Dear Corvina,

On behalf of Action Against Hunger, I would like to thank Grape Things for your generous donation of the Connoisseur Hamper and signed Matt Skinner Book to the Fine Wine Auction and Dinner at 1 Lombard Street on the 9th October 2010. I would also like to thank you for providing the loyalty cards to go into our guests’ goody bags.

This year’s Fine Wine Auction was a tremendous success and raised £229,000 – a new record for Action Against Hunger. This wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of Grape Things.

There were several highlights to the evening, including a heartfelt speech by Graham Hazell about his trip to Liberia; the inaugural Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award to the very deserving Charlene Bangwe, Project Coordinator at Children in Distress, Zambia; and the swinging music that got everyone on the dance floor at the end of the evening. If you would like to see some photos from the evening, please click the following link: http://www.actionagainsthunger.org.uk/mediaroom/latest-news/top-chefs-cook-up-a-feast-and-raise-pound200000-to-turn-wine-into-water

Ninety-two pence of every pound raised will go directly to Action Against Hunger’s charitable activities. These funds enable us to work in over 40 countries worldwide, nurturing malnourished children back to health whilst also enabling us to respond to emergency situations such as the devastating earthquake in Haiti and the terrible floods in Pakistan – which forced thousands of people from their homes. Our teams were on the ground immediately, providing life-saving assistance to the survivors. Our teams have also been working away from the spotlight in the Sahel region of Western Africa which has been hit by a devastating food crisis.

Thank you once again for your support. This event would not have been such a success without your generosity.

We hope you will continue to support Action Against Hunger’s events in 2011.

With very best wishes,

Robert

Robert Gepp
Events Administrator
finewineauction@aahuk.org

One of the characteristic’s that stood out for me were;

Not driving business purely for profit but wanting to allow a larger number of customers to enjoy goods or service.  

It was my love of wine that brought me to Grape Things and I hope to share that with you here.

Corvina x

Firstly stemware is the term most commonly used to describe all wine glasses be it crystal or glass including those without stems.

Cut or smooth, contemporary or classic if chosen well crystal and glass can add a touch of glamour at dinner parties and up the ante at special gatherings. Equally if you want to enjoy an evening in with your favourite fruity red a beautiful glass can add to the enjoyment.

Crystal and Glass

The difference between glass and crystal is that crystal contains lead oxide, which gives it that reflective clear brilliance and sparkle you don’t get with regular glass, its is also more expensive. The lead content (generally anything up to 35 per cent) is the reason crystal can be more expensive and often heavier than regular glass. A crystal glass gives of that distinctive bell like sound when they are clinked together – cheers!

Cut or Smooth

When it comes to cut crystal, where not just talking about the “cash in the attic” old-fashioned stuff.  Today cut crystal can still give you a feeling of grandeur but is fashioned in a minimal way suitable for every occasion. Generally speaking when your looking at lead content 24% is fine.  For those more interested in assessing wine, clear glass or plain crystal is best.

Shapes and Sizes

The shape of a glass is important as it can either emphasise or detract the characteristics of a particular style or variety.   Most wine glasses have a wider base then taper in towards the rim. Until your wine gets to you – all its splendour has been squashed in the bottle (for a number of years) and is just bursting to be released – the shape of your glass should help emphasise all the love that went into the wine making process. White wine is typically served in a smaller glass to help conserve and concentrate the aromas whilst Red wine is typically served in a larger glass to help bring out the quality and allow the aromas to fully breath. 

Champagne and Sparkling wine should always be served in a champagne glass be it a flute or a vintage style saucer, why? Because drinking champagne or sparkling wine from a red or white wine glass just doesn’t have the same appeal…. Ok technically the flute style enhances the flow of the bubbles so the wine and aromas can be fully appreciated.

 To Stem or not to Stem

Typically the stem is important as it allows you to hold the glass without altering the temperature of the wine and swirl the wine allowing you to have a good sniff of the aromas.  However having said that in our experience of using a stemless glass as you never fill the glass all the way and hold it more to the top, there is still less of a chance that you will alter its temperature.  Granted it’s a little harder to swirl without a stem so it’s more down to preference.

Cleaning

Many glasses even some crystal are dishwasher safe. If you don’t have or want to use the dishwasher rinse your glasses under warm water, allow them to dry upside down then use a good fluff free cloth to polish away any streaks.

In a nutshell – in our opinion unless your assessing wine then the more beautiful the glass the better in whatever colour, design or pattern you choose be it crystal, glass cut or smooth – with the exception of shape, always stick to the correct shape bearing in mind the style of wine.

 Cin-cin!

Grape Things

1. Glass is key – crystal or glass, cut or smooth shape, size and colour.  You know what you like.  However when drinking responsibly our number one tip is to use a tasting glass.  A recognised industry tasting glass (ISO) is perfect, because it has been specifically formed to bring out the qualities in a wine for assessment.  You can use it for red, white, rosé and sparkling wines – even port and sherry.  Because of the size of the tasting glass you’ll instinctively pour a little less.  While you’re at it give your wine a swirl and sniff then sip lingering over the flavours.  The longer you leave the wine in the glass the more it will develop in contact with the air, you will notice different aromas and flavours with every sip.

