a habit of scoping out the contents of people’s refrigerators, but when I’m asked to “help myself,” I notice things. One of the things I observe occasionally is a bottle or two of white wine. I rarely see a bottle of red in a fridge. Maybe it’s because people think reds don’t have to be refrigerated. Reds actually require the same storage environment as whites, one that’s a cool 53-57°F with 55-70% humidity. (For more on wine storage temperature, read Wine Storage Misconceptions: The Truth About Your Reds and Whites.) In any case, there is wine being stored in regular refrigerators all around the world, I’m sure. That’s why I’m writing this post; not to pronounce any “rights” or “wrongs” about what folks put in their fridges, but merely to point out the differences between everyday refrigerators and wine refrigerators or wine cellars, and what those differences mean to the storing of wine.

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One of the most common misconceptions about storing wine is: reds are stored at one temperature and whites are stored at another. The truth of the matter is: reds and whites are stored at the same temperature, 53-57˚F. (Only the serving temperatures are different.) The middle of this range, 55˚F, is considered the holy grail of temperature grades, not too cold to impede wine maturation and not too warm to accelerate it. Temperature extremes in either direction, low or high, can ultimately spoil a good wine. Knowing the delicate nature of wine makes it easy to understand why a conventional refrigerator just doesn’t cut it as a wine storage solution; another popular misconception. To learn why a wine refrigerator or wine cellar is the best place to store your wine, read Wine Fridge Vs. Regular Fridge. What I mean by “storage,” by the way, is basically the place you keep your wine when you’re not drinking it, be it for a day, a week, or a year.

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Why do we call our popular line of wine refrigerators Silent Wine Refrigerators?
Because of thermoelectric technology. Since our units are built with a thermoelectric cooling system instead of a typical compressor, the result is what we like to refer to as “pin-drop quiet performance.” Rather than having a loud compressor, thermoelectric semiconductors reduce noise and vibration, two powerful enemies of wine. Noise and vibration interfere with the biochemical process of wine maturation and are often fatal to the best wines.

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