Buy Two Bottles?

Discovering quality, affordable wine takes a little luck and a forgiving palate. If I can pass along a hint to all my fellow vino hunters, buy two bottles... Why two? Good, affordable wine sells out quickly! There's no guarantee the bottle will still be there on your next wine run. What if I buy two bottles and I hated the first one, you ask? Not so fast... the circumstances affecting wines taste varies widely. Perhaps the bottle was corked/spoiled, it was too warm, or maybe you were drinking it when your girlfriend dumped you, etc. etc. On numerous occasions I've had the second bottle (not in the same sitting!) change my opinion completely. Happy hunting all!

Cheers!

Website Changes

Sorry for the long hiatus folks, blogging has taken a back-seat to "Life" recently. Some changes at Wine4Dummies.com... Due to a change in Blogger's service, I'm now posting to Affordable-Wine.com. All previous links and bookmarks to Wine4Dummies.com will auto-forward here. As you see though, all my image links are broken, so it'll take a little time to restore everything to normal. I hope to have several white wine recommendations this week!

Cheers!

Wine Barrel Lazy Susan

It's been a while since my last post, apologies to my readers. Spring has sprung though and I could not be happier!

Continuing on my theme of re-salvaged wine accoutrement, I present the wine barrel top, "Lazy Susan". Made from french oak, this barrel top has been sanded, stained and affixed with a rotating mechanism. It's quickly become a fixture on our dinner table, and it's pretty cool to boot!

Cheers!

Thank You!!

I wanted to extend a HUGE thank you to my monthly readers. Up to 1,500 readers grace these pages every month, for that I am humbled. I hope to continue bringing you affordable wine finds and wine knowledge for years to come!

Thanks to Green Wine Bottles for the image. I LOVE these, what a creative way to re-purpose and re-cycle old wine bottles.

Dirty Jobs, Winery

Dirty Jobs on Discovery is a family favorite in our household. On occasion my 5-year old will opt out of Sesame Street and ask for Mike Rowe by name! If you tune into Discovery, they frequently run Dirty Job marathons, including a visit to a winery.

While I didn't find the job particularly dirty, the episode was both entertaining and educational. If you have a DVR it's worth seeking it out, it provides a brief glimpse into the inner-workings of a large vineyard. The most interesting part for me was seeing the grape-less stems by the thousands sent via conveyor belt to over sized dumpsters. The stems were mulched and used as fertilizer in the vineyard, now THAT's going GREEN.

Cheers!

Wine Gear I LOVE and USE

I didn't hide my dislike of the Vinturi but there are a few indispensable wine accoutrement that I would recommend to others. A good decanter is key, a waiter's corkscrew essential and the wine foil cutter, a luxury. I received the foil cutter several years ago from my brother-in-law. Skeptical at first, it's become a well used part of my oenophile weaponry.

With a good waiter's corkscrew you can dispense of the foil covering the cork with a few strokes of your blade. But with the wine foil cutter and a simple squeeze/turn, you can be done in half the time. The cutter slices a perfect circle around the top, exposing the cork. A little lazy...perhaps. But at $5, it's hard to pass up, particularly if you've accidentally sliced your finger open on some exposed foil!

Cheers!