Wine accessory

A wine accessory is generally any equipment that may be used in the storing or serving of wine. Wine accessories include many items such as wine glasses, corkscrews, and wine racks.

Wine glasses are a type of glass stemware that are used to drink and taste wine from. Selection of a particular wine glass for a wine style is important, as the glass shape can influence its perception.

Wine bottle openers are required to open wine bottles that are stoppered with a cork. They are slowly being supplanted by the screwcap closure. There are many different inceptions of the wine bottle opener ranging from the simple corkscrew, the screwpull lever, to complicated carbon dioxide driven openers. The most popular is the wine key, sommelier knife or "waiter's friend" which resembles a pocket knife and has a small blade for cutting foil and a screw with a bottle brace.

Wine poppers are another means of opening wine. A hollow spike is driven through the cork of a bottle. A cartridge of carbon dioxide is then pressed to release a short burst of gas. The sudden increase of pressure dislodges the cork and the wine can then be served. Two problems can arise with this method: synthetic "corks" may be too dense to penetrate, and bottles not intended for pressure may break.

Wine coolers (any type of equipment used in the chilling or cooling of wine) may include:

A wine decanter is a glass serving vessel into which an entire bottle of wine is poured. They are used to remove sediment, aerate the wine, facilitate pouring, and provide elegant presentation. Decanters are important when serving older vintages which are more likely to accumulate potassium bitartrate crystal sediment in the process of aging; these can be removed both by filtering when pouring into the decanter – so that the wine in the decanter is sediment-free – or due to the shape of the decanter (flared bottom), which catches sediment. Decanters promote the aeration of wine by having a flared bottom, hence large surface area of wine, maximising the wine-air interface, thereby introducing more oxygen which changes the wine's bouquet and taste – it also allows the evaporation of undesirable organic compounds, particularly sulfides and sulfites; this use is controversial, and some argue that this is unnecessary and harmful, with swirling the wine in the glass being sufficient and preferable. Because they are a serving vessel, not a storage vessel, they also can make wine pouring easier by preventing dribbling, and elegantly display the wine's color in clear glass, rather than the green glass used for storage.

...
Wikipedia