For those of you who look forward to Wine O’Clock, I recently accepted an offer to try out two new products–The Wand and Wine Condoms–that you should add to your list of fun and helpful wine accessories.
According to a report in the New York Times, both impurities and congeners can cause hangovers. The British Medical Journal said that brandy produced the most hangover symptoms, followed by red wine. I’m sure many of us have experienced the dreaded “Red Wine Headache,” which has been proven by science to exist.
Now there’s a tool for that. A company called PureWine has created The Wand. It features two unique filtration systems that eliminate the histamines and sulfites that cause wine allergies without altering the flavor of the wine (both red and white).
To use The Wand, place it in your glass of wine, gently stirring now and then. After three minutes, half of the histamines and sulfites will be removed, and after eight minutes, 95% will be removed. I poured two glasses of wine and used The Wand for one of them for three minutes. I sipped the non-filtered wine first, and then I was astonished by how “clear” and “smooth” the second glass tasted. It was more striking than the difference in taste between an aerated wine and a non-aerated wine.
Each wand also includes a wine charm that you can twist off. A 10-pack retails for $19.99.
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On the occasion that I don’t finish a bottle of wine, I use one of several wine stoppers I own (including one from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center). However, I never bring any of these wine stoppers with me, but now I have one that can fit in my, ahem, wallet: a Wine Condom.
The idea for Millennial entrepreneur Mitch Strahan and his mom Laura Bartlett came after a friend her them an unfinished bottle of wine covered with Saran Wrap and rubber bands.
The Wine Condoms are packaged and applied like a condom. Tear it open (with your hands or teeth), take out the condom (which does not have a strong latex smell) and then roll it down over the mouth of the wine bottle for a seal flush with the rim.
I found the process to be relatively easy (insert joke here). I was worried that the Wine Condom would tear, but its food-grade latex rubber was quite strong. In fact, you can use a Wine Condom more than once.
Worth mentioning is that the Wine Condom is black, and thus, it’s very inconspicuous when it’s on the bottle. Plus, it’s easy to take off.
You can only buy Wine Condoms on Amazon, and a six pack costs about $15.
First photo provided by PureWine. Third photo provided by Wine Condoms.
Tags: wine
