Sound Money Tips just posted some good pointers on shopping for wine. I have to qualify one of them: #6 says you shouldn't pour a half empty bottle down the drain. (Well of course not! What a shame that would be!) But rather than just corking up the bottle and putting it in the fridge, it's better to keep a few half-bottles (375ml) around the house and transfer it to one of those. That way there will be less air in the bottle with the wine, and it will keep better.
Now, for a bit of interactive fun, here's a contest for you! The photo above is of all the corks I have collected from approximately 5 1/2 years of home wine consumption. I tend to buy pretty cheap wines, usually under $10, maybe up to $15 for a special treat. So the question is, how much did I spend on liquor in 2005? You can post your guesses in the comments, and whoever comes closest to the actual number will receive a fabulous prize! I will post a special headline at the top of my blog that says "[your name here] is wicked awesome!" with a link to your blog*, if you have one, and I'll leave it there for one full week! Now I expect that the stampede of people trying to claim this incredible prize may temporarily overwhelm Blogger's servers, so if you can't get through right away, just keep trying and don't despair. Good luck, and may the best
*I reserve the right to reject any porn sites!
Spend on liquor? Not enough information.
ReplyDeleteSpend on wine? ;) I say $2,500. It sure seems like a lot when you look at it like that.
Good point-- practically all of my liquor consumption is wine, though.
ReplyDeleteI think...$186.00!
ReplyDelete(Haven't ignored your request for recipes...just have been short on time. Will get to it soon!)
I'll guess ... $613 for 2005
ReplyDeleteGood job on working in your wine keeping tip!
That's a lot of cork. Poor trees.
ReplyDeleteI say $560
Henry, I will expose myself as a neo-hippie so you can sleep at night...cork is a renewable resource! :) No cork trees were harmed, the bark of the cork tree is harvested, it grows back, and wine is preserved for the masses! Huzzah!
ReplyDeleteMy guess: $750
ReplyDeleteI hope it was mostly red wine. It's supposed to be best for you. :)
Hazzard
I'm guessing $353. I love a contest!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite wine = Presecco! Gotta love the bubblies ;)
ReplyDeleteMy guess is $480.
There's a little gizmo called Vac-u-vin that sucks the air out of a half-empty bottles and keeps the wine fresh. It sells for about $15-20. But half-empty bottles aren't usually a problem for us.
ReplyDeleteYou have gotten some really good sale deals if some of the lower guesses are correct. $2000 - probably a bit more, but I didn't feel like trying to count them all.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is $397.56
ReplyDeleteI'd guess $233.
ReplyDeleteThat's not a lot of corks for 1 year. I am guessing $575. What about the new screw tops famous in NZ?
ReplyDelete$335
ReplyDelete$1500
ReplyDeleteHtown
Thanks Caitlin. I feel better about the trees now. :~)
ReplyDelete$435
ReplyDelete$1919.19
ReplyDelete$1919.19
ReplyDeleteto follow up on this estimate, I go by the name, Mr. New York.
Contest winner announced here!
ReplyDeleteIn case you're looking for a neat way to use your corks, do a Google search for "wine cork trivet". There are also some pretty neat commercial products.
ReplyDelete