Arctic Chill Ice Ball Maker

I got the chance recently to test out the Arctic Chill Ice Ball Maker, made out of BPA-free silicone and designed to create a sphere of ice that is somewhere between a regulation tennis ball and racquetball in size. Such ice balls have become quite trendy in the modern mixology movement, as they allow a drink to stay cool without watering down the beverage.

It all has to do with surface area. If you want something to get really cold really fast (and then get watered down quickly), use a lot of tiny pieces of ice. The heat transfer will happen quickly, but so will the dilution. It's why many cocktails are shaken quickly and then strained--to serve them with all those little ice chips would result in an increasingly bland cocktail. If you're going to be sipping on an expensive Bourbon for half an hour, then you want a much slower melt. This is why frozen margaritas are terrible to begin with and only get worse as they achieve equilibrium with room temperature.

Arctic Chill Ice Ball Maker
$20/set of four

I made multiple ice balls over the course of a week, enjoying them with whiskey (pictured above), cocktails, and even just plain iced tea (yes, putting three or four of these in a pitcher of tea or juice is great). In advance of an event or cocktail party, you can make a bunch of them and then keep them in a zip-top plastic bag in the freezer.

The device holds approximately 125mL of water, though remember that water expands when it turns into ice at a ratio of roughly 9%. If you have ever worked in a lab with pipettes, then you can precisely fill it with 114mL of water and achieve a perfect sphere. In my less-scientific testing, I filled it up, squeezed out a bit, and let it freeze. Any excess will form a nipple on top of the ice ball, which you can easily snap off or perhaps leave on for the amusement factor.

As someone whose internal thermostat tends to run pretty hot, I'm looking forward to using these all summer long for pitchers of lemonade and the big insulated mugs of ice water that I rely on to keep hydrated in our tropical climate. I was a little skeptical of the artisan ice ball trend when I first heard about it years ago (trained mixologists would shape and form spheres from ice blocks), but having actually tried it, I can see the benefits and using a silicone mold is dead simple.

Note: This product was provided as a sample for review.

Tools for Writers: Grammarly

I use Grammarly's grammar check because let's face it, I'm always posting after sampling a lot of wine.

Actually, I do a lot of my writing after coming home from the day job, having dinner, attending to household chores, and then popping open a few bottles that have been desperately waiting to be reviewed. I used to do a lot of self-editing when I had more free time, but with increasing responsibilities, it is necessary to rely on various tools that are available.

I have a simple workflow for writing here at the blog. As soon as samples arrive, I take photos of the bottles and go through the collateral material and winery website to produce a stub of a post. The stub contains all of the essential data and relevant links, as well as the flags and FTC disclaimer. When I get around to tasting the wine, I will flesh out the details and incorporate any other stories that I'm in the mood to tell. For any of the PR firms reading, it may be a month or more from receiving to publication, as I usually have a big backlog. (I always try to taste the wine in the proper setting, so if it's 100°F outside and the A/C isn't working, I'm not going to crack open that warm Malbec.) When the final piece is ready, I give it a quick read through to make sure there are no glaring errors, but I don't stress too much over a simple 200 word review.

My freelance writing follows a much different workflow, which is where tools like Grammarly help. I work with editors for outside publications, but I prefer to send them pieces that are as refined as possible. Rewrites eat up a lot of time and don't inspire confidence. While any writer should have a firm command of grammar, vocabulary, and orthography, editors have less time these days to deal with sloppy writing--something that most forms of online communication tend to encourage. That's a pet peeve of mine, since it used to be that nearly everything you read had first passed through an editor. "Is this written properly? Is it appropriate for this book/newspaper/magazine? Will it make the author and us look professional?" Now almost everything you read online (blog posts, comments, reviews) is a stream of consciousness first draft that was probably forgotten soon after posting.

If you want to be taken seriously as a writer online or anywhere else, then you'll have to take your writing as seriously as a full time job.

I ran a few of my older posts through Grammarly and preferred the interface to various grammar checking programs I've used in the past. Having been in writers' workshops over the years and having had pieces rejected for publication, I'm very comfortable with constructive feedback. I realize that I have some bad writing habits that emerge from time to time (overuse of a single word in a short piece, the affectation of some weird Mid-Atlantic word choice, etc.). It is a little easier getting that feedback from a computer program rather than hearing my beloved AP English teacher tell me, "You're a great writer but why can you never spell receive correctly? What is it with that one word? I'm going to burn it into your desk."

