There are a lot of different tools and accessories
available to increase your wine enjoying experience, and while it's
impossible to have all of them, here are ten accessories that I think
everybody should have.

A Good Solid Corkscrew

Corkscrews can come in a variety of styles, designs, and sizes. 
Whether you're a fan of the small hand corkscrew like those used by
waiters and bartenders at restaurants or want something larger that
sits on your counter, a reliable corkscrew is the first tool that every
wine lover should have. I quality corkscrew can make opening bottles
easier, and help prevent you from shredding the cork.

If you want
a counter-top corkscrew, make sure it has some weight to it - that
means pass on those little plastic ones with the suction cup bases. 
Something with a solid wood or metal base and a good metal arm is a
must. If you prefer a smaller corkscrew, I like one where the actual
corkscrew part is long and narrow, and with two leverage points for
removing the cork, requiring less energy.  If you're really unsure,
find a waiter or bartender you trust and ask them what kind of
corkscrew they have.

Set of 8 General Purpose Wine Glasses

Lots of experts will say that you should have separate glasses for
red and white, and some will even go so far as to say that different
varietals should have their own glasses.  While it's all well and good
to have a variety of wine glasses, with the exception of your more
fancy dinners and parties what you need is a set of good all around
glasses.

An all around wine glass should have an opening and bowl
large enough to accommodate red wine without being too large for white
wine.  This is the kind of glass that you see at some of your more
"casual plus" restaurants - they either don't have the budget or the
space or the wine selection to justify carrying different glasses for
red and white wine, and thus carry one that will accommodate both.

A
set of eight means you're ready for you, your significant other, a
couple of dinner guests, or a small dinner party.  Also, it means that
if you break one or two you're not stuck with a useless set. Your all
around wine glasses shouldn't cost more than about $5 to $10 each, that
way if you do break them you're not out a lot of money.  Remember,
these will be the glasses that you use after coming home from a long
day at work and open up that table wine that isn't fancy, but that you
love to drink with everything.

A Small to Medium Wine Fridge

Keeping your wine at a consistent temperature is important to not
only ensuring that it ages properly, but also to making sure that it's
at the right temperature when you're ready to enjoy it.  While we'd all
love to have a wine fridge that can support hundreds of bottles,
realistically, most of us only need one that will hold around 20
bottles at any given time.

As wine has grown in popularity more
and more wine refrigerators have become available with a variety of
options.  Depending on the size you decide on, a respectable wine
refrigerator will cost you between $100 and $200.  More expensive
fridges will have space for more wine and options like dual zone
control, allowing you to store both red and white in them.  Personally,
I keep my whites in mine during the summer as I drink them more then,
and during the cooler months I adjust the temperature and keep several
reds in there as I do not have a dual zone fridge.

Wine Chiller/Ice Bucket

 

Sure, you've kept your wine chilled in either a proper wine fridge
or your actual refrigerator, but what about after you've opened the
bottle and are enjoying it?  If you've ever been to a good quality
restaurant and ordered a bottle of white, they probably brought it out
in either a marble or metal tube that had been kept in their freezer. 
Keeping the wine in there when not pouring will ensure that it doesn't
get warm while you're eating, drinking, and enjoying the company of
another person or a group.

 

In the absence of either a metal or marble chiller, a nice ice
bucket is a good way to keep your wine chilled while you enjoy it. 
Simply put the wine in, place some ice and add a bit of water to give
it a nice ice bath to preserve the temperature while you're drinking
it. Many stores sell an electric chiller for a single bottle, and while
these are nice, they are often extremely expensive and aren't nearly as
effective as chilling the bottle ahead of time and then preserving the
temperature with an ice bucket or metal/marble chiller.  They are good
for bringing a bottle of red down a few degrees, but you're better off
just getting a wine fridge for that purpose when it comes down to it.

