A long, candlelit wine cellar lined with bottles

The Sommelier's Edit · Wine gear, chosen on the floor

Tools that earn a place beside the bottle.

Every night in a hotel dining room I open, decant, pour and save wine for guests. This is the gear that holds up to real service.

Holiday Gift GuideStart with the essentials

Photo: Amin Zabardast / Unsplash

The Holiday IssueEight buying guidesOctober 2026
A bottle neck wrapped in twine with a red ribbon bow

The Holiday Gift Guide · 2026

Wine gifts a sommelier would actually use

From stocking stuffers to the big gift: corkscrews, glasses, decanters and Coravin, chosen by someone who opens wine for a living.

Shop the gift guide
A man opening a bottle of red wine with a waiter's corkscrew

Opening

The corkscrew a sommelier actually carries

The double-hinged tool on my belt every night, plus electric and lever options and the puller I trust with old, crumbly corks.

Read the guidePhoto: Liv Kao / Unsplash
Wine glasses set upside down on tables in a dim restaurant

Glassware

One good glass beats a cabinet full

Why a single universal glass serves most homes, when a Burgundy bowl earns its space, and the crystal worth the splurge.

Read the guidePhoto: Antonio Paez / Unsplash
A glass of red wine against a dark background

Aeration

When air helps a wine, and when it hurts

Aerators can soften a tight young Cabernet in seconds. Used on the wrong bottle, they flatten it. Here is how to tell.

Read the guidePhoto: Immo Wegmann / Unsplash
Wine bottles resting on wooden racks

Preservation

The second glass should taste like the first

From a classic vacuum pump to Coravin, how to keep an open bottle fresh for days, weeks or months.

Read the guidePhoto: Amy Chen / Unsplash

Also in this issue

Red wine being poured into a large glass against a dark background

Decanting

The decanter for the job

Rows of wine bottles stored on their sides

Storage

Where wine should live at home

Champagne being poured into glasses in warm light

Sparkling

Champagne without the nerves

A bottle neck wrapped in twine with a red ribbon bow

Gifts

Gifts a sommelier would use

Taste first, aerate second. The wine will tell you what it needs.
Márcio

The short list

Starting from nothing? These three cover most of what a wine lover needs at home.

NeedWhat I recommendGuide
Open any bottlePulltex Pulltap's waiter's corkscrewOpeners
One glass for everythingGabriel-Glas StandArt universalGlasses
Save the rest of the bottleVacu Vin pump, or Coravin PivotPreservers

A note from the floor

The biggest free upgrade: serve your red a little cooler, around 60 to 65°F, and your white a little warmer than straight from the fridge.

Written by Márcio

Wine gear chosen from real restaurant service, not from a spec sheet. About SommShelf.