Outdoor Adventure USA

This week’s net will cover the subject of wine.

Wine is a great companion when recreating in the outdoors as long as done responsibly. That means after the day’s activities and in a safe place like around a camp fire. Many people enjoy a glass of wine with their meals while savoring the fresh air and scenery of the great outdoors. In fact, I’ve found that a glass of wine with a home-cooked meal prepared in a Dutch oven while sitting around the campfire with friends is one of the nicer pleasures of life.

Our returning guest and our favorite Wine Master is Lynda KI6SXI. Lynda is a wealth of information on wine and will talk about wine making, wineries, wine tasting, corks, box wines, reading labels and much more.

We will taste test 2 wines. If you want to follow along and give us your tasting input Thursday night, purchase a bottle of
1) Daou $19.99
2) Chronic Cellars – 10.99
Both can be purchased at Costco.
Remember – you cannot be mobile if you are taste testing!!

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT #1

When you settle down at camp and are enjoying the scenery and solitude with good friends, a good wine is a great way to make things even better. While you may think your are alone in the wilderness, it just ain't true. Sooner or later (and most often it's sooner), just about as you are to take a sip of your favorite wine, you notice that some little bug is also enjoying your wine.

Thirsty Bug, LLC has the solution - the Bev Hat. ( http://bevhat.com/index.html ) From their website:

BevHat was ultimately born out of necessity. We were enjoying our favorite glass of wine outdoors, only to find that when we were about to take a sip, there was a little bug that had found our glass of wine to be its new watering hole.

So what do you do then? Dump out your favorite wine, or stick your finger in the glass to fish it out? Neither is very appealing. This is what prompted us to develop something that would not only prevent those thirsty bugs from sharing our beverage, but also would demonstrate a touch of class. The coasters and napkins we were using to cover our glass were either unappealing, dirty or blew away with the slightest breeze. We needed something simple and effective, and that would also allow our beverage to breathe.

BevHat is made of 100% stainless steel, measures 3-3/4 inches in diameter and will comfortably fit just about any beverage glass up to 3-1/4 inches in diameter.

Also from the Bev Hat website:

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT #2

At camp, red wine stains rarely present a problem. At home, however, that may be a different matter. Red wine can leave some nasty stains that are tough to remove. Evergreen Labs has a solution - Wine Away ( http://www.wineaway.com/ ). Wine Away can be purchased directly from the manufacturer.

From their website:

Wine Away is also effective on coffee, fruit punch, ink, blood, and sport drink stains

Also from their website:

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT #3

A good bottle of wine is best when consumed shortly after opening. Letting wine "breathe" is a good way to optimize it's flavor, but leaving it exposed to air too long can quickly be it's ruin. The average 750 ml bottle often isn't enough wine to carry it over to the following day. For two people, it seems just about right for dinner. For those times when there is enough left in the bottle, keeping it as fresh as possible is a nice way to avoid wasting money on a good vintage. The only way to do this is to limit (or diminish) the amount of oxygen in the bottle. The Wine Saver vacuum pump (http://www.vacuvin.com/286/270/Wine-Saver ) can do just that and thereby extend the drinkable life of your wine. From their website:

The Wine Saver is a vacuum pump, which extracts the air from the opened bottle and re-seals it with a reusable rubber stopper. Place the reusable stopper in the bottle and extract the air from the bottle using the Wine Saver pump. A “click” sound tells you when you have reached the optimum vacuum level. The vacuum slows down the oxidation process which makes it possible to enjoy your wine again at a later date. The question "how often do I have to pump?" is a thing of the past. The unique and patented vacuum indicator will emit a "click" sound when the correct vacuum is reached.

It is inexpensive, easy to use, and lasts a long time. Available on Amazon for about $11.00 ( http://www.amazon.com/Vacu-Vin-Vacuum-B ... B000GA3KCE)

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT #4

WINE GLASS WRITER®
Stays on for life of party
►Washes off with soap & sponge
►We care; Certified non-toxic. All pens conform to ASTM - D4236
►Chilled wines: write above pour line
►Won’t smudge off, dries in 1-3 minutes
Wine Glass Writer is made with a specially-formulated non-toxic ink. Wine Glass Writer can be used on glass and glazed ceramics. Ideal for use on platters to label cheeses, hors d’oeuvres or desserts. Also great for writing on stemless glassware, windows, mirrors and tons of other uses.
$9.99
https://wineglasswriter.com/

Fell in love with this little guy in Germany.
Been in my kit since then.


The handle fits inside the housing for storage.
Never break, shred, or find bits of cork in you wine again!
Its also incredibly easy to use even after that third bottle of vino!
LOL!

Having a glass of wine at camp with the evening meal is, for many, not the same unless the wine is actually in a "glass". If that includes you, you'll need to find a convenient way to get the glasses to camp without breaking them. For several years now, we have been using the Riedel Wine Glass Travel Case and have not had one broken glass. The fully padded, zippered case is large enough to hold 3 (maybe 4) stem glasses, an aerator, and a corkscrew. Or, you can substitute an decanter for one of the glasses. And lest there be any doubt, our case has been with us over some of the roughest and rockiest trails.

Available on Amazon ( http://smile.amazon.com/Riedel-Wine-Gla ... +wine+case ) for about $85.00:

Dave,
Please check me in.

KK6DGL
Kevin

KK6CTT requesting online check-in on the wine net please. Thanks.

Please check-in KN6VL and KD6GCO. I will be on the net but it will be after the main check-in time.

Thanks,