I thought this was pretty cool - Recycled Windshield Beer & Wine Glasses. The Uber-cool kids over at Uncrate uncovered these handmade recycled glasses from old, used auto windshields. Now I don’t know your drinking habits, but I would imagine that if you drop your drink at 55mph the glasses will shatter into thousands of little pieces. And as with autos - you can get the glassware tinted.

I was recently invited to participate in The 89 Project, which has a wonderful premise and mission. As the VP of digital media marketing for my 9 to 5 (well, 6 to 6) gig, I can appreciate what the project is attempting to do. The goal here is to that a wine that scored and 89, which some see as the kiss of death, not quite good enough for a 90 and build up its reputation though a conversation about said underachiever, using blog posts, social tools, whatever floats your boat. After all, what really defines an B+ or an A- term paper, an 8 or a 9 blind date, or an 89 or a 90 bottle of wine?

So I took a spin over at The 89 Project and was reminded about the cover image of the 100 Top Values of the Year Issue of Wine&Spirits magazine. Coincidence? Not as far as I am concerned. As long as you here me tell the story, my little wine-blog-that-could is uber-influential, informing cover design for a national rag.

Congratulations to Gary Vaynerchuk on his 500th episode of wine library tv. For those of you who dont know of Gary, he has been delivering the thunder about new wines and a new vocabulary thru his podcasts that appear 5 days a week, sometime between 4:00 and 6:00 EST.

What I find interesting about Gary is his use of social media to promote his message and his personal brand, and I will discuss that more later at Relevantly Speaking, but he has defiantly taken the medium and the message by storm. He is active on Twitter and he is all over mainstream media. Some people are put off by his loud, in-your-face style of broadcast, but it seems like the increasingly large number of fans have acknowledged that this might just be the wake up call that the often-times snooty and snobby wine industry needed. I for one hope to be able to do an interview with him here at DrinkSomeWine, with the assistance of my mentor Scott Parent, who produces the ever so famous podcast AmericanCliche.

For his 500th episode, Gary did a live audience show at CrushPad in San Fransisco and talks about a 2003 Araco Crianza Rioja, a 2001 Bodegas Primicia Rioja Reserva Rioja as well as a 2006 Lucien Crochet Sancerre Le Chene Sancerre Blanc.

If you are still reading this, I would highly recommend buying Gary’s Book - Gary Vaynerchuk’s 101 Wines: Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World. ANd yes, buy it from here so I get a sniffy sniff of the sale from Amazon.

I am sucker for good design as well as great table conversation. This decanter seems to solve two problems that are typical when the wine you are serving should be decanted. While most decanters sit tall in the throat with a wide base, they also tend to get in front of the people sitting across the table from you. This Riedel Tyrol Wine Decantor ($190) lays elegantly on its side, allowing the wine to breathe, looking quite relaxed, and staying out of the line of sight.

The decantor was created to honor the 50th anniversary of the workshops in Tyrol Austria, and can be ordered here.

I don’t know about you, but i prefer not to even THINK about driving when I decide to lift my glass more than a few times. This gadget might come in handy when I am trying to convince others beyond a shadow of a doubt that they should consider a cab home. The Alcohawk Keychain Breathalyzer is a one-button beauty that will determine where your BAL is. It employs a semi-conductor oxide sensor that seems to do the trick. Just put your mouth the device and blow for 5 seconds. This is one party gadget that really could save lives. Get one before the summer party season hits.

I tend to travel alot and always seem to be taking a bottle or few to clients. I love this tot by builtny because it doesn’t allow the bottles to clink together and because it is neoprene, it can insulate whites if I am carrying them from the hotel to the client. The two bottle tote comes in a variety of colors including khaki, cranberry red and grape.

You can order yours online from builtny.com

So by now you all know I love gear. Gadgets are the shit. And anything with the word ULTIMATE has got to be great. But for the life of me I can’t see myself tossing down 119 bones for a stainless steel stick to keep my wine cold. Sure, its got a cool little bunch of grapes on the top of the sceptre, but it still looks like something Dorothy would have received from Glenda the Good Witch of the North as a do good for killing the ugly sister.

The best part though is the it is SOLD OUT. That’s right folks. You can’t have it even if you wanted it. The people at the Home Shopping Network knew what they were doing when they stocked this thing.

It has been an amazing week here in the studio. We have earned a new client. We received final approval on a logo and identity system for a new startup. We were invited to work with one of the top communication agencies in the world. We even fought the urge to buy another iPod. So I would say this was a great week and needed celebrating. So, I grab a bottle of Pinot, and pull down some glasses from the cabinet and proceeded to shatter the bowls of not one, but both glasses in my hand.

Now, this is an embarrassing moment. I tended bar for over 10 years. I was a TGIF barman. I don’t break glasses and if I did I can burn an ice bin faster than you can say “hey bartender, can I get your number.” But here I am, standing in the middle of the kitchen, filets coming off the grill, salads plated and dressed, and glass all over the place.

We originally received the glasses as a gift, purchased at Williams-Sonoma. One of the reasons I love them is that I know I can get them replaced. When Williams-Sonoma creates an exclusive product line, like they did with the 23 oz. Burgundy glasses, breakage is only hard on the ego. I will be in San Francisco on Monday, and will swing by the store and get a few more. They are well designed for drinking reds, breathable bowls, extremely clear glass, and though hand blown they do not carry the imperfections that many hand crafted items might. And at $54 for a set of 4, you aren’t too worried about the next time you break ‘em.

I wear a skull ring on the middle finger of my right hand. Bethany bought it for me as a gift from Dallas Prigden. I like all things skull and have to get a set of these coasters that Josh Spear discovered over at Future Perfect in Williamsburg. Designed by Rob Teeters, are the perfect coasters for my living room, and with a name like “L’Ingestion de Poison”, will make a perfect gift for your pirate themed Valentine’s Day party. Future Perfect can be reached via the phone at 718.599.6278. Hurry though, this edition is limited to 80.

I can not tell you how many times I have seen her take that thing in her hands, and when she is through she has the biggest smile on her face. And we both know our way around other tools but nothing compares to the Rabbit. I bought her a gold one as a gift.

Sex And The City fans (damn I miss that show) should know that I am not talking about THAT Rabbit, but the Metrokane Rabbit Wine Opener. Very well designed, it pulls a cork from any size bottle in about 3 seconds and then removes the cork from the screw. This is the only cork puller that I can think of that has won a few design awards.

You should be able to find the Rabbit at any good wine shop. If you are participating in the next Wine Blogging Wednesday, check with your wine shop to see if they are stocking it. And if you didn’t get a Rabbit slid into your stocking at Christmas, do yourself a favor and pick one up. And if your wine shop happens to have the other Rabbit as well… get them both, an extra bottle of wine. Trust me on that.