Wine Rack Store Blog

This summer we have been lucky enough to have many visitors. We are becoming old pros at the host role and now have another chance to show our colors. Today our friends arrived after a six hour drive to hang out for a few days. We have an adventure planned for Olympic National Forest, but we'll take a day or two on either end to relax and enjoy eachother's company.

Once our friends got settled into the guest room, we started to catch up right away. Luckily I had some wine we made last summer hanging out in our wine racks, just waiting for a special occasion to be opened up and shared. Of course we ended up chatting until we realized we were all starving and decided to order some food for delivery, and pull out another bottle from the wine rack. We had to get our fill of wine in, since we decided it is a little extravagant to carry wine 8 miles into a backpacking trip. Not that we haven't attempted such a feat before.

Tomorrow we are headed up to the largest alpine lake in Olympic National Forest. It's a beautiful spot where we have gone to before, and hopefully the mosquitoes won't be too disruptive. We're looking forward to picking huckleberries, fishing, sleeping under the stars and enjoying our last chance for a backpacking trip this summer. There is nothing like the quiet peace offered by a camping trip with some good friends.

Labels: camping, wine racks

Last week I was lucky enough to spend some time with my folks who were out here visiting from the east coast. We had lots of time to hear about their trip to wine country and sample the wines they were kind enough to share with us. Of course, we had to do explore the Northwest a bit, in spite of the hot spell that had taken over our part of the world.

My parents are both big sports fans, and what better way to appreciate a hot summer day than at a professional baseball game? OK, so, the Seattle Mariners are not exactly a team to brag about. But professional baseball is a spectacular event, even when the team has only won half their games. It has been since I went to a pro ball game, and I had a great time.

Did you know the Food Network has named Safeco Field (where the Mariner's play in Seattle) "the best ballpark eats in America?" There is Thai food and sushi, tacos, nachos, and of course, you can't go to a ball game without the option for a genuine hot dog. In addition to all that variety, they actually have a wine stand at the game! I couldn't help myself, in spite of the traditional beer readily available at any moment, I had to try out something from the vendor's wine rack.

Well, the game actually ended up being incredible with or without the food selection. Their best hitter, Ichiro Suzuki, pulled out a sweet hit placed just out of reach between second base and center field with two outs, two strikes and bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. But I know if I go again, it will be worth it regardless of the outcome of the game. The food and options from the vendor's wine rack along with the ball game spirit were enough for me to have a great time.

Labels: baseball game, food, Mariner's, wine rack, wine racks

Well this Saturday was officially the opening date for picking blueberries at our favorite organic u-pick blueberry farm. Less than two miles from our house, we made our way early-ish on Saturday morning to beat the heat and get as many of the sweet ripe berries as we could. We know if we want to make a mead good enough to save in our wine rack, we need the freshest berries we can get our hands on. Two of us managed to pick 15 pounds of berries in two hours, before the sun convinced us it was time to cool off inside. While 15 pounds is excessive for even a five-gallon batch of mead, we knew we'd need plenty left over for munching, sharing (with my 2 year old nephew in particular, who cannot get enough!) and a sweet dessert, like blueberry pie, for example. Plus, we like to freeze berries when they are fresh and perfect from the summer and enjoy them all winter long.

Once we got ourselves cleaned up and cooled down from the morning of picking, we washed off the berries and sorted out which ones we wanted for the mead. We had a great time mashing the five quarts worth (about five pounds) of berries into a watery squishy mess in the primary fermentation vessel (that's fancy-home brewing language for five gallon bucket). We warmed up some honey and water in a huge pot to help the honey dissolve into nice solution. Adding the honey water mixture to the berries, now we get to wait for the yeast to work their magic for a few days before we can strain and transfer the solution to a carboy for the secondary fermentation. With attention to sterilization and getting our timing right, we'll have 25 bottles of blueberry mead aging in our wine rack, waiting for the perfect occasion to be opened up and enjoyed!