Grammarly points out errors in subject-verb agreement, tense issues, sentence structure, punctuation... It even has a plagiarism detector, though note that if you're quoting another work it will prompt you to source it. Since few of us who are struggling freelancers can afford to pay someone to proofread our work first (and friends and family members may get tired of it), it's a fascinating tool for getting another set of digital eyes on your writing before sending it off to the publisher. There is a free seven day trial available, and right now there's a 20% off sale on subscription rates: $29.95/month, $59.95/quarter, and $139.95/year.

P.S. This post was run through Grammarly for three revisions. It caught several mistakes I would have otherwise missed, and provided some interesting suggestions for improvement.

Note: Compensation and access to this service were provided for review. The opinions of the service remain my own.

New Wine Refrigerator

In 2010 I reviewed a thermoelectric wine fridge from NewAir. That model is still in service here at Casa de Benito, but several months ago they sent me a larger model to try out.

Unlike the smaller model, the NewAir AWC-270E ($320) operates on a traditional compressor. The tradeoff is that it's not silent like the thermoelectric cooler, but there's just a gentle hum of white noise that easily fades into the background. I keep it at 16°C/60°F, and even during a hot summer it's kept a consistent temperature for several months now.

The AWC-270E has wire rack shelves that hold 27 bottles, though you may be able to squeeze in a few more depending on the angles. It's deep enough to support tall Alsatian or German Riesling bottles, though as with any wine storage system you might need to do a little adjusting to fit rounder Champagne bottles. In addition to temperature controls and a digital temperature display, it also includes an interior blue LED that looks awesome at night.

While I still like the smaller one, over time I found that I wasn't really using the two-zone cooling all that much, and particularly when receiving a flurry of wine samples, a single large chamber proved to be better for organization (instead of keeping reds and whites in separate sections, I need to keep bottles together as they were shipped). For serious collecting or long term storage, you're going to need something much bigger or even a dedicated room. But I like a wine fridge for the purposes of keeping my main refrigerator dedicated to food and for convenient serving during a dinner party.

As a cocktail lover, I also appreciate the wine fridge as a great place to keep vermouth and a few other delicate ingredients. Even now, all of my various bitters live on top of the fridge, which is a lot better than having them tucked away in a box.

I keep this wine fridge in the living room, but it's compact enough to keep in the kitchen or even in a home office. I like the stainless steel and glass door, and visitors to the house have commented appreciably on it. Overall, highly recommended and sturdy enough to stand up to years of service.

Note: This product was provided as a sample.

Wine Sippy Cup XL

Back in April I reviewed the Wine Sippy Cup. Now comes the upgrade: the VinoGo™ XL ($17). This one will hold just a little under half a bottle of wine, so be careful filling it up before hitting the playground or PTA meeting.

Why did I go with the "Party Pink" color option for the topper? My girlfriend Julia loves this thing, and I let her pick out the shade. I went with plain white on the first one and that was judged as boring. After posting a few pictures of it on Facebook, I noticed a lot of friendly comments about the product from some of my female friends.

I will note that beloved friends and wine experts who happen to be female have openly criticized my often casual approach to wine, such as drinking Colorado Cabernet Franc out of a hotel tumbler while making osso buco in said hotel room. And there is something to be said for the perfect wine with the perfect glass, such as my recent experience with the Riedel Malbec glass and the fact that I don't let anyone else drink out of my Gruet Riedel Champagne flute. But at the same time, wine doesn't have to be so serious 24/7.

The wine sippy cup is great for casual table wines, gentle summer sippers, or as fun gifts for a wedding or baby shower. I'm tempted to drink pomegranate juice out of it at work just to see how long it takes for someone to call Human Resources. (To any family members or co-workers reading this, I am strictly joking.)

Look: it's hot outside, it's nice to unwind with a cool glass of inexpensive wine, and I say hoist the sippy cup and enjoy yourself. Cheers!

Note: This product was provided as a sample.

Lobster Salad, Vinho Verde, and a Wine Chiller

I found myself on a Saturday with lobsters, Vinho Verde, and a wine product for review. Time to multitask.

I've written about lobster rolls many times but at this point, I think I enjoy them more than a freshly steamed lobster. I grab a couple of the pre-cooked and frozen lobsters from the grocery store when they go on sale, thaw them, shell them, and then dice up the meat with mayonnaise, bell pepper, black pepper, and a few other bits of magic. Tossed on a buttery split-top bun, the lobster salad is heavenly. For the ease of serving a quick and refreshing lunch, I like sea salt and vinegar kettle chips.

Now we need something to wash down that sammich. With perfect timing, a pair of wines from Vinho Verde had arrived on the quarterly schedule. While both were repeats for me, I was delighted to try them and found them to be an excellent match on a lazy holiday weekend.

