Wine and the Hip Hostess

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I became a wine connoisseur on the second night of my honeymoon while dining in a quaint little restaurant in Nuits St. George. Plucked from the pages of my tattered "Let's Go France" the small quintessential french restaurant was filled with foreign visitors speaking in many native languages. The atmosphere was warm and inviting yet somewhat awkward as we were young, newlyweds unfamiliar with the etiquette, the menu and the language. Accidental tourists, you might say. The meal and its wine pairings are forever etched in my memory and flood back whenever I sample a good glass of French wine.

Don't get me wrong. I am not a wine snob or into expensive wine or owner of a cellar. And. I don't drink alone. Well, unless my Veranda happens to come on a Friday afternoon, the same Friday that my significant other happens to be fly fishing or wandering around the mountains in the dark and my sixteen year old is otherwise occupied. On those chance evenings a good glass of red wine and my forever best friend Sadie make nice companions.

Nuits St. George, France

 

I just like the experience that accompanies a good glass of wine ~ a first date, a special dinner with friends, a quaint little restaurant with attentive chef, a landmark birthday, foreign travels...

I had one of those memorable dinners recently with two of my good friends. Over a nice meal and a good bottle of wine, we talked about design and inspiration and well, wine. My newest design friend christened me with the wine cork from the evening, signed and dated. You see I am not alone. After every memorable evening, she saves the cork engraved with the names of friends she shared the evening with and the date.

She asked me that evening if I saved my wine corks and what I did with them...

I save my corks in an old glass antique whiskey barrel. The gold etching reads:

Gold Medals Sydney Melbourne

Old Highland Whiskey

John Walker & Sons Kilmarnock

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Adelaide Dunedin & Paris

I have mentioned before that I collect vintage and antique glass and this is one of my favorite pieces. I bought it from my sister who purchased it at the markets in Brimfield.

I have put together this post for those of you who share my love of the wine experience. It showcases a few products for the hip hostess as well as stylish DIY projects utilizing old wine bottles and wine crates. Enjoy!

I really like these wine decanters and numbered wine glasses from Olive and Cocoa.

Use your imagination. What can a hip hostess do with these clear wine bottles adorned with chalkboard tags?

I absolutely love this creative tablescape utilizing old wine bottles painted gold from Once Wed Blog.

Napa Valley Vintage Home stocks these chic etched glass wine bottles. I adore the green sealing wax intaglio tags. They also carry an interesting selection of vintage French wine bottles below.

These fabric covered bottles from david Stark for West Elm would make an interesting wine bottle DIY project. They are covered in a gesso coated canvas and have a great texture in person.

Swanson Vineyards offers these graphically attractive bottles of wine with a message.

And my absolute favorite wine DIY project is from LLH Designs. I want to do this and all the step-by-step instructions complete with gorgeous photos are on her blog.

This is another product I would like to purchase. I first saw the wine bottle plant nanny on Urban Grace. It waters your plants while you are away...smart and attractive.

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I think this is such a lovely tablescape using old wine bottles.

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Lastly, old wine bottles make great luminaries. All you need is a wine bottle cutter.

Do you have a favorite wine product or DIY project?

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