A Farmer’s Tool

What once started as a simple farmer’s knife is now one of the most sought-after urban tools—and status symbol—to ever come out of France. The name Laguiole (pronounced, lah-yole), comes from a village in the middle of the Aveyron region of France, where the original knives were first made in 1829 by Jean-Pierre Calmels. It was a popular knife for farmers since it was adapted to their particular needs. Originally used to cut bread and wood, later, a poinçon or piercer was added that they could use to make holes in harnesses or to pierce the stomach of bloated animals suffering from colic. [I know, TMI, but hey, I'm not making this stuff up.] As needs changed, so did the knife. In 1880, as poor farmers emigrated to nearby Paris to open restaurants and bars, a corkscrew was added to the knife.

Signature Bee

Many legends exist regarding the insect forged on the spring. Many believe it is a fly or horsefly that was commonly seen in the Aveyron region because of the cattle bred in the region. In fact, the catch on a Laguiole knife is often referred to as la mouche (the fly) in French. However, the locals prefer another, more glamorous story suggesting that the insect is a bee, an imperial symbol, bestowed by Napoleon himself to the town of Laguiole in thanks for the bravery of its soldiers. [Now that's a French story that IS made up.]

Popularity Brings Change

Over the years, as demand grew, production increased and the manufacture of the knives gradually moved 100 miles northwest to the town of Thiers. By 1981, these famous knives were all produced in Thiers. In 1988, the town of Laguiole built two forges to once again produce its namesake products, but most authentic Laguiole products are still produced in Thiers. While the design of the Laguiole knife is over 170 years old, the design of the coveted Laguiole corkscrews made today is actually only 20 years old. Today the Laguiole name and signature bee on the spring is on folding knives, corkscrews, table cutlery and even cigar cutters.

Cheap Knock-Offs

There is a lot of confusion about the Laguiole name and the signature bee. Laguiole is not a single company that produces these knives and corkscrews. Aside from being the name of the village in Aveyron and the name of a semi-hard cheese, Laguiole is really just a generic name of a folding knife. Because the name Laguiole and the bee on the spring were never trademarked, many inexpensive, low-quality knock-offs have flooded the market. Just because there’s a bee on the spring or bolster, doesn’t mean it’s made in France. Many of these low quality machine-made knives and corkscrews are made in China or Pakistan. And even in France, there are different levels of quality, from inexpensive mostly machine-made items to high-end, fully hand-made and engraved products, with a high price tag to match.

The Laguiole corkscrews and cutlery offered by IWA strike a nice balance between high-quality and affordability. Proudly made in Thiers, France by the craftsmen at the Jean Dubost Company, our Laguiole products are beautiful, functional and durable. Holding one in your hand is like like holding a piece of French history. Not only should you get one for yourself, they make excellent gifts for the wine aficionados in your life too.

Here’s an interesting video showing the process of hand-assembling a sommelier’s corkscrew.

Not everyone is lucky enough to live in or close to California wine country. But that doesn’t mean you can’t sample wines without spending a fortune. With our mini tasting kits, you can taste all of the best wines we have to offer without having to buy, and open, an entire 750mL bottle of wine or make a trip out to our tasting room here in California.

Sonoma Coast Vineyards offers some of the best Pinot Noir you will ever taste. We’ve taken the very best of what SCV has to offer and, for less than the cost of one full-sized bottle of any of these wines, you get a generous taste of six different and elegant wines from SCV. By using a breakthrough zero-oxygen technology, you get the same experience of our wine from a 750mL bottle in this diminutive, 50mL size. What a great way to try SCV wines with minimum risk, yet with the full aroma and flavor as a full-sized bottle. Order your mini tasting kit soon, though; we didn’t produce many of them and I certainly would hate for you to be disappointed.

Each mini bottle kit comes with tasting notes and vineyard information for each wine. The SCV Tasting Kit contains six 50mL (1.67 oz.) bottles of the following SCV varietals:

• 2008 Antonio Mountain Chardonnay ($40/bottle)
• 2008 Salmon Creek Pinot Noir ($50/bottle)
• 2008 Bodega Ridge Pinot Noir ($50/bottle)
• 2008 Petersen Vineyards Pinot Noir ($50/bottle)
• 2008 Balistreiri Vineyards Pinot Noir ($75/bottle)
• 2007 Occidental Road Syrah ($35/bottle)

Perhaps you’d like to try your hand at blending a wine, like one of our winemakers. Girard Winery has just the mini kit especially for you. Our Girard Mini Bordeaux Blending Kit allows you to create your own blend using five 50mL bottles of the traditional Bordeaux varietals select by acclaimed winemaker, Marco DiGiulio. To complete your mini wine lab (and to satisfy your inner science geek), we’ve included a funnel and two graduated cylinders so your measurements are precise. And, to see how well you do, there’s also a 50mL bottle of Girard Artistry so you can compare your blend to our blend.

