Hung Out to Dry

If you've ever owned long stem wine glasses, you've probably had to deal with the difficult task of drying them.  You run the risk of breaking them if you put them in the dishwasher, and if you turn them upside down to dry on a towel, they often get splotchy water marks.

One solution is to switch to stemless wine glasses!  However, as we already have a large collection of sentimental stemware, most of which was acquired on wine tasting adventures, and because Bryann prefers the stemware anyway, I've come up with a few drying solutions for those with stemmed glasses.

This StemGrip Stemware Holder solves the dishwasher problem.  It clips glasses in place and settles on top of one of the dishwasher rack pins, so your glasses don't move around and get broken during the wash cycle.  It seems to be pretty well reviewed.

If you don't trust your dishwasher, or prefer hand washing your stemware, try out a stemware rack by Oenophilia.  It holds 16 glasses AND a decanter AND it folds away for easy storage.  It has great reviews, and it's cheaper on Amazon than on the company website.  (I may be putting this on my wishlist!)






Another way to let your glasses air dry without those splotchy water marks is to hang them from an undercabinet stemware rack.  The one featured at the left is also by Oenophilia, but Bryann and I found one at Bed Bath and Beyond, and I'm sure any store with a home storage section will sell this.  It has enough room for up to 9 wine glasses, and even has enough room for our large cabernet glasses.  Just lay a towel underneath and voila!  No more caked on water splotches!

Wine Win Wednesday: Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc

Wine:  Villa Maria 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, Private Bin New Zealand Marlborough Region

Why it's a win:  This crisp, clean Sauvignon Blanc is slightly sweet on the nose, and full of tropical fruits and herbs on the palate.  We drank this wine at a cook-off and paired it with a spinach-artichoke dip and a bruschetta.  It was elegant, smooth, and ever so creamy with a refreshing finish.  It was a big hit at the party, and even us women who usually prefer sweet whites really liked it.  Rated 90 points by Wine Spectator.

Where you can find it: Costco, Fred Meyer

Price: $11 at Costco

January Wine & Dine: BYOW Edition

brought to you by Kimber and Nate

For this month's gathering, Nate and I decided to mix things up.  Instead of the traditional potluck style event where the host provides the main dish and selects the wine theme while guests bring the rest of the food, we provided all the courses and asked guests to bring a bottle of their favorite wine.  We suggested bringing a bottle that fell in the $10 range (the usual amount guests bring to help the host offset wine costs), or, if couples preferred, a bottle in the $20 range. We also left the option open to bring a bottle less than $10 or $20 and donate the remaining amount towards food.  The idea of a "bring your own wine" wine and dine had been suggested in the past, so--still lacking a brilliant idea of our own the week before--we seized the opportunity.

On to the food.  Nate wanted to make some of our favorite foods (i.e. he wanted to eat steak and potatoes), which I granted also went with our theme of bringing a favorite wine.  Our menu was as follows:

Appetizers: Caprese salad bites, jalapeno artichoke dip served with pita chips, and baguette slices heated in the oven and topped with either gorgonzola and pineapple, gorgonzola and pear, or pear and basil over olive oil

Dinner: Steak and mashed potatoes, with grilled onion, bell peppers, and zucchini

Dessert: Creme brulee, ice cream, and sorbet

Now, the wine.  As it turned out, some guests brought their favorite wine, and others brought something they wanted to try instead.  Either way, people got to try a variety of wines that may not have ever fit into a normal wine and dine theme.  Our wine selection was as follows:

2010 Twisted Old Vine Zinfandel: brought by Katee and Travis who wanted to try it
2010 "Menage A Trois" Red Blend: a favorite of Annie's
2009 Erath Pinot Noir: a favorite of Aaron's
2009 Elk Cove Del Rio Syrah: a favorite of Paul and Rachel's
2008 Santa Ema Reserve Merlot: brought by Kristi who wanted to try it
Barnard Griffin Cabernet Merlot (65% Cab, 33% Merlot, 2% Cab Franc): from Molly
Mad Housewife White Zinfandel: a favorite of Belinda's
Trader Joe's Block Red: brought by Jennifer who wanted to try it

And in the category of "other" we also had Adam's Dos Equis, and John's 7-Up and cranberry juice.

While there was no actual "theme" to the selected wines, or any new information about the history or types of wine served, the night of January 14 was still a great success.  It turned out to be an informal wine and dine that focused more on eating, drinking, and being merry with good friends.  Which, in the end, is what it's all about anyway!

Perfectly Measured Pours

Throwing a wine-tasting party can be tough.  In addition to the pressure of choosing good wines, you have to make sure you buy enough for everyone attending.  And you have to make sure you pour your guests an appropriate amount of wine so they don't get so drunk they can't distinguish flavors anymore!  With a measured pourer, you'll never have to do guesswork again.  

A lot of us in the Wine & Dine club have a 1 oz pourer (thanks to Elizabeth's keen shopping eye), which suits our needs for now.  But a 1 ounce pour is more appropriate for liquor.  It's recommended to serve 2 ounces of wine for a proper tasting experience.  (Whew!  I thought I was a lush for always wanting a second pour...)

Solution?  Pour twice for each person!  Or get yourself a 2-oz. pourer at http://barsupplies.com/measured-pourer-p-2383.html.

Bar Supplies.com offers several measured pourers at $2.49 each.  (The shipping is $8.50 so factor that in.)  In the meantime, I'm keeping my eyes open for 2-oz. pourers at the wine shops and liquor stores.

A standard 750 ml bottle of wine is just over 25 ounces which gives you 12 tastes per bottle.  If you have more than 12 guests at your party, buy two bottles of each wine you want to sample.

Pinot Noir and Your Health

Did you know that oxidative stress plays a major role in aging, and an antioxidant in red wine called resveratrol may help extend life by neutralizing disease-causing free radicals?

Well, now you do! Better yet, pop a Pinot Noir for the maximum amount of resveratrol per glass.

Our friends over at Eat This Not That recently published 15 Foods that Cure and named the beloved Pinot Noir a top anti-aging elixir. I'll raise my glass to that!

Looking to try a new Pinot Noir? Oregon's own Erath Winery in Dundee has a fantastic (and very popular) Pinot Noir that is sure to make the ani-aging process extra delicious.

Cheers!