A new assortment of high quality knives is awaiting arrival at your home

 

 

 

One of life’s lessons is to buy high quality items built to last, and to take care of those belongings. Buying high quality items and keeping them well is an investment that always pays off. Those who follow this advice enjoy their items more and have to replace them less often. The advice rings true for carpeting, electronics, clothing and — cutlery!

Luckily it’s very easy to see the difference. If you’re at a dollar store, buy a knife and take it home. Compare it to the ones you have. The dollar store knife will be so thin that it may not even cut straight through an apple or onion without bending. The handle might fall off with the first dishwasher use.

For some of us, we’ve skipped over that comparison and bought a good knife set, or received one as a gift. The on-sale $50 or $99 set from the department store cuts nicely and the quality lasts through washing and quite a good deal of abuse.

These $50-99 sale knife sets work well for a long time, and occasionally one might see knives at a cutlery shop or finer kitchen gadget store selling for $25 to $500 per knife or more! So if you’re missing a knife or two from your existing set (a set that is still working just fine) why would you replace one knife with one that costs as much as the entire set?

The answer lies in your first test of a finer knife. Consider cars vs. knives… a dollar store knife is much like a used Datsun sedan. Both are on their last legs before the next use. A $50 or $99 knife set is a new Kia. It will get you where you need to go without embarassment. The knives we’ve now listed online at www.salutwineoutlet.com are BMW 5-Series knives, by the world’s most recognized cutlery expert.   (and they’re still very affordable!)

Victorinox knives are the blades found in the legendary Swiss Army Knives, and have been developed with 125 years of well-known Swiss precision. The balance and heirloom quality will not just perform well, but each use will re-afirm that the knife you are using is one of the world’s best, and the decision you made to invest your money into your cutlery has been one of the best decisions you’ve ever made.

Our line includes two levels of quality.  Select either the Victorinox Cutlery line for home use if you enjoy cooking and want great quality.  Or step-up to the Victorinox Forged Professional series if you find yourself using your knives constantly and daily, either for many meals or events, or for professional use.  The added quality of the Forged Professional line will ensure a lifetime and beyond of unwavering performance.

If you love to cook, you’ll enjoy developing your culinary skill even more with these exceptional knives.  Just try one, and you’ll understand. There is a balance to a good knife, and a weight, and an ergonomic feel to the touch. There is precision in the angle and shape of the blade, and an unseen scientific precise quality to the steel used to create it. It not only gets you where you want to go, but it does so in style, comfort and precision.

A painter needs a top quality brush to paint. A driver needs a precision car to drive. Your family and guests need great food when they sit down for dinner, and your kitchen needs fine knives to create it.

It’s time to buy the last knives you will ever need.

For more information

Check out the selection of Victorinox knives at Salut!

Read a brochure about the cutlery lines from Victorinox

See an article at Farm Fresh Living about Choosing Quality Cutlery

Read about our high quality line of kitchen and wine accessories from WMF

Learn about shapes, styles, usage of kitchen knives at KnivesKitchen.com

 

A few words about olive oil

Just as different grapes and regions produce different wines, so too do olives produce a litany of different flavors and quality levels around the world. In Italy, many of the best winemakers also grow olives and produce some of the finest olive oils.

It’s time to take note! The health aspects of naturally monounsaturated olive oil have long been known by Mediterranean cultures, and now science has proven that starting a meal with a tablespoon of olive oil can jumpstart the healthy digestion of your intake. A great way to do this is to serve a starter course of bread and dip it in a small dish of oil.

All Mediterranean countries grow olives and produce olive oils, but Spain and Italy have the world’s admiration for production of the best examples. Their climates and soils provide the best growing medium, and the traditional methods and respect for quality shown by both countries ensures consistently outstanding results. California, Greece and France also produce fine olive oils.  Identifying flavors in olive oils is similar to evaluating wines, with a similar degree of experience and knowledge required to sort out the results!

Producing olive oil is similar to winemaking in many ways. Olives and grapes are both fruits, with hundreds of individual varieties that must be matched to soils and regions. Harvesting must be done carefully and at the optimal time. Production takes place in immaculately clean facilities, under delicately controlled pressures and temperatures.

The biggest difference between winemaking and olive oil production is the fermentation process. Fermentation by definition is of primary importance in winemaking, but is carefully guarded against when making olive oil. Fermenting of olives produces an off taste which destroys the final product.