 

A Quality Foil Cutter

Sure, a lot of bottles are moving towards screw-cap, and many
others are starting to add little pull tabs that make it easy to remove
the foil cap.  All of that being said, there are still far more
wineries that are still wrapping theirs in foil without any means to
remove it.  While any corkscrew will come with a knife to remove this,
there is also the danger of cutting yourself with the knife.

Foil
cutters can be found either by themselves or in accessory packages. 
You simply place them over the top of the wine bottle, apply pressure,
and rotate them, cutting a circle around the top of the foil that can
then be removed to provide access to the cork.  What's nice about a
foil cutter is that they provide a clean cut, remove any danger to
yourself, and won't shred the foil into little bits that can find their
way into the bottle if you're not careful.  At only a few dollars at an
wine shop, there's no reason not to have one of these stored next to
your corkscrew.

Drip Collar

Most of us have had the experience of pouring a glass of wine, and
then having to catch the drip that starts a race down the side of the
bottle.  A drip collar is a great way to avoid drops making their way
down a bottle to come to rest on your counter, floor, or carpeting.  A
simple piece of metal with a felt lining is simply placed around the
neck of the bottle and held in place by your hand while you pour.  Any
wine that drips over is just absorbed into the felt instead of staining
a surface in your home.

For around $10 you can rest easy knowing
that you won't be damaging any surface in your home, and isn't $10
better than having to replace a piece of carpet?

Decanter

A decanter serves a couple of functions for your wine.  It helps to
aerate it, allowing the flavors and aromas to open up and it helps to
serve as a pitcher for serving the wine.  Decanters come in a variety
of shapes, sizes, and materials.  Pricing varies depending on the size,
design, what it's made of, and quite frankly, where you buy it from.

Allowing
your wine to sit in a decanter for 15 to 30 minutes after opening is
great for opening up your wine and ensuring that you get the most out
of it.  A decanter can turn a $10 wine into a $20 one just by allowing
all the flavors to be presented.  You can find a serviceable decanter
starting at about $20, but they do go upwards of $80 to $100 for more
elaborate decanters made out of more expensive materials.

Aerator

Decanting your wine is great, but what if you're not going to drink
the entire bottle?  What if you're drinking from a larger bottle like a
magnum or from a box?  If a decanter isn't a viable option, but you
still want to improve the flavor and aroma of your wine, an aerator is
a great way to do this.  These come in a variety of options, with some
being placed in the glass after the wine has been poured to force air
into the wine, and others having the wine poured through them to allow
air in faster.  Either way, this allows you to essentially decant on a
glass by glass basis, which is great for those that don't drink wine a
bottle at a time.

An aerator can cost you almost as much as a
decanter, but it's a must have if you don't already have a decanter as
it gives you the benefits of one without having to do a bottle at a
time and then store a large glass vessel.

Vacuum Seal Corks

Not all of us enjoy wine by the bottle.  Some do still enjoy it by
the glass, and there's nothing wrong with that.  To help prolong the
life of your bottle, vacuum seal corks are a must have.  There are
various versions available, but they all do the same thing - remove
excess air from the bottle to help preserve the wine.

A set
including a couple of corks and the pump will run you between $10 and
$15, but not having to worry about your wine turning on you before you
finish the bottle is something you can't put money on.

Wine Rack

Keeping your wine in a wine fridge is great, but if you're anything
like me, your supply of wine far exceeds what a wine fridge is going to
support.  A wine rack is perfect for keeping your wine organized, out
of direct sunlight, and in the proper position to keep the cork from
drying out and crumbling into the wine itself.

Wine racks come in
too many varieties to discuss here, so finding a wine rack that's right
for you is as simple as deciding how big of one you need and what you
want it to look like. Most of your local home furnishing retailers will
carry a wide selection of wine racks, so the only thing stopping you
from getting it is going out and actually purchasing one.

Not All There Is

This is certainly not all of the wine accessories that are out
there, just some of my favorite ones that I think would serve every
wine lover to own.  Any of these can be found in your local wine shops,
home retailers, or online at stores like Amazon.com.