NV Gazela Vinho Verde
Vinho Verde, Portugal
Loureiro, Arinto, Trajadura, Avesso, and Azal
$6, 9% abv.

Gazela, meaning "gazelle" in Portuguese, is using the tag line sabe bem com a vida ("goes well with life"). I've had this wine many times in the past and it's one of the best wines you'll find at the six dollar level. Crisp, light and delicate, barely any bubbles. Mild citrus notes with just a hint of flowers and tropical fruit. Easy and very enjoyable when iced down and sipped with appetizers.

NV Las Lilas Vinho Verde
Vinho Verde, Portugal
85% Loureiro, 7.5% Trajadura, 7.5% Arinto
$10, 10% abv.

Dry and crisp with aromas of jasmine and flowers, appropriate for a wine named after lilacs. This one had a rounder body and a fuller mouthfeel, and was almost entirely still. An excellent dry Portuguese white wine that plays well off the saltiness from the lobster.

The Gazela was chilled in the Cool Coat designed by Dane Jakob Wagner, included in the MODaffekt design collection. While my own house is not supplied with modern Scandinavian products, this group does have some neat products, like a combination decanter/aerator, and for some reason, the splash! bowl tickles my fancy.

The Cool Coat retails for $45 and features a freezable insert sleeve that you can't see in my above photo but does the main work of chilling the wine. You can unbutton the coat for more callipygian sparkling bottles, and the collar can be adjusted to your own desired degree of "popped".

It is expensive for something that can be replaced by a nearby refrigerator, but the stitching is perfect, the outer fabric is reflective and looks beautiful close up, and frankly, whenever I see the little white and green shirt hugging a bottle I smile a little. Maybe I'm experiencing hygge. It's very sturdy and should hold up well for years to come.

Note: These wines and the cool coat were provided as samples.

DeLoach Tasting Kit

Buying gifts for wine lovers is notoriously difficult. If you don't know much about wine, you end up giving German Riesling to the guy who only drinks French reds. Or you buy the latest trendy gadget--like a complicated straw that wraps around your head and is supposed to aerate the wine, but makes you look like a hospital patient. How about a t-shirt with Miles from Sideways screaming about Merlot? It's actually worse if you know what you're doing, because the two of you have tasted a lot of wine together and you have to dig deeper to find something he or she doesn't already have.

I get a lot of offers to review wine gifts, but I mostly don't. I always think, "Would I be happy to receive this, or would I be proud to give this to someone I care about? Will the gift actually be useful and enjoyed, or will it be awkwardly hidden in the back of a closet?"

Here's a real winner that's fun, serious, appeals to multiple levels of experience, and isn't very expensive. DeLoach Vineyards produces a Pinot Selections Tasting Kit for $25. Six different Pinot Noirs from six different vineyards. It's similar to the experience you'd have at a wine tasting or winery visit, except you can do it from the comfort of your own home.

Each bottle is 50mL/1.7 oz. Going through the entire kit is just 300mL, or the equivalent of two standard glasses of wine. This means that you can run through the whole tasting in an evening without going overboard. The kit does not include a tiny corkscrew, but fear not, these are all screwcaps. (The full size bottles are enclosed with corks.)

I've also included the prices of the full bottles just for the sake of completeness. Also note that the current lineup of wines is slightly different from the kit that I tried. The pencil and quarter were placed here for size comparison.

2007 Green Valley
Russian River Valley
$45, 14.5% abv.
Strawberry and brambles, a solid Pinot Noir with a firm presence.

2007 Masút Vineyard
Redwood Valley
$45, 15% abv.
Stewed fruit, fig, dark aromas, a little lighter but with a hearty nose.

2007 Maboroshi Vineyard
Russian River Valley
$45, 15% abv.
Light cherry, with a touch of rosemary. Cries out for lamb.

2007 Le Roi
Sonoma Coast
$60, 15% abv.
Wild strawberries, a little earthy, silky smooth and light, restrained.

2006 Van der Kamp Vineyard
Sonoma Mountain
$42, 15.5% abv.
Cherry aromas and flavors dominate, with the firmest tannins out of the whole batch.

2006 Sonoma Stage Vineyard
Sonoma Coast
$60, 14.5% abv.
Prunes and stewed fruit, with a hint of spice underneath. Oh this is luscious. Very mild and delicate, with a finish that gently melts in your mouth.

The kit includes an information card--on one side is a map showing where the grapes were grown, and the other side provides tasting notes and detailed information on each wine. I never look at preprinted notes before I try wine, but others may prefer to read along while tasting.

