Great gadgets add to the enjoyment of wine

These are but the many pitfalls of being a wine lover of the most sophisticated beverage known to mankind. But don’t despair, because thanks to some ingenious inventions, we can now easily open bottles of wine, pour them with ease and enjoy a fabulous glass sans problems.

First things first. If you’re looking for the greatest cork screw system yet invented, you want to be looking for the so-called Screwpull in the Rabbit incarnation. While a slick version of this amazing mechanical device in a titanium finish can run as high as $200, all the smart, value-oriented consumer has to do is find the way to Costco, which has a beautiful copy product for $13.95.

I am not kidding. The inventors of the Rabbit somehow did not have a working patent for their invention, so it was quickly copied by a number of companies, including Costco’s Kirkland brand.

It delivers this amazing contraption that can pull the most stubborn cork in a bottle of wine with a swift movement of your hand. It’s even made out of the same titanium and comes in a complete box with accessories at that price. The only caveat is that this corkscrew has a tough time with composite or plastic corks.

Now that you have gotten the bottle opened, it is time to employ perhaps the greatest invention ever in wine pouring. The contraption I am talking about is called Drop Stop and was invented by a countryman of mine in Denmark named Brian Vang after a minor dining disaster involving ruined clothes.

This slick metallic Mylar disc easily and flexibly folds into a tube, inserts in the bottle neck and is nothing short of revolutionary. It was discovered that when wine is poured from a bottle with a Drop Stop inserted, you simply cannot spill or drip wine, hence the name. The sharp edge of the Mylar disc in the bottle simply “cuts” the stream of wine off once the bottle is tilted back and thereby guarantees a clean pour every time.

Now available in the United States through master importer Creative Danes (www.creativedanes.com), this ingenious device can be personalized with your name or logo and makes for an excellent gift idea. If you should be on its Web site, you will also find a line called Menu, which is a very slick and stylish line of classic modern Danish design items — including wine accessories — all extremely unique and useful for the kitchen.

Now having opened the bottle and being able to do the perfect wine pour, you need to be drinking out of proper glasses. In this realm there is only one king and his name is Georg Riedel, the 10th generation wine glass maker. I have always been a proponent of using great glassware to enhance the wine drinking experience, and nothing promotes this better than a Riedel.

My recent visit to the incredible Riedel factory in Kufstein, Austria, was something of a revelation. The science that goes into making sure that we, as consumers and users of Riedel glasses, have the best possible experience with any wine we choose to drink, is absolutely staggering.

Riedel glass is by far the greatest at any level and truly enhances the way a wine “hits” the palate, thereby giving us a completely honest and pure look at what we’re tasting or drinking. They also make some beautiful and extremely aesthetic decanters for the finer and rarer stuff we like to pull out of the cellar on special occasion, making the presentation of that special wine complete.

Riedel has a major presence in the United States, under the able guidance of the 11th generation in Maximilian Riedel, who also is the inventor of the now famous “O” series of stemless glasses. Check all its lines and find retailers at www.riedel.com.

Now that you have all the right tools for your wine drinking needs, it is just a matter of putting them to the test. Rest assured that you will truly appreciate the experience of wine drinking even further.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz writes a weekly wine column in Wednesday’s Taste section of the Review-Journal.