Vino Keeno, The Grapevine for the Recreational Wino

Pictured is the image on a pack of drink napkins that accompanied my Mother’s Day present this year. (Full disclosure: My name is WebWino and I’m a girl. Don’t worry, I’m cootie-free.)

I must say that the woman about to fall into the glass of wine is a kindred spirit. I always considered myself somewhat of a wino, but with the description of W.I.N.O.S. (Women In Need Of Sanity) I guess I’m one of those too. Yeah, a new club! When do I get my secret decoder ring?

To find out more about these fun napkins and see the other designs, visit the website Winos Have Fun!

1000 Best Wine Secrets by Carolyn Hammond
$12.95

Book Cover said:
Are you unsure about the appropriate way to taste wine at a restaurant? Or confused about which wine to order with catfish? 1000 Best Wine Secrets contains all the information novice and experienced wine drinkers need to feel at home in any restaurant, home or vineyard.

Secrets include: Buying the perfect bottle of wine, Serving wine like a pro, Wine tips from around the globe, Choosing the right bottle of wine for any occasion, Detecting faulty wine and sending it back, Understanding wine labels.

If you are tired of not knowing the proper wine etiquette, 1000 Best Wine Secrets is the only book you will need to become a wine connoisseur.

WebWino says:
This book rocks. The only way to make it better, is if it were to come bundled with the memory to retain all of the wonderful secrets. Technically, I suppose writing it down and putting it in the handy, easy-to-use book would qualify, but I would just be so wine-saavy if I could spout these wine factoids off without having to consult a cheat sheet first. Go go gadget-memory!

The 1000 secrets include insight on wine selection, buying, ordering, pairing with food, wine tasting, flavors from around the world, storage, myths and terminology.

Here’s a handy one for us wine reviewers:

#975 Attack: A tasting term that refers to the initial flavor of the wine when it hits the palate.

I like that. I’m going to think of being under attack as a positive from now on. Also:

#754 The leading producers of Zinfandel are Raveswood and Rosenblum. Zinfandel is one of the best value red wines around today.

Why do I like #754? Because I’ve reviewed a Rosenblum on this site before (granted, not a Zin, but I’m familiar with the brand) and I have a Ravenswood Zin sitting on my wine rack. Oh yeah baby, validation!

#18 Better wines are usually found in heavier bottles. This is a clue to quality.

Huh. Good to know.

In addition, Appendix A is extremely valuable, with 50 best wines under $20. It’s a cheapskate’s dream come true! I hope to review some of those cheapies inexpensive selections soon.

I think my only criticism of this book would be that you can’t just open the book and read a tip all willy-nilly like. The secrets are contextual, and typically continue the idea in the previous tip. Not really a criticism, more like a heads up for those of you who like to simply open the book and gain random wisdom nuggets.

So thumbs up from this Recreational Wino. Who knows, with all the info I glean from this book I might move up the ranks to Respectable Wino someday soon! Stay tuned!

In addition to the Recreational Wino shirts, there are two new reasons to go check out the Vino Keeno Shop!

We now offer black t-shirts that proudly proclaim “Red Wine Snob” and a BBQ apron featuring the following little ditty. My mother taught this tongue-twister to my sister and I long before either one of us understood what any of it meant. Hee, you rock, Mom!!

starkle starkle little twink
who in the heck you are i think
i’m not under the alfafluence of incohol
as some thinkle peep i am
the drunker i sit here the longer i get
take me drunk i’m home

(more…)

Since I’m all about promoting improved wine drinking with the RoJaus Wine Decanter, I thought I’d share a great article that ran in the August issue of Nashville Lifestyles magazine.

When It Pours, It Reigns
A local engineer improves the traditional wine decanter

It’s amazing how long we put up with things that don’t work or buy products that work poorly just because they’re all that’s available. Millennia passed with humankind lugging their belongings around on stretchers supported by poles that dragged on the ground instead of wheels. Eons went by before someone thought to invent the umbrella. And until just a few years ago, wine connoisseurs the world over had access only to an inadequate and clumsy system of decanting that had barely evolved from biblical times. That’s where Nashvillian Jim Moore comes in.

