WineShop

Mistral

Fifty-five cards that teach the whole world of wine one concept at a time, and the deck I built because nothing like it existed.

Hugh Johnson, Jancis Robinson & Julia Harding

New edition, ships Oct 6

When I need to see why a slope in the Mosel or a fog line in Sonoma matters, this is the book I open, and the one I would keep if I could only keep one.

Madeline Puckette & Justin Hammack

The book I hand to someone who wants to understand wine without reading a textbook; the charts do more teaching than most paragraphs.

Jancis Robinson & Julia Harding

The reference I check before I say anything with confidence, from malolactic conversion to what a cru actually means.

Karen MacNeil

The book I recommend to someone who wants one volume that covers everything and reads like a person wrote it.

Jon Bonné

Two volumes on where French wine is going rather than where it has been; the best wine book of the last decade.

Gabriel-Glas

One glass for everything, Champagne to Barolo, and the one I name when someone asks which single stem to buy.

Zalto

My daily glass for ten years. Mouth-blown, absurdly thin, and mine go through the dishwasher on the lower rack every night and have never broken. The best glass I have ever used.

Zalto

The big bowl for Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo, and aromatic whites. Same feather-light Zalto build as the Universal, with more room for the wine to open up.

Riedel

A Champagne glass shaped like a small white wine glass, so you get aroma instead of just bubbles; the flute era is over.

Riedel

The black glass I pour into for blind tastings, so nobody can see the color and everybody has to think.

Coravin

Pour a glass of something serious without pulling the cork, then put the bottle back for a month; it is how you taste through wines you are not ready to finish.

Refills: Coravin Pure Argon Capsules

Coravin

The simpler Coravin for wines you will finish inside a few weeks; it takes five seconds to use and costs less than the Timeless.

Refills: Coravin Pure Argon Capsules

Coravin

The refills for both Coravins above. Each capsule pours about fifteen glasses, so a six-pack lasts a long time. Buy genuine Coravin capsules; off-brand argon can foul the needle.

Durand

For old corks that crumble under a normal corkscrew; if you open anything with fifteen years on it, this is the tool that saves the bottle.

Pulltap's

The double-hinged waiter's key that opens more bottles in restaurants than any other tool made, and it costs less than a glass of wine.

Riedel

Young, tight reds open up with air, and this one is easy to pour from and easy to clean, which is the part most decanters get wrong.

Repour

A stopper that absorbs the oxygen in the bottle instead of just sealing it, so Tuesday's wine still tastes right on Friday.

Shintop

The numbered bags I use for every blind tasting, so the bottle stays a secret until the reveal.