Labels: berry picking, homemade mead, meads, wine racks

Last weekend my parents arrived from NJ to visit. Before they got here they took a short side trip to one of the best vacation spots in California- wine country. I particularly appreciate their stop in Sonoma County before their longer visit with me, because I reap the benefit of a couple of great bottles of wine to enjoy now and a couple to save for a special occasion in my wine rack.

My mom, the self-labeled "amateur wine connoisseur," has visited Sonoma before. She's been back the the Sebastiani vineyard twice now, and I can't say I blame her. The wine is fabulous and doesn't break the bank. Really, expensive wines can be incredible, but it isn't hard to find a great wine for a great deal, and Sebastiani is one of those places. The wines my mom brought up for us to taste and share are the 2006 Zinfandel and the 2007 Pinot Noir.

Personally, I loved them both. If I had to pick a preference, though I would go with the Zinfandel. It had this amazing flavor, without being overwhelming. Here is what the winery has to say about it:
"Bright ruby in color, your nose will delight in the raspberry and strawberry fruit aromas. The flavor offers pure raspberry fruit and nuances of cedar and vanilla oak. This wine is exceedingly elegant, and the lower alcohol level allows the purity of fruit to shine through. It is enjoyable in its youth, yet has enough structure to make it age worthy. Try it with any red-sauced pizzas, barbecued spare ribs, or Teriyaki shrimp."

We did enjoy this one with a Teriyaki stir fry, and I'm excited to add it to my collection to taste in a few years. That is if I don't pull it out of my wine rack next week!

Labels: Sebastiani, wine country, wine racks, wine tasting

Today I was lucky enough to be in touch with an old friend from Idaho. We reminisced a bit and she got me thinking about the cooking club we were in together. Ever since I moved away, I have wanted to start my own chapter of the "Dining Divas". This was one of the most fabulous tight-knit group of "foodies" I have ever known, and I just loved the idea of getting together for a gourmet meal once a month and getting some solid hangout time with these amazing ladies.

Here's how it worked. Every month one of the members of the group would host a dinner at her house. She would choose a theme and send out invitations to the rest of us. The theme would often be a surprise and was always very creative. Each month the different parts of the meal were assigned to different people, so we all got a turn providing the appetizers, salad, soup, entree, drinks, side dish, and dessert. Of course, which ever piece of the meal you brought had to fit the theme. It was incredible how well the meal would always fit together, in spite of the fact that few of us would reveal what we were bringing. The monthly meal was an opportunity to try out some fun new recipe or to bring in an old favorite. We really went out on a limb to create a delicious meal and spoil ourselves. It was the perfect opportunity to pull out that special wine I'd been saving in the wine rack. And I loved getting to use my wine charms to identify our glasses with such a full house! Dinner would always begin in the afternoon, so we'd have 4 hours to really savor our meal and company.

Anyway, it has been far too long since I've had a crew like this to enjoy a fantastic dinner with. They are still going strong, but I'm too far away, so I need to try to recreate this monthly feast in my current location.

Labels: cooking club, Dining Divas, foodies, Wine Charms, wine racks

Within minutes of announcing that we do custom wine racks, we received a flurry of inquiries. Not only from the US, but also from as far away as Australia. In many cases the cost for a custom wine rack is very little over the cost of our regular products. So give the Wine Rack Store a call at 866-676-4028 and tell us what you need.

Remember, we aim to provide superlative customer service. If for some reason you are missing parts or receive a damaged part just let us know. Usually we can ship a replacement the next business day or sooner. Hey sometimes s--t happens, and we are here to help. We have been providing goods and services for over 14 years, and it is this level of service and quality products which separates us from our competitors.

Labels: custom, customer service, wine racks, WineRackStore.com

Every year, we at the Wine Rack Store have a Halloween Costume Party. The party is a lot of fun. It is great to party with our friends and employees and their families. This year the party actually falls on Friday October 31st. The ghosts and goblins will be out in their glory!

