We live in a day and age where technology is advancing at a rate that has never seen before. While many of these tehcnological advances are aiding in improving society as a whole, let’s not forget about how wine accessories can aid in improving our personal lives too. I think it was Ernest Hemingway who put it best when he said…
“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.”
Thank you, Ernest. Any discerning wine enthusiast should have an arsenal of items geared towards enhancing the enjoyment that comes with each bottle of wine. With that being said, let’s take a look at some affordable wine accesseries that will aid in enhancing you and yours wine drinking experience.
These accessories range from bottle openers, wine aerators, wine savers, bottle stoppers, self-aerating wine glasses to decanters and even wine that travels! All of these wine accessories are great to keep around the house or give away as gifts for special occasions.
The Best Must Have Wine Accessories
Not only are the following wine accessories practical and useful (we aren’t suggesting crap that will sit on a shelf, you WILL use these), they’re also relatively cheap. We’ve done our best to scout out wine accessories that can be acquired at a discount.
1. The Rabbit from Metrokane
On sale now on Amazon.com for $ 39.99 (Free Shipping is currently available)
My favorite bottle opener / corkscrew… it’s just fun to use and incredibly efficient. With a simple up and down pump action, remove the cork from any wine bottle in just a couple of seconds.
Use the rabbit-ear shaped vice grips to clamp down onto the top of your wine bottle. From there, lift the handle up and then push the handle down to drive the corkscrew into the cork. Lift the handle while still clamping onto the bottle head and you’re done! To remove the cork from the mechanism, just hold onto the cork and reverse the handle.
This unit also comes with 5 other pieces – a foilcutter, drip-stop ring, bottle sealer, wax remover as well as an extra corkscrew. All of these items come in a conveniently sized good looking case.
I’ve had my Rabbit for over 10 years and it still works like new from the first day it was given to me as a gift. Just make sure you use the foil cutter to remove the foil around the cork before attempting to remove it as not to put unnecessary strain on the gear mechanism. The Rabbit wine opener also comes with a 10 year warranty.
2. Wine Mermaid Self Aerating Wine Glasses from Taste of Purple
I’ve said it before, but this is the only wine glass I use no matter what wine I’m drinking. The Wine Mermaid Taste of Purple self-aerating wine glass has a notch in the side of its basin. A patented design that ‘braks’ the wine as you sip and swirl the wine in your glass. The notch isn’t just useful for aeration, it’s also incredibly elegant.
The glasses are large enough in that they can hold an entire 750mL bottle of wine if you’re feeling bold. Buy them now at Tasteofpurple.com, or check out our full review here.
Taste of Purple also offers smaller glasses, ideal for champagne and white wine. Stemless versions with the same aerating technology can also be found on their website.
3. Wine Decanter from Taste of Purple
This decanter is beautiful – but that’s not the only reason why it’s worth owning. The Taste of Purple decanter aerates wine in a stylish way by spreading it over a large surface area.
This thing is durable and built with thick glass – while at the same time not too cumbersome. This decanter itself holds over a magnum of wine easily, and the thick stem allows for easy grasping and pouring.
Aside from aeration, the newly patented design will catch any sediment present commonly found in some older red wines.
4. Wine2Go – The Foldable Wine Bottle
Available now on Amazon.com for $ 9.99
Traveling? Going on a picnic? A hike maybe? There’s no need to bring a heavy glass bottle along when you can bring a safe and efficient foldable wine bottle that will fit in your backpack. Bust it out when you reach the peak of Mount Rainier or when you reach the summit of Mount Everest. Take it to a concert or bring it out on the boat. Don’t worry about rough water!
The Wine2Go Foldable wine bottle is BPA free – meaning the material used is safe and won’t affect the flavor of your wine. When it’s empty, these glasses can be folded to the point where it virtually takes up no space. Even when the glass is half full, the flexible and bendable design makes it easy to fit anywhere. Wine that travels… win!
Available now on Amazon.com for $ 9.27
While I typically finish a bottle of wine the same night I open it, not everyone treats their liver the same as me! My Vacu Vin doesn’t get nearly as much use as it probably should, but on those occasions where I can’t finish a bottle – this saves a dead soldier. The Vacu Vin pump creates a vacuum seal that’s airtight. Thus preserving the wine once it has been opened.
Wine won’t be exposed to additional air with this patented design. Over 35 million people have used it and swear by it, including myself. While it works great for both red and white wines, we recommend not using it with any style of sparkling wine. This product also comes with two reusable bottle stoppers.
7. Rabbit Wine Aerating Pourer from Metrokan
Available now on Amazon for $ 13.00 (Free Shipping available for orders over $ 35)
If you don’t already have the VinO2 self-aerating wine glasses I mentioned above, this is a great and simplistic option to aerate wine as you pour.
An ideal wine accessory that will let more air break up and stretch the tannic and acidic content in your wine.
You can attach it to the bottle neck, or simply hold it over the glass and pour your favorite wine through the device. Hear that wine gurgle. We recommend using this wine accessory for red wines, especially youthful and or acidic reds. The Rabbit Aerator is durable and comes apart which allows for easy cleaning that can be done by hand.