We’re going to take a quick break from the Costco wine reviews for what we hope is a fun post that adds value and delight to your wine experiences.
There are so many great resources in the wine world right now, and we thought we’d highlight a few of our favorites, as perhaps you’ll discover a few new things that will interest, educate or entertain you as well.
Disclaimer: We have no affiliation with anyone or any of the entities listed below, just like we have no affiliation with Costco Wholesale. We are just fans, sharing information, seeking out great wine and wine related stuff.
We do include a few affiliate links to Amazon for a couple of items listed below, where we earn a small commission on sales to help support this site.
Let’s kick it off (in no particular order).
Wine Library is a retail and online wine shop in New Jersey popularized by entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk. But once you dig in here, there’s a lot to be discovered.
First of all, Gary’s YouTube tasting videos, WineLibraryTV, are beyond legendary, and super educational. That education focus in carried throughout the WineLibrary Instagram page, which we highly recommend following. And the Gary V Wine Club, is perhaps, outside of Costco wine of course, the single greatest deal in wine that exists today.
Yes another retail outlet where you can buy wine (and they want you to), but this one is more about data and research, at least for us. Wine.com has information on so many bottles of wine, organized so well, with critic scores, pricing and if you scroll to the bottom of the pages they list information on the producer and region.
The Wine.com app is also great. It can scan wine labels and provide info on the wines, similar to Vivino, which we also recommend.
While we’re on the app kick, if you’re aging wines, CellarTracker is a must have app. It not only helps you organize and keep track of your wine, but the community tasting notes from people who are opening and tasting bottles of various years is invaluable.
There’s so much good glassware out there and a zillion opinions on what’s best. I don’t think you can go wrong with Riedel; the shape and size is really your own preference.
This wine opener on Amazon
Simple, effective and inexpensive ($12.99), this is our go to.
And for older bottles, use this one
It will help you get those delicate corks out without breaking them. A must have item for anyone with a wine cellar.
Or you can kick down for the amazing, but not inexpensive, Durand opener, that has helped us out on numerous occasions.
Our favorite wine fridge. We've depended on ours for years and love it. They are not inexpensive, but have proven to dependable and well worth it. If you spend a fair amount of money on wine to age, then why not spend a fair amount to ensure a proper place to store it?
“On Wine” column at the Wall Street Journal, by Lettie Teague
Ms. Teague is a powerhouse of wine knowledge and does an amazing job of digging into various aspects of the wine world in a compelling, and relatable fashion. One of our favorite wine writers. We only wish she published more often.
Mr. Asimov is the NY Times wine writer and another one of our favorites. He explores both complex and very consumer level topics in the wine world. A great follow on Instagram for what he’s drinking and writing about.
This is another great online resource for just about anything you want to learn about wine, and the supporting visuals are so good at helping convey complex information about wines and regions. They’ve also published an amazing book that every wine lover will enjoy.
There are a lot of vintage charts out there, but this is a dependable and well organized one. Good idea to bookmark it in your mobile browser so you can bring it up fast on the go. They also have a wallet chart you can print.
Somm (2013) and Somm: Into The Bottle (2015)
We love movies about wine and there are too many good ones to list, but here are two that would be fun to start with.
Blood Into Wine (2010)
OK, one more, because we feel this one sometimes gets overlooked. Plus Arizona wine is still not on everyone’s radar, but it should be. This documentary is about Maynard James Kennan, front man for several bands including Tool and Perfect Circle, and it follows his journey into creating a vineyard and becoming a winemaker in Arizona.
Don’t knock AZ wine until you’ve tasted it (especially his Caduceus Cellars). Same with Virginia wine. Both unexpectedly delicious.
Bern’s restaurant, Tampa
As unique as they come, discrete building, no windows, one of the largest wine collections in the world with reasonable prices, tasty hand cut steaks, cellar and kitchen tours and a dessert room like no other. A unique and memorable experience every time.
Let’s stop here and call this the first Chapter in this series of favorite wine things. If I hear from you that you enjoyed it, we’ll plan to highlight more items down the line. And of course, share any of your suggestions in the comments below.
Cheers, Editor
John F says
Greetings,
Great idea, enjoyed it greatly, very helpful and it expanded my ability to glean additional information when purchasing wine.
Thank you for your efforts,
Bill says
Bern’s is an absolute must if you’re in Tampa. Fantastic steakhouse. Take the kitchen tour. And do the desert booths upstairs. And there are close to a million, no joke, bottles across the street in a multi-story hotel that was converted into a wine “cellar” warehouse. Amazing experience.