How to shop for...The Wine Connoisseur

Woozie WINE INSULATORS AND ACCESSORIES

With the holiday season just around the corner, I wanted to send you some product information for any upcoming holiday promotions or gift guides you may be planning.

Woozie combines function and fashion with its top-quality neoprene insulators for stemmed beverage glasses, which are designed to keep drink temperatures constant during summer or winter, both indoors and out.

Colorful, customizable and distinctive in design, Woozies are portable, stretchable, washable, foldable and reusable. With the recent addition of coordinating wine and entertaining accessories like acrylic trays with interchangeable liners, bottle bags and stoppers, Woozie products are ideal personalized presents for friends and family, stockings stuffers, and hostess gifts for holiday parties.

Woozie products can be purchased online at woozie.com and at a variety of retailers throughout Tennessee.

COCKTAIL HOW-TO GUIDE

The Museum of the American Cocktail publishes a concise pocket guide which serves as a crash course on mixing drinks. ($7.95).

VARIOUS SELECTIONS

Rabbit Wine Bottle Aerator/Pourer - $29.95 at Crate and Barrel

No more waiting for red wine to breathe! Thanks to Metrokane’s Rabbit Wine Aerating Pourer you can open and serve your next bottle of wine immediately. This sturdy plastic pourer with transparent aerator offers easy and uncomplicated pouring. Simply insert the Rabbit aerating pourer into a wine bottle as you would a conventional pourer. You don’t need a separate aerator. Then watch and listen. The aeration occurs as you pour your wine, enhancing its flavor and bouquet.

 Wine and Food Cookbook - $29.95 at Williams-Sonoma

This approachable guide offers a broad overview of wine that focuses on general styles – rather than the minutiae of specific varietals and regions – to help simplify wine-and-food pairings. Author Joshua Wesson, owner of the Best Cellars wine shop in Manhattan, divides wines by their characteristics (sparkling, crisp, soft and rich white wines; rosé wines; three groups of red wine; and dessert wines) and profiles each type. More than 50 recipes are included.

Michael Broadbent's Vintage Wine - $35 at Amazon.com

Unquestionably unique, demonstrably delightful, Michael Broadbent's Vintage Wine is the culmination of one of the most extraordinary careers in the world of wine. Michael Broadbent quite possibly knows more about fine, old wines than anyone else alive, and he writes about them with unparalleled expertise.
Hired by Christie's in 1966 to revive their wine auctions, Broadbent threw himself into his work, searching out great collections of the world's finest wine--and keeping meticulous tasting notes. Here are evocations of Chateau d'Yquem from 1784--one of Thomas Jefferson's favorites--and hundreds of vintages and thousands of wines right up to the present.

Vacu Vin Prestige Wine Cooler - $29.99 at Amazon.com

Chill wine instantly without ice with this elegant Prestige stainless steel wine cooler from Vacu Vin. It holds a reusable Rapid Ice cooling element that can chill a bottle within 5 minutes and keep it cool for hours. Simply place the Prestige wine cooler in the freezer, take it out, and insert your wine bottle for quick chilling--no ice, no water, no wet label to fall off, and no wasted space in your refrigerator.

WhistlePig + Alfa Romeo F1

SHOREHAM, VT (September 13, 2023) — WhistlePig Whiskey, the leaders in independent craft whiskey, and Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake are waving the checkered flag on a legend-worthy release that’s taking whiskey to G-Force levels. The Limited Edition PiggyBack Legends Series: Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake Barrel is a high Rye Whiskey selected by the Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake drivers, with barrels trialed in their wind tunnel to ensure a thrilling taste in every sip.

The third iteration in WhistlePig’s Single Barrel PiggyBack Legends Series, the Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake Barrel is bottled at 96.77 proof, a nod to Valtteri Bottas’ racing number, 77, and the precision of racing. Inspired by Zhou Guanyu, the first Chinese F1 driver, this Rye Whiskey is finished with lychee and oolong tea. Herbal and floral notes of the oolong tea complement the herbaceous notes of WhistlePig’s signature PiggyBack 100% Rye, rounded out with a juicy tropical fruit finish and a touch of spice.

Keep readingShow less
by Spectrum Medical Care Center

Nurse Practitioner Ari Kravitz

When I started medical transition at 20 years old, it was very difficult to get the care I needed for hormone replacement therapy because there are very few providers trained in starting hormones for trans people, even though it’s very similar to the hormones that we prescribe to women in menopause or cisgender men with low testosterone.

I hope more providers get trained in LGBTQ+ healthcare, so they can support patients along their individual gender journey, and provide the info needed to make informed decisions about their body. I’ve personally seen my trans patients find hope and experience a better quality of life through hormone replacement therapy.

Keep readingShow less

Descanso Resort swimming pool and lounge area

Descanso Resort, Palm Springs' premier destination for gay men, just received Tripadvisor's highest honor, a Travelers' Choice "Best of the Best" award for 2023. Based on guests' reviews and ratings, fewer than 1% of Tripadvisor's 8 million listings around the world receive the coveted "Best of the Best" designation. Descanso ranked 12th in the top 25 small inns and hotels category in the United States. Quite an accomplishment!

Open less than two years, Descanso Resort offers gay men a relaxing and luxurious boutique hotel experience just minutes away from Palm Springs' buzziest restaurants, nightclubs, and shopping. Descanso has quickly established itself as a top destination for sophisticated gay travelers, earning hundreds of 5-star guest reviews and consistently ranking in Trapadvisor's top positions alongside brother properties Santiago Resort and Twin Palms Resort.

Keep readingShow less