And you thought that I’d forgotten about the monthly wine product sample round up here, didn’t you?

C’mon… admit it…

The handsome Barvivio lineup

This month, I’ve got two wine gadgets to mention, both of which are technically multi-purpose, and both of which are well worth a look. Unfortunately, only one of them is what I would consider an over-achiever for the price, but neither are going to sentence you to a fiscal future full of cat food eating in the dark.

First up is the Barvivo waiter’s friend style corkscrew. Some of you will recall that I mentioned this little well-made beauty about two years ago, and since receiving that product sample it has become my go-to, most-used corkscrew here at Chateau Dude. The Barvivo folks recently added new handle designs to their lineup, including ebony, a handful (see what I did there?) of resin options, and (my personal fave), Bai Ying wood. Thankfully, they didn’t mess with the overall design, quality, or (somewhat miraculously) the bizarrely low price. I still find it incredible that this thing is so dependable and yet will set you back only about $13. I’ve no idea how they manage that, and frankly, I’m not sure that I want to know how they manage that. And yes, the corkscrew is multipurpose, since it’s also technically a bottle opener…

And next, we have Corkcicle’s 25oz Canteen. At about $35, this isn’t cheap. But nothing about this effective canteen is cheap. Now, I have a love/hate relationship with Corkcicle’s more famous wine chiller product, in that I love to hate the damned thing; I never, ever use it, and I keep it in the house only so that I can point it at people and say “Harrrrrryyyy Potterrrrrrr” in a frightening British accent. But it’s the opposite scenario with their canteen; I kind of love this thing. It’s solidly built, does a bang-up job of keeping its contents cold or hot (not just wine, of course – multipurpose, beeeeatches!) for what seems ridiculously long periods of time, and is just the right size for holding an entire bottle of wine. It’s not exactly cooler-friendly material, but then this thing basically is the cooler.

Cheers!