Each Girard Mini Bordeaux Blending Kit contains a 50mL (1.67 oz.) bottle of each of the following:

• 2007 Girard Artistry, Napa Valley
• 2007 Girard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
• 2007 Girard Merlot, Napa Valley
• 2007 Girard Petite Verdot, Napa Valley
• 2007 Girard Malbec, Napa Valley
• 2007 Girard Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley

To get the most out of your tasting or wine blending, be sure you have the proper stemware and accessories from IWA. Check out our selection from the biggest names in glassware such as Reidel, Speigelau, Ultima and others.

Yesterday, we visited our friends at Trione Vineyards & Winery to put the Vinturi Wine Aerator to the test on video. We asked the question: could our tasters tell the difference between the wine poured straight out of the bottle to the same wine poured through a Vinturi? Both our tasters, novice and expert, preferred the wine poured through the Vinturi, saying it had a better bouquet and a richer, fuller flavor than the non-aerated wine.

But don’t just take our word—along with those of our tasters—order your own Vinturi and see for yourself. We’re confident that the Vinturi will improve the aromas and taste of just about any red wine you pour through it. Rather than decant that wine, why not simply pour it through the Vinturi and save yourself the time it would take waiting for decanted wine to open up. Plus, you won’t have a bulky and fragile decanter to wash afterward.

We’re picky about our barrels…and it shows in the quality of Vintage Wine Estate’s wine.

Oak barrels are vital components in the making of our wines. Not only does the oak affect the aroma, flavor, color and texture of a wine during its fermentation and aging process, it also helps to concentrate the flavors and aromas through evaporation and softens the fruit tannins through the oxidation that occurs from small amount of oxygen that is present in the barrel.

Since oak barrels release most of their flavors within the first few months in contact with wine, Vintage Wine Estates needs to purchase nearly 1,500 new barrels each year for all the different wines we produce. With a typical barrel costing somewhere between $900 to $1,200, it’s imperative that we are getting the most from our barrels for our money. New barrels replace those used for previous vintages and older neutral barrels that no longer impart oak flavors into the wine continue to be used to store and age wines.

Winemakers, Marco DiGiulio and Zach Long have specific flavor profiles they expect from the barrels they buy. Oak barrels are toasted with heat to develop specific flavors. This graphic gives you an idea of how temperature, and time develop different flavors when toasting a barrel. Experienced coopers (barrel makers) know just how much heat and time it takes to toast the inside of a barrel to achieve these specific flavor profiles.

Our winemakers select their barrels from cooperages based on the quality, flavor profile and consistency from year to year. In this video, Marco describes how that selection process works at Girard Winery, one of our popular premium brands, and why they taste samples directly from the barrels from time to time.

Did you know that Vintage Wine Estates—that includes IWA—has a tasting room in Healdsburg, California. It’s warm, bright, comfortable and best of all, right on the square in downtown Healdsburg. Oh wait, on second thought, the best thing is the wine. We’re pouring the Windsor Vineyards Champagne, along with some of our sister wineries including, Sonoma Coast Vineyards,Windsor Sonoma Winery, Fire Station Red, Grove Street Winery, StoneFly Vineyards and, Sexy Wine Bomb.

Of course, there’s also wine accessories from International Wine Accessories available for purchase in the tasting room. We carry a good selection of stemware, decanters, funnels, aerators, corkscrews, and other smaller items.  Finally, when one of our friends is here in Sonoma Valley and asks, “Is there someplace we can go to try your wine?” we can send them over to Healdsburg.

By the way, because VWE has so many wines and only so much space, the Healdsburg tasting room pours a very limited selection of wine. However, if you call us at (800) 527-4072, you can arrange ahead of time to taste up to 3 wines of your choice when you visit. Please call at least 3 days in advance to schedule your tasting and mention this blog article to receive a discount on your tasting. See you in Healdsburg!

Father’s Day is just around the corner. You did remember didn’t you?…DOH!  Well, you still have time to get him something—no, not another funky Jerry Garcia tie or bottle of Old Spice cologne. If dear old Dad is a wine lover, get him something he really wants. A gift from IWA shows Dad just how much you care and will be appreciated for years to come.

Here’s a few gift ideas just in time for Father’s Day:

Avanti 52-Bottle Built-In Mini Cellar – Give your Father the gift of Built-In Wine Storage! This is the built-in mini cellar he’s been hoping to get! It has stainless steel-trimmed glass doors, an LED readout for temperature setting and monitoring, slide out chrome racking for easy access and interior display lights to show off the collection.

SoWine Home Wine Bar by Transtherm – Give Dad the ultimate in wine preservation. The SoWine chills and preserves opened wine for up to ten days! The compact design will fit easily in the kitchen or Dad’s smoking lounge.

Vinturi Wine Aerator Gift Set – This Father’s Day, Dad deserves a great glass of wine…perfectly aerated by the Vinturi. The Vinturi Gift Set includes the popular Vinturi Wine Aerator beautifully packaged with the Vinturi Tower that holds the Vinturi for elegant wine service by the glass.

Ultima Stemware – Don’t let Dad drink wine in those tiny little wine glasses. Give him the strongest, clearest & most resilient glass crystal ever created! The Ultima Series is designed to enhance a wine’s flavor and bouquet. He’ll appreciate this gift every time he takes a sip.