So far we have been told that costumes will vary from a "Hooter" girl (you can guess "she", will be very distinctive looking) to Joe Dirt to 1970's Hippies, to many other creative home made costumes. As you can imagine, the event is very colorful.

In addition, the Wine Rack Store contributes food both donated by our guest and ourselves, to a local food bank. This just shows part of the our commitment to the community. We regularly give wine racks to charities so that they can auction and raise funds for their organizations.

Labels: charity, food bank, wine rack store, wine racks

Fall has made it's presence known at the Wine Rack Store. Two types of Apples actually. The first of course is the delicious type. We are fortunate to work and live in the State known for it's produce and especially it's apples. Washington State is far and away the largest producer of apples in the USA. Washington Apples have a quality reputation throughout a large range of different types.

The second type of Apple important to Wine Rack Store and AmazingUniverse.com Inc is the computer type. We have completed our replacement of our PC's. Not that anything was basically wrong with the PC's, but they were at the end of their useful life, and because design is so important to us we felt that Apple iMacs would be a better product for us. They have turned out to be an excellent investment, adding significantly to our creative processes.

These quality products remind me of the quality and varied products we produce. We are proud to service the wine industry and wine collectors throughout the United States, Canda, Europe and Asia. If you haven't done so already, check out wine racks, wine charms and wine accessories!

Labels: AmazingUniverse.com, Apple, Computers, quality products, wine accessories, Wine Charms, wine rack store, wine racks

After a brief hiatus we are commencing our video projects. The videos will demonstrate just how good our wine racks and wine accessories are! In addition they will show our factories, product manufacturing and of course our great employees that contribute so much to the success of AmazingUniverse and the WineRackStore.com

Personnally, I find this very exciting. It is just another outlet for our creative skills to reveal themselves. It is important for our customers to see exactly who we are and what we do, so that they can be totally at ease in dealing with us. By the way you can check out our videos on YouTube. Here is a link to one: We hope you enjoy it!

Labels: video, wine racks, WineRackStore.com, YouTube.com

Wine Rack Store is pleased to announce that we want to put your wine tasting or charity event on our blog. We want to use our blogs to help those organizations that are doing good and are associated with the larger wine community. If you have an event coming up, do not hesitate to let us know by contacting mike@winerackstore.com or make a comment on our blog. It is that easy! Not only do we have wine racks, wine accessories and service, but we also want to help those that could use some free advertising. Don't forget that we can also capture your event through our video service. We look forward to hearing from you.

Labels: charity, events, wine accessories, wine rack store, wine racks, wine tasting table

We buy a lot of wine at the wine rack store. Two reasons really. One reason is that we need thousands of full wine bottles for our photo shots. The second more legitimate reason is, we just plain love wine. I don't think we are connoisseurs. We love the way wine is made, and way it has been part of the human landscape since the pharoahs and before. We love the many different tastes of wine. Everybody has their favorite and that is a-ok. My personal favorite is Shiraz. We love the fact, that in moderation wine is good for you and your heart. We also love the fact that every day millions of people from around the world get together over dinner with their families and friends and experience wine. The wine rack store loves to be able to help store your wine. We make the best wine racks for the money, anywhere on the face of the earth. Check us out. One wine lover to another.

Labels: wine, wine rack, wine rack store, wine racks

Sometimes the wine rack store just seems busy, other weeks we are just jumpin'. Tumwater, Washington, we believe is the center or the wine rack universe. People want great wine racks at great prices. That seems reasonable enough. It is a formula that works for us on 4 continents. It isn't as though, we spend a lot of money on advertising or ppc. Our customers tell their friends about us, and they in turn purchase our quality products. So many products, that our production lines are expanding! Did you know that we export our products to China. That's right, we are truly a global company with our roots in the USA.

Labels: global, instant cellar, USA, wine rack, wine rack store, wine racks