(more…)

Recreational Winos, your uniform is now available! Where? At the Vino Keeno shop, of course! Our new CafePress store is officially open for business.

I have no doubt that more goodies will be added as we go along. Until then, pop a cork and wear the shirts with pride!

PS – In the future you can access the store with the “Vino Keeno Shop” link listed under Links in the left sidebar.

While we are on the topic of sticking things in wine bottles, I thought I’d throw this into the mix. Only this time around you can drink the entire bottle first. Yeah!

Since I collect bottles of wines gone by (good or bad) then it makes sense that the wine bottle candelabra shall be my new accoutrement of choice. I saw one at a party, and I really liked the simplicity of it all, plus it puts all those empty wine bottles to good use. Now, allow me to walk you through the world of the wine bottle candelabra.

In addition to the style you see pictured on the left, I like
this one. And this one. However, buy one that looks like this and I’ll personally kick your ass.

Let’s review. This one is good. This one is not. Good. Bad.

And no, these do not count.

Thank you for playing clicking along. This concludes today’s lesson.

Just in case you have leftover wine and want to look cool, I wanted to share these funky bottle stoppers I saw at an arts and crafts festival this weekend. They are called “KnobStoppers” and they are vintage door knobs turned into wine bottle stoppers. How groovy is that?

My favorite was the old hot and cold bathtub faucet handles, but they don’t have a picture of it on their site. Regardless, go check out the pictures and see if you find one you like!

Click here to see the KnobStoppers!

Wow, whaddyll they think of next? Unbreakable wine glasses? Yup. Mikasa has a new line of stemware made of a new material called Kwarx, that is supposedly unbreakable.

Imagine the fun you could have at your next soiree, tossing your wine glasses into the hearth, only to retrieve them and try again later!

We own beaucoup Mikasa stemware, and I gotta give it thumbs up. Of course it is old-fashioned and breakable, but it is purdy and sturdy nonetheless. What I find interesting is that Mikasa changed the shape of the wine glasses to help open up the flavor of the wines. Apparently we don’t cellar our wines anymore and are drinking a lot of younger wines. Hmmm… sounds like a job for the RoJaus decanter!

Kwarx and RoJaus, a dynamic duo indeed.

Click here to read the whole article. Thanks to Wineo from Wineography for alerting me to this un-breaking news!

I want to share with you the decanter that has helped my appreciation of wine tremendously. It is called the RoJaus Grapevine Wine Decanter, and it has truly improved my wine drinking experience.

The RoJaus is an ingenious device that allows you to instantly aerate your wine, with a super-cool looking presentation. Just pour your bottle of wine over the glass ball which totally opens up the flavor. The wine then passes through the strainer which captures sediment, and fills the decanter. Then fill your glass at the nozzle (think: wine on tap). It really is that simple. But there’s more.

This decanter makes red wines taste so much better, especially the inexpensive ones. The wine tastes like it has been open and breathing all day, even though it was just poured out of the bottle. One taste test and you’ll see. Compare the wine straight from the bottle, to the same wine from the decanter. There is a big difference in the same wine following the five seconds it took to pour it into the decanter. Remarkable.

What makes this decanter stand out from all the other decanters is the presentation. It was designed to resemble a bunch of grapes hanging from a vine. I love showing it off to all my guests and having them try a taste test. It’s perfect for a wine tasting party!

Go here to see a video of the decanter in use and read the RoJaus FAQ. Go, check it out. Really… go. I’ll wait here.

Because we must proudly proclaim our wino status in any way possible, I present to you the essential footwear for the wine lover.

The Winery and El Vino socks for men by Nicole Miller. Available at a store called “The Joy of Socks.”

I am not making this up.