From the category archives:

vino apparatuses

Wine Monkey: The Giveaway!

by whitney on July 14, 2010

I have been eagerly awaiting this moment….without any further ado…

No- this is not a slightly embarrassing article of my clothing. It is…. the Wine Monkey.

It’s amazing, isn’t it? Well- it can be yours. Leave a comment (tell me what your favorite summer sipper is right now) and I will pick a winner on Friday. If you’re not the lucky lad or lass that gets the goods, you can buy one in Los Angeles at domaineLA!

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My “Cellar”

by whitney on April 14, 2010



Over the past 10 years I have moved maybe 20 times. Probably more. The point- I have lived A LOT of places. And packed more times than anyone ever should in a lifetime. Since landing in sunny Cailfornia 3 1/2 years ago, I have been in 4 apartments. Maybe I get bored easily. In any case, wine storage has always been a bit of an issue. Mainly for lack of space, lack of money to invest in any type of cooling system and lack of funds to actually buy enough wine to cellar or store. And I am always moving around and that’s just one more thing to have to move. Lately, I have been acquiring some special bottles that I actually want to keep for a little while. I would also like to protect them- like my children. That’s kind of what they are. My little wine babies.

In the past I have stored my wine in the following places: next to my shoes in a dark corner of a closet, in a dark back cabinet of a kitchen, in the fridge and under a bed. I am kind of still amazed that I waited until now to buy an actual wine cooling unit. Most wine biz people I know have way fancy versions and ones built into the kitchen counter or one that holds 100 bottles or some other such thing. Me? I have a brand new 15 bottle monster! 15! And single temp! I know- it’s not much but it was on MEGA sale at Target (score.) And it has a little light that I can turn as I sit alone in the dark…to stare at my sleeping wine babes.

the entrance to the wine cave...

the entrance into the “wine cave

wine baby

OK- so the wine is still in my closet. But it’s a step up, nonetheless.  My drink now whites are in the kitchen fridge. My drink now reds are in that there little cooler with my save for later reds. I have the temp at 57 degrees F so I can get a bottle of drink now red out and have it close to service temp. And it’s not so far above a 55 degree cellar temp that my save for later reds will suffer at all.  So, where do you keep your wine? And at what temp? Inquiring minds would like to know.

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Wino Wish List

by whitney on December 10, 2009



I’m a wino and I’ll drink if I want to! And I would prefer to drink out of sculpturally divine glasses, pour from super cool decanters and open bottles with a knuckle ring corkscrew. You heard me. I am making a list and checking it twice, people. I give you (some of) the Brunellos Have More Fun Xmas list…

Bourgeois-Brass-Knuckle-Screw

rainman_vit_0020_liten

mon petit coeur

I would also like this built into the floor of my kitchen…my landlord will thank me later.

glass wood

peek-a-boo

stairway to heaven

And just for kicks….i definitely need this pimped out wine glass/cane to complete my New Year’s Eve look.  2010- watch out!

ringing in the new year

merci didier.

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The Glass Menagerie

by whitney on August 13, 2009


Over the years, I’ve amassed quite a collection of wine glasses. It has proved to be very useful as my mood for wine vessels changes all the time. Some evenings, I might like to drink red wine out of a short rocks glass while eating pizza. Or prosecco out of an ornate moroccan cup. Because I spend so many evenings presenting appropriate stemware to guests for their chosen wines, it’s nice to come home and play by my own rules. Which are no rules.

menagerie

BUT, as I slowly and surely approach “adulthood”, I feel as though I need to commit to a somewhat unified aesthetic. I need a great multi-purpose glass for entertaining. I love a good stemless glass for reds and lambrusco, but don’t know if I could live with stemless for EVERY wine. If I were to go with a set, I always love the elegance of Schott Zweisel. And their Classico line is timeless with a not too tall stem, which is my usual complaint with them. On the more affordable front, Riedel has a line for Target called the Vivant collection. A great starter set for anyone.

So, what style of glass is your jam?

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