Nov 302013
Thermal Concrete Wine Chiller: This chiller by Angle 33 looks great and works exceptionally well. We now use ours almost every evening. The wine thermal can act as a chiller but we find it works best to maintain temperature for a perfectly chilled or cellared wine. The thermal is chilled in the refrigerator so ice is never used. The attractively colored thermal concrete is sealed so it does not sweat or get wet on the sides and bottom. Therefore there is no sloppy ice chiller drip.
The Angle 33 Thermal is hand crafted in Montana (see how it is made here). Priced at $64.99, the Angle 33 Premium Concrete Thermal is as handsome as it is functional. Angle 33 also offers matching coasters.
Grapeseed Oils and Flour: Earlier this year we found these delicious grapeseed oils from Salute 
Santé! in Napa, CA. They make a high smoke point cooking oil as well as herb-flavored and grape variety-specific finishing oils. GMO free, they have replaced olive oils in our kitchen. The gluten-free grapeseed flour is a great addition (20%-30%) to whole grain bread flours and gluten-free flours, creating a nutty richness. Read my personal story about the natural cholesterol reducing effects of Salute Santé! Grapeseed Oil
Wine on DVD: Two inde-films that are sure to please are A State of Vine and A Passion for the Vine by Zan Media. We met these folks in Sonoma and they truly have a passion for wine that rings clear in these two videos. A State of Vine interviews many of today’s wine icons for an informative view into the wine industry. A Passion for the Vine features interviews with many celebs from rock stars to a pro football coach who all now own their own wine labels.
Customizable Wine Accessories: These customizable wine accessories would be a wonderful corporate gift and equally as effective as promotional or marketing tools for wineries with tasting rooms, restaurants and caterers, culinary schools, wine distributors and wine retailers.
For those organizations that want to take it up a step, Halo offers a 3-Piece Classic Wine Set presented in an elegant simulated leather case with side chrome panels and lever style opener for one-step easy opening. Set includes opener, stopper and spare helix coil. The price includes personalized engraving of the silver aluminum name plate. ($39.29 ea. Minimum Order 12) The “rabbit style” wine opener is very easy to use 
and re-corks the wine as well.
Neoprene Wine Bags: While neoprene wine bags are not that unique, the style and design of these will stand out at any wine get together, festival or party. Billy the Artist has gone from New York City street artist to a Pop Art global sensation whose work includes wall murals of hope and inspiration at children’s hospitals around the world.
Book Lovers: Hands down, my favorite book for 2013 is The New California Wine: A Guide to the Producers and Wines Behind a Revolution 
in Taste by San Francisco Chronicle wine writer Jon Bonne. “The New California Wine is the untold story of the California wine industry: the young, innovative producers who are rewriting the rules of contemporary winemaking; their quest to express the uniqueness of California terroir; and the continuing battle to move the state away from the overly-technocratic, reactionary practices of its recent past.”
I also thoroughly enjoyed The Road to Burgundy: The Unlikely Story of an American Making Wine and a New Life in France by Ray Walker. “An intoxicating memoir of an American who discovers a passion for French wine, and gambles everything to chase a dream of owning a vineyard in Burgundy.”
Others worthy of consideration are A Man and his Mountain: The Everyman who Created Kendall-Jackson and Became America’s Greatest Wine Entrepreneur and Sonoma Wine and the Story of Buena Vista
Wine is Life T-Shirts: These fun and well-made Wine Centric T-Shirts and accessories are sure to bring a smile to any wine lovers face. Lots of attention getting designs and phrases.
Wine Chill Drops: teardrop-shaped polished stainless steel made to fit perfectly into a wine glass to chill room temperature wine to the desired serving temperature.
Wine Glass Writer Pens: ink that washes off for writing guest’s names on their wine glasses. Sure beats those dangly stem charms that everyone forgets which one was theirs.