Bronze Estate Opener – Now Dad can open a wine bottle quickly with modern technology and antique charm. Our Bronze Estate Opener works with both standard and flanged bottles and makes opening wine easy while looking great…the opener that is, but Dad will look pretty good too.

Laguiole Black Horn Steak Knives – Nothing goes better with wine than a great dinner. And a great dinner deserves the finest cutlery. Heirloom worthy, these knives are handcrafted in France of the finest quality, stainless steel for the blades. A set of six for when all the guys (and gals) get together for steaks.

So don’t delay. Order your Father’s Day gift today and surprise Dad with something he really wants.

Picture this: you decided to try that new restaurant. You made the reservations weeks ago just so you could get the prime dinner time. The tables have embroidered linens. The menu selections sound delicious. The service is impeccable. You’ve brought two of your best wines which the server is about to pour into their cheap restaurant grade wine glasses. Doh!

Large enough to hold up to 4 of your largest stemware such as these Riedel Sommelier Grand Cru stems

You would think that restaurants serving fine food and wine would use nicer stemware. Unfortunately, the scenario above happens more often than you would think. And even when restaurants have better stemware, they’re still not going to equal your Riedel Grand Cru, Tritan or Ultima stems. Doesn’t your finest wine deserve to be served and enjoyed in the same quality glasses you use at home? Absolutely, so why not BYOG—bring your own glasses—and carry them safely in our Stemware Tote.

It even will carry 5 Ultima glasses.

Our padded stemware tote will easily fit four glasses, even the large ones, each separated and cushioned by adjustable padded dividers. It unzips on three sides, has a snap closure handle and an detachable, adjustable shoulder strap for easy carrying. Never again will you have to settle for inferior stemware.

The wine label, that is. Saving wine labels is a great way to remember a special bottle of wine or a special occasion. Besides, it takes up a lot less space than saving the bottle. However, in the past, it was painstaking work to remove a label from a bottle intact using a razor blade. Well, now there’s a better way. Here’s a video demonstrating how to remove a wine label from a bottle and save it using a popular product we sell called, Labeloff. It’s a special super-sticky film that’s designed specifically to remove the printed part of wine labels, separating and peeling it from the adhesive part, but you’ll see exactly what I mean in the video.

Have you used Labeloff before? What was your experience? Let us know what you liked or didn’t like about this product. Oh, and one more thing. The video has several continuity errors. The first three people who comment and name just one of them that hasn’t already been pointed out, will receive a free 10-label package of Labeloff. Please, only one error per person.* We want to give others a chance to win too. So watch that video again, study it closely and submit your guess. Best of luck to you.

*Employees of IWA and VWE are prohibited from guessing. The decision of the judges are final. Only one prize per person.

In some circles, decanting wine is a controversial subject. Should you decant wine? Does it enhance the wine? What do experts recommend? Let’s begin with two examples of when you should decant a wine.

A great opportunity to decant is with young wines, especially big, bold reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Barolo or Zinfandel. These wines benefit from decanting because it helps to soften those tannins that are so assertive in their youth. It also gives younger wines, which are sometimes a little tight, some time to open up and more fully express their aromas and flavors. For young red wines, a decanter such as the Spiegelau Vino Grande or The Ultimate Decanter by Nachtmann with a wide base and lots of surface area works best.

Here’s another instance when you should decant. You’re about the pull the cork on a really nice bottle of wine and, oops, the cork breaks and several pieces fall into the bottle. You could try and fish the pieces out, but there’s so many smaller pieces that it would take too long. And you’re really wanting to have some of that wine right now. With a funnel such as The Ultimate Pewter Funnel, you can simply pour the wine through the screen of the funnel into a decanter and easily remove the cork pieces. Problem solved.

The Wine Finer

But what about older wines? Wines such as older red Bordeaux or Châteauneuf-du-Pape really don’t need to soften or open up. As a matter of fact, extended time in a decanter will only reduce the very characteristics of older wines that you want to retain. However, some older wines need to be decanted to remove the sediment and this is best done immediately before serving to retain its mature and sometimes delicate bouquet. Allow your wine to rest for at least an hour before you gently remove the cork and slowly pour it into a decanter while leaving the sediment in the bottle. Connoisseurs like to use a bright light source near the bottle to see when they’ve reached the sediment, but an easier way is to simply pour the wine through the Wine Finer to capture the sediment in the bottle.

What about white wines? Good question. Few white wines really benefit from decanting, but many people like to decant a white wine because it makes for better presentation. In this case, a decanter such as the Rojaus Decanter or the Riedel Cornetto Sommelier Decanter makes for an impressive way to serve your white wines.

So whether its to filter out sediment or a broken cork, to soften and open up a young wine, or simply to serve your wine with elegance, there’s always a good reason to decant and IWA has a great selection of decanters and funnels to help you decant in style.

International Wine Accessories is now on Facebook. Our fan page just went live on Wednesday and we’re already starting to get a few fans. Our fan page will be your destination for fun contests, new product introductions, learning about wine directly from Vintage Wine Estates winemakers and much, much more. We’ve posted some of our videos and photos about our products. We’re going to continue to add even more. We invite you to add some of your own photos and reviews on our products.

Stay tuned. We’re only getting started.