EPISODE 11 A Revolutionary New Weapon? About the 'Decanting Pourer'
EPISODE 10 Champagne Accessories
EPISODE 9 The Real Thing vs. Knock Offs and the difference between WAC and \100 shops
EPISODE 8 Storing your important wines (wine racks)
EPISODE 7 How to polish your wine glasses
EPISODE 6 About Glasses Part 2
EPISODE 5 About Glasses Part 1
EPISODE 4 Preserving Your Wine with Wine Savers
EPISODE 3 Wine Label Recorders
EPISODE 2 The Screw of Sommelier Knives and Corkscrews (A Second Point)
EPISODE 1 The Screw of Sommelier Knives and Corkscrews

EPISODE 11 --- A Revolutionary New Weapon? About the 'Decanting Pourer'
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The Danish made 'Decanting Pourer'.

Since it seems to be "in season," I felt that I should write a little about it and will try to keep it brief, but I don't know if I can...(ha ha)

Ever since we began selling the Decanting Pourer it has been one of our biggest hits (although the 'name engraved Chateau Laguiole sommelier knife' still remains to be a huge hit). Because the name is quite long, below this wonderful item is referred to by the name our staff gave to it, the DecanPo.

The truth is that I first found out about the existence of this product from a long time aquaintance who is a well-known wine buyer that manages a certain wine shop in Shinbashi and has a seemingly preternatural knack for the business.

Does this really make the wine better just by attaching it to the bottle before you pour a glass? And what's this? It uses the theory of some late Italian physicist, Venturi..? Seeing as I was not going to be convinced by a mere explanation, this skilled merchant acquiesced to a product sampling by saying, "Just try this bad boy out."

First thing when I got home that night I decided to do a little test. I just happened to have a Spanish Rioja "Caslillo Ygay," so that is what I used.

After filling the glasses, some with the DecanPo and some without, I arranged them randomly in a circle so as to forget which were which. After my little tasting, I immediately said to myself, "These are like two different wines," began to rave about the effectiveness of this item.

Tight, young wines that still have an edginess to them are transformed into a mild, smooth drinking experience.

The more that I thought about it the more I was amazed with this wonderful contraption.

1. Compared to a decanter this is a cinch to wash; taking almost no time at all.

2. An ideal size for the compact Japanese kitchen!

When you really think about it, at the retail price of \4800 that it was listed at it really isn't that expensive is it? At least not for the performance that you will receive from this soon to be indispensible wine tool.
(Of course when some of my staff glanced at the listed price they thought it was too expensive.)

One reason is the fact that these are imported from Denmark where the cost of labor is pretty high, but if you are the kind of person that enjoys more than 1 bottle of wine a week, buying the DecanPo at its \4800 sticker price (the WAC price is \4080) is an economically sound decision.
At least that's the way that I see it.


After this I also tested the DecanPo on white wine and Nihonshu as well as other varieties, and the results were likewise startling.

But still the most shocking difference were with young wines especially of the "New World" variety like chardonnay.

Enjoy your new found love for wine with the truly revolutionary "Decanting Pourer"


EPISODE 10 --- Champagne Accessories
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It is never too soon to start planning for the next holiday season, so I thought I would include my two cents about some items that will make your next champagne toast an overwhelming success.
First let's start with the most important point regarding the pleasure of enjoying champagne the glass!
Now, when you think of a champagne glass what do you picture?

There are two main types of glasses, but technically three varieties exist.
What was the first bowl design that popped into your mind. Was it the wide rimmed, coupe-shaped bowl?

Or maybe it was then the champagne flute with a tall elongated bowl.

The first of these is prominent at wedding receptions and hotels and such, but is this really what you should use to truly enjoy wine or sparkling champagne? Well, quite simply the answer is "No."
Hotels opt for the wide mouthed varieties because they are easier to pour into and have greater stability on tables.
First of all the coupe glass is a relic of days passed when champagne was not dry but instead sweet, and it would be served even sweeter with candies submerged in the drink.
Yet this wide mouth inhibits the drinker from enjoying the wonderful characteristics of champagne and almost all of the fruity bouquet is lost as well.
Moreover when the champagne leaves the glass (whether it be a dry variety or incredibly sweet champagne) the flow is directed to the sides of the tongue enhancing the sour qualities of the libation.
However, there is still one more troubling quality of the coupe glass which I personally feel is the biggest drawback...
What is trademark quality of both champagne and sparkling wine?...the bubbles which are regretably lost in coupe glasses.

I might have been a little too hard on the coupe glass because I have to admit that it has practical uses from time to time. Like champagne trees. You know those pyramid shaped arrangements of glasses that you sometimes see at parties. They require this shape of a glass.
By no means would I suggest using these glasses for genuine champagne, but for champagne cocktails and such this is quite a charming choice.
Oh, but I shouldn't forget that in the Riedel sommeliers series there this coupe-shaped glass for the sweet bubbly dessert wine, Moscato. (Sommeliers series 400/9)

Suffice it to say that the benchmark of champagne glasses are those of the flute variety. There are two versions of glasses to bring out the details of this type of champagne. The first design has a bowl with a nearly straight surface and a small capacity. This is optimum for relatively young and bubbly sparkling wines.
For drinking wine the standard of excellence is set by the Riedel sommeliers series, and for champagne it is no different. 400/8 has the required characteristics for the perfect champagne flute whlie 400/88 with its unique design is tailored for sparkling wines. However, if you feel indifferent to handmade, mouth-blown glasses, from the Vinum series there is also the wonderful 416/8 glass.

There is one more type of champagne flute. The design of this bowl is slightly flared instead of the straight champagne flute allowing a greater capacity.
This design delivers the intrinsic aromas and bouquets that champagne has so that you can clearly comprehend the "information" that the fragrance dispatches.
However, be sure not to fill the glass to more than one-third of its capacity in order to leave space for the champagne to breathe. Otherwise you will not be able to hear the "message" that it means to convey.

In the end you will discover that for soirees and other standing parties the coupe shaped glass is easier to spill, and the flute shape glass protects against that.
In the sommeliers series there is 400/28 and in the Vinum range you can select 416/48, and both of these are called vintage wine glasses.

Lastly in order to preserve a continual stream of the champagne or sparkling wine's trademark bubbles, the juncture of the bowl and the stem of the machine-made glasses while flat are etched with a small indentation. For high-quality glasses instead of this juncture being flat and etched it is triangularily shaped to create the comparable (yet superior) effects to prolong the effervescence of the bubbling libation.

So how about it? For your next big soiree instead of the plastic flute (I hope
you still aren't thinking about using a coupe glass) really add to your party's
flair by choosing high-quality flute glasses to enjoy champagne in.
It will truly be an unforgetable occassion.

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