Best used when; you want to take your wine more seriously, you’re trying to drink a little less. Good for all types of wine.

2. Save the Last Drop – so now you’ve become accustomed to drinking a little less wine you may notice that the bottle is now half full!  What to do with the rest, we don’t recommend pouring perfectly good wine down the sink, our second tip is a little less brutal. Save it!  Vacuum pumps offer a simple and reliable solution for this.  Effectively they suck oxygen out of the bottle leaving the wine in a resealed protected environment, preserving its quality for at least a week. 

Best used when; when you have some wine left over

3. Buy Now Drink Later – we all know a cellar is the ideal place for lying down wine, however if you don’t have the space or want to share your wine with spiders! Our third tip is to invest in a good quality racking system.  Pine rack kits are excellent for this, you can adapt them to fit into any area of your home (an alcove/under the stairs), leave them natural or paint them any colour you want. They are relatively low cost and easy to assemble.

Best used when; space is an issue

4. It’s not a tug of war – insert corkscrew, twist and twist and twist and twist – steady! Hold the bottle by the neck, clinch it between your thighs…just get a good grip and pull, as hard as you can and prey the cork doesn’t break.  Have you been there and done that? Most of us have at some point or another. The corkscrew has come a very long way since its suggested invention in 1600’s.  Our forth tip is to invest in a good quality corkscrew, one that allows you to open the bottle simply, delicately and with ease.   The lever action types in our opinion are a force not to be reckoned with – a must have.  

Best used when; when you can’t afford a Bentley, you’re to old to play tug of war or having the best is the only issue

5. Duck and Cover – not any more. Cowering, ducking and hiding behind the person in front of you, broken glass and black eyes can all be associated with the darker side of opening a bottle of Champagne. When it comes to cowering you know the person we’re talking about, there’s always one! (It may even be you…maybe!) Our fifth tip is to use a cork catcher, it’s a simple device suitable for Champagne and sparkling wine it simply catches the cork for you so no more flying corks.  That person we’re talking about will think you are a hero.

Best used when; the duck and cover person is coming to dinner, or the duck and cover person decides they want to open the bottle – you can protect your prized possessions!

6. I only want one! – There are occasions when we really do feel like having just one glass of wine.  Trouble is you don’t want to have to spoil or be tempted to drink a half/whole bottle of wine to have it.  But that’s not the real problem, the real problem is that you can never find a decent half bottle that you want to drink.  The solution – tip number 6.  Pour and store with Private Preserve.  You can buy the good bottle of wine that you really want, pour a glass then spray Private Preserve (essentially its pure air with no oxygen) into the bottle and re-cork.  With Private Preserve you can preserve re-corked wine for months.  Then open and re-cork again when you feel like having one more glass.

Best used when; you really do feel like one glass or you want to have a cheeky taste of the good stuff before anyone else – well you do need check it’s quality!

7. Forget me Knot – just when you thought a lasting relationship was on the cards, you went and forgot the name.  However you want to have a second encounter – see if the second time round will be as good as the first, so there’s no way round it, you have to go back.  You’re back at the merchant were you first met, but you can’t see it, so you ask but you can’t remember what it looks likes.  I think it had a purple label you hear yourself say to the assistant.  Been there? Maybe  – if your honest, Tip number 7 is to save yourself the hassle and invest in a wine journal better still a label saver or both.  Record and or keep organized notes of all your great wine encounters.

Best used when; you’re not ready to forget

8. To hot to Handle, to Cold to Hold – temperature, temperature, temperature.  Cool but not cold for whites/rosé, room temperature for reds.  Don’t worry about it tip number 8, invest in a wine/cellar thermometer.  Good ones come with temperature instructions so you can serve wine at the correct temperature every time. You can also combine them with other cooling or warming products, like a cooling sleeve or warming sleeve these rapidly bring wine to the correct serving temperature and can be used over again.

Best used when; serving wine at the right temperature is important (it always is!)

9. Keep on Shining – the great cleaning debate, how to keep your stemware sparkling.  Whatever you decide works best for you – be it a bit of detergent, soapy or plain old hot water.   Our ninth tip to help you keep your stemware shiny is to use a cleaning cloth.  Microfibre crystal cloths are great for cleaning and drying stemware without scratching.  Team with a good bottle (decanter) cleaner  -  these are often reusable, just add a few of the pellets to the bottom of your decanter to remove any left over wine from those hard to reach places.

Best used when; dull grey stemware isn’t an option or you have a beautiful but awkwardly shaped (for cleaning) decanter

10. Share your Passion – Don’t keep your appreciation of wine a secret share your passion, our tenth and final tip is to give and get given.  Attend wine tastings and take friends along.  Or throw/host your own wine tasting, make it fun and have a blind tasting – makes a great dinner party game, offer the winner a small prize – wine related of course!  There are some great tools and resources out there to help you with this.  Blind tasting covers, spittoons and tasting glasses are just the basics plus something to record your findings.  These are just a couple of ways to share your passion in a fun way.

Best used to; bring some all round fun to dinner parties and social gatherings, in return you should get to taste different wines more frequently!

So there you have it, our top 10 tips to help you drink responsibly. 

Cin-cin!

Grape Things