Leaving the Lever Corkscrew

Breaking up is hard to do. Especially after a healthy relationship that involved opening bottles of wine, with great ease. But something in the air, just feels different. I’m talking, of course, about my recent subconscious decision to switch from a lever style corkscrew back to a waiter’s style.

It wasn’t intentional. I’ve just noticed that lately I’ve been reaching for my Laguiole waiter’s style instead of my old Quicksilver. I started with a plastic waiter, upgraded to the Concorde then the Quicksilver and recently have gone old-fashioned again after finding a beautiful Laguiole hidden in my drawer.

A lever style corkscrew gives you, for lack of a better term, more leverage, when pulling up difficult corks like those made of synthetic material. Certain bottles require more strength to open and a lever style corkscrew provides that. A lever style corkscrew can make opening difficult bottles, effortless. But when opening a classic bottle with some age, or something a little more special, I seem to be opting for the waiter’s style. There is something romantic about using a waiter’s style corkscrew that’s unparalleled. And the beautiful wood and elegant silver of a Laguiole is the icing on the cake.
So I’m sorry to say this Lever, but I’ve moved on.

Do you feel the same? Which is your favorite style of corkscrew and why?

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StrumErika Meets Winstons Wisdoms

I am pleased to announce the launch of our company blog, Winstons Wisdoms. Winston is that cute, wine loving gentleman who has stood as the Wine Enthusiast company logo since the beginning. He has recently gotten a face lift, so now is his chance to really shine.

The blog is positioned as a place “Where the Knowledge of Wine and Accessories Is Shared.” After being in business selling wine accessories since 1979, we’ve realized people can be mystified by all of the wine tools that exist, and their purpose. The blog will serve as a community where we can discuss issues that are relevant to our customers, while having a little bit of fun at the same time.

I’m happy to say that I will be contributing posts along with a few of my other colleagues, beginning with a post about maximizing a wine/food tasting event, with 10 tips that I hope you will find helpful. I’m sharing some “tricks of the trade” with all of you. Please give Winston a go, I think you’ll enjoy what’s happening over there. Cheers!

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Show Us Your Rack!

Wine rack, that is. Lenn over at Lenndevours did a post today, asking us bloggers to show off our wine racks for the world to see. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how everyone stores their wine? He asked. Well I agree completely. The concept sounded particularly intriguing to me, being in the wine accessories and storage business. I’d love to learn what works for people. On November 9th, bloggers around the world will be revealing their own racks and submitting them to this Flickr group. I just couldn’t hold out until then. Do you have a rack that you’d like to show off? By all means, make a contribution!

I am particularly proud of my baby which is a Chelsea Wine Credenza from our own line of Portfolio units. It holds 42 bottles and boasts two temperature control gauges on either side. The center is lovely for displaying glassware and I use the top surface for my geeky wine and cookbooks. It’s not huge by any means but for an urban dweller, it’s just right and it looks real nice. But don’t take my word for it, check out my rack yourself

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Construct the Ultimate Wine Cellar

I had to do a little bit of shameless self promotion here as I’m rather proud of a recent video featured on Open House New York. In it our Wine Director- Josh Farrell- discusses the basics of building your own cellar. There are also some nice beauty shots of a Wine Enthusiast cellar built here in Westchester and some shots of our showroom. Check it out Read the full article here.

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