This would be a fun gift for someone that is getting into wine but hasn't made it out to California for a tasting. Or for someone that's interested in how one grape can be made by the same company but have six different flavors and profiles, but hasn't studied wine formally. It's an elegant enough gift to give as a housewarming present or for a company Christmas party. Keep a few on hand in case you need one of those last minute gifts for an unexpected occasion.

I even think this would be great to buy for yourself if you do a lot of traveling. Sometimes you're by yourself in a strange hotel in the middle of nowhere, and instead of having an overpriced cocktail in the lobby, you could set up your own little wine tasting in the room. A little touch of civility and wine appreciation while you're far from home.


Note: This kit was received as a sample.

The Wine Fridge

When I was first getting interested in wine, I wanted a wine fridge, but couldn't afford one. Then I met people that had entire rooms devoted to climate-controlled aging of serious wine, and I thought the tiny wine fridge would be inadequate. When I could afford a wine fridge, I was concerned about the bottle capacity, as well as issues like vibration. After all, I had an old dorm fridge that was functional, but with a compressor that sounded like a paint mixer full of scrap metal. It would pre-scramble eggs. That dorm fridge sat on the back porch for years and was home to several generations of black widow spiders.

Noise, capacity, and black widows... These colored my thinking towards small refrigeration units, and I tended to warn my friends off them, saying, "For the inexpensive wine you're drinking, just keep it in a dark cool closet or an empty ice chest. That will prevent the temperature shifts that will damage your wine. Throw the wine in the big refrigerator when necessary before serving." And that's not bad advice, but I was missing a few potential applications.

The Air & Water AW210-ED arrived at the house for review. $219.99 from the website, 21 bottle capacity. There are two separate cooling zones, with the top holding six bottles and the bottom holding fifteen. (Note: In the pictures I have the unit set to Celsius, but it does Fahrenheit as well. My house and blog are metric first, imperial second.) It's a sleek black unit that uses blue LEDs with two internal blue LEDs that partially illuminate the bottles--not really enough to read labels, but they don't produce heat and are undeniably cool looking. I found that the unit was easy to assemble (just screw on the handles) and that it got down to the desired temperature within an hour. Opinions vary, but a good rule of thumb is 18°C/65°F for red wines and 13°C/55°F for white/rosé/sparkling wines. It gets down as low as 7°C/45°F if you prefer an even cooler temperature. The unit is completely silent--if it weren't for the LEDs you might wonder whether or not it's on at all, and there's no noticeable vibration. I touch it occasionally when I walk by it and never feel any humming or stirring, so I am confident that the wines are not being agitated. The unit is a bit less than one meter or yard tall, or approximately the height of a seated Labrador.

The uses I had not anticipated: For people that collect cases of wine for long term storage, this isn't your solution. It's really ideal for entertaining, in that you can keep a mixed group of perfectly matched wines in the small unit rather than your regular food refrigerator. Indeed, for a dinner party or wine tasting, you need all that space in the big fridge for food, platters, and whatnot. Having a small dedicated wine fridge in the corner or in an adjacent room is much more convenient. I also found that it was the perfect place to keep my vermouths--if you're not using them up within a couple of months, they really need to be refrigerated, but again there's a space issue. The wine fridge is the perfect place to keep items like Dry White Vermouth, Sweet Red Vermouth, Lillet Blanc, and similar cocktail ingredients that are not spirits and degrade more rapidly at room temperature. Consider similar applications for your Ports, Sherries, and other after-dinner beverages. I also think you could flip the shelves upside down and store a lot of high end beers. On a personal note, let's just say that hot sauces last a lot longer when refrigerated, but if the person you live with gets annoyed at 20 different little bottles rattling around the jelly and milk, dedicating a rack to your sauces can make life a lot easier.

Having used the unit for a week, I'm happy with how it works. It's quiet, it doesn't take up a lot of room, and until I physically had one in my hands I didn't realize how useful it could be. On top of all that I just have to say that it's neat to have sitting in the living room. It looks good, the temp readout gives it a groovy scientific vibe, and pulling a bottle out of it is far classier than with my old blue ice chest. Air & Water has a range of models in various sizes and price points. Take a look and see what fits your particular entertaining needs.


Note: This unit was received as a sample for review. No other compensation or commissions are involved.

Wine Gear Review: ChillinJoy

I've mentioned this before, but when it comes to wine gadgets I only review those products that I can see myself using in real life. I'm sure that the magnetic ring that goes around the neck of a bottle will align my chi properly, but personally, I'm not interested. However, this item piqued my curiosity...

