Explain uses of wine set? (red wine, top, bottle, vodka)

[JL]

I normally just use the corkscrew to open a wine bottle, but i was at a local store and they had a sale of an entire wine set for like only 12 bucks, so i thought it would be nice to get it for either myself or a family member. Besides the corkscrew, it also had a foil cutter, pourer/stopper, stopper, and drip ring. How do you use those things? Just wondering.

[7G9C4J2]

Well, most of it sounds fairly self-explanatory. Many bottles of wine have foil coverings over the cork that must be removed before using the corkscrew, and a knife is a better tool for that than fingers. Thick foil can be sharp enough to cut skin if handled imprudently. As a side note, some vintners use lead foil, and traces of lead can remain on the edge of the bottle mouth and wind up in your wine glass when you pour; if in doubt, wipe the bottle edges carefully and thoroughly with vinegar before pouring.

A pourer attachment is handy if you don't want to dribble wine all over the tablecloth - which is particularly wise if you're serving a red wine, of course. Drip ring ditto.

We've never needed a stopper, because we don't open a bottle of wine unless there are enough people at dinner to finish it, but I could see that being useful for a single person who enjoys wine.

If someone on your holiday giving list is a budding wine enthusiast, that could be a very nice gift. If they are already an experienced aficionado of wine, it might be less appropriate, as they likely already have a sizable collection of the tools of the trade.

[cb at sea]

If you need a "stopper", the cork from a bottle of Belvedere Vodka works great!

[Twinkle Toes]

I got these little hologram-like discs from Kalyra Winery that work great for stopping drips!