I got a chance recently to try out the ChillinJoy, a specialty bag for chilling, cooling, or simply insulating a standard 750mL bottle of wine (or any similar-sized bottle containing the beverage of your choice). Inside the bag are three pockets that hold blue freezer gel packs, and the gel packs can be removed so you don't have to put the entire bag in the freezer.

You can use it to chill a bottle of wine, but where it works best is maintaining a constant temperature of a cool wine. Think picnics, think concerts in the park, think keeping that white Burgundy at the right temperature en route to a dinner party (and through the appetizer and soup course, allowing it to be perfect with the smoked trout). It should also be noted that during the weekday you can use it to keep a bottle of water, tea, or your soft drink of choice cool while you're at work.

The ChillinJoy is made out of real Neoprene--the same thing quality dive suits are made from--and it features a handy detachable shoulder strap. Additionally there are two Velcro-enclosed pouches on either side that allow for storage of various wine gadgets, bottles of bitters, whatever you need to pack for a trip. But all that aside, my favorite feature is the hole in the top that allows the neck of the bottle to protrude. This has a negligible impact on temperature, but does permit you to pour and serve the wine without removing it from the bag. While this doesn't allow you to show off the label to your friends, it's not really an issue for the casual whites and sparklers you might enjoy on a hiking trip, for instance.

The bag comes in green or blue, and can be ordered from the website for $29.95.

Wine Gift Set

It never hurts to have multiple corkscrews around the house or elsewhere. I keep at least one upstairs, one downstairs, and in my luggage. Some folks keep one in the car's glove compartment (in case of emergencies, of course).

My first corkscrew was on my Swiss Army Knife I got at the age of 11, and although it's a little tricky I've successfully used it over the years, even when I was way too young to drink wine. My second corkscrew served me well in the years after high school before finally self destructing on a problematic synthetic cork. All of the rest that are in use at Casa Benito were gifts from friends or business associates. And the corkscrew makes a great gift: everyone needs one, even if he or she is not a frequent wine drinker.

While the holidays are over, for those in business it's increasingly important to retain clients. Personalized gifts can be a great way to remind your customers how much you appreciate their business, as well as providing a reminder that will keep your name in circulation for years afterward. The Cutter & Buck American Classic Wine Set from FortePromo.com comes in an attractive leather case and includes three tools: a waiter-style corkscrew, a pouring spout, and a metal ring with a felt lining for catching the drips. (The felt ring is the one wine gadget I didn't have before--but it helps save the tablecloth as well as preserving the label for photos or if you like to peel and save your wine labels.)

The nice thing about this is that it doesn't take up a lot of space. It's about 6" x 2" x 4½" and looks classy when closed and sitting on a desk. My big rabbit corkscrew comes in something the size of a shoebox. The corkscrew performs well as do the other components. You can also check out some of their other wine accessories.

Disclaimer: I'm not receiving financial compensation for this review or for sales of this product. It's a genuinely good product that fits my wine needs, and I enjoy supporting companies that produce such wine/food accessories.

Wine Gear Review: Wine Travel Tote

The good folks at Simply Bags sent me their monogrammed Wine Travel Tote ($34.99) for evaluation. I was pretty excited when this arrived, because I've really been needing one of these but haven't seen anything like it locally. I'm ashamed to admit that when I take wine to friends' houses it's usually in a plastic grocery bag, with newspaper wrapped around the bottles to keep them from clacking together.

The canvas and leather bag holds two standard 750mL bottles of wine and comes with an attractive waiter's-style corkscrew with a wood-plated handle. Inside there's a padded divider to provide protection between the bottles, but it is attached with velcro and can be removed if needed. It closes up with a zipper, and there's a pocket on the front for storing notepads and pens or whatever else you need.

I've tried it out with unopened bottles and knocked them around a bit, even casually tossing the bag into the car. No breakage, and while I know that kind of abuse isn't good for wine, I wanted to test the product under real life conditions. It performed admirably and gets the "Benito Seal of Approval".

It also solves another problem for me, which is traveling with wine. You can't take bottles in carry-on luggage, but they're fine in checked baggage. My strategy of stuffing the bottle in a big tube sock and surrounding it with t-shirts was doomed to failure eventually. This bag is compact enough that it can rest inside a larger suitcase and provide some protection for the bottles.

In addition to the many other bags produced by this company for various purposes, they offer two additional wine bags that are waterproof inside and can be filled with ice for chilling wine. The four bottle version ($29.99) is cool, but the three bottle bag with cheese board and knife ($37.95) looks perfect for classy picnicking.

Disclaimer: I'm not receiving financial compensation for this review or for sales of this product. It's a genuinely good product that fits my wine needs, and I enjoy supporting companies that produce such wine/food accessories.