All olive oils are graded by the degree of acidity they contain. The best are cold-pressed, a chemical-free process that involves only pressure. Extra virgin olive oil, the cold-pressed result of the first pressing of the olives, is only 1% acid. It’s considered the finest and fruitiest of the olive oils and is therefore also the most expensive. In general, the deeper the color, the more intense the flavor. Virgin olive oil is also a first-press oil, with slightly higher acidity between 1 and 3%. Fino olive oil is a blend of extra virgin and virgin oils (fino is Italian for “fine”). Products labeled simply olive oil (once called pure) contain a combination of refined olive oil and virgin or extra virgin oil.

The new light olive oil contains the same amount of beneficial monounsaturated fat as regular olive oil…and it also has exactly the same number of calories. What the term “light” refers to is that–because of an extremely fine filtration process–this olive oil is lighter in both color and fragrance, and has little of the classic olive-oil flavor. It’s this rather nondescript flavor that makes “light” olive oil perfect for baking and cooking at higher heats (high heat destroys the flavors of high-quality oils).

Be sure to store your olive oils properly. Bright light and temperatures over 70 degrees will age oils prematurely. Oils will last 6 months in a cupboard/pantry or up to a year in a refrigerator (although you’ll have to let it warm back up before being able to pour it.

Looking for more information?

• Visit www.oliveoilsource.com for more information.
• Watch a video about olive oil production in Andalucia
• Tips for using Olive Oil in cooking from HowStuffWorks.com
• 25 other uses for olive oil from Curbly.com
• The olive oil wheel of sensory characteristics – a great tool for tasting

 

Origins of the Corkscrew

Necessity is the mother of invention

Just like aluminum cans appeared years before the invention of the can opener, so did the bottle sealed with cork appear long before the means to open them.

Corkscrews weren’t always used exclusively for wine. The cork and the ability to mass-produce strong glass bottles appeared at about the same time in the early 17th century and was used as the standard package for beer, perfume, ointments, ink, medicines and cleaners. All of these products required the use of a corkscrew to open. Screw caps, pop-tops and bottle caps were all invented much later, well after World War I!

A gun worm

Reference was made to corkscrews in 17th century literature, but nobody knows when one first appeared. It probably was extremely similar to the standard picnic corkscrews used today; simply a steel screw with a handle, shaped like the letter T. The design was based on a “gun worm” used for cleaning stuck bullets from the barrel of guns. It was probably a gun owner’s trial and error that found this use for a spiral screw, probably for his beer!

The first improvement in corkscrew design was rewarded with a patent in 1795 and a slew of inventions have rushed forward since, each trying to improve our ability to extract the cork from the bottle without having to resort to using our teeth or a bent nail and brute force (as was done prior to the corkscrew’s birth!)

Buttons, coated worms, ratchets, springs, prongs, levers and fancy designs have been patented worldwide and have given rise to the hobby of corkscrew collecting. Online auctions have brought as much as $3500 for a single historic corkscrew. The highest bid ever was over $36,000 at a Christie’s of London annual Corkscrew Auction. A ’corkscrew museum’ has been created on the Internet (www.bullworks.net/virtual.htm) and Corkscrew collectors (called “Helixophiles” have formed associations and clubs worldwide.

Our Favorite Corkscrew

The Rialto - Our Favorite

Although corkscrews come in dozens of styles and hundreds of brands, our favorite at Salut! Wine Co. is the “Rialto” articulated corkscrew. It’s design is compact and effective in pulling corks with the least effort and without splitting the cork.  You can purchase a Rialto online at www.salutwineoutlet.com.  The trick to using this easy tool is to start with the screw at an angle…so the tip of the wire screw appears to be growing straight up from the center of the cork.  Start all corkscrews this way.  After one full turn the screw will “right” itself and proceed straight down into the cork every time if you let it.

The right way to start any corkscrew

Visit www.corkscrewnet.com for a comprehensive collection of links and reference pages if you would like to know more about these complex inventions.

 

We’re Improving Your Online Shopping Experience at Salut!

We’ve been working hard building a better online Salut! Wine Co. since the closing of our Vancouver location.  It’s time to invite you to take a better look! 

NEW – Salut! Wine Outlet’s own site!

Our Salut! Wine Outlet is now located at its own website (not just on the ebay site) so you can shop without the need for an Ebay or PayPal account!  It’s easy to remember and find…just visit our website at www.salutwine.com and click on the button.

In addition, we’re adding more items constantly.  Over 1000 items are already online, with 100’s more on the way.  WMF kitchen accessories, Riedel glassware & decanters, Vinturi aerators, Pewter stoppers, bottle costumes, Wine Away, Corkpops, Sake sets, wine racks and more are already online at lower prices than we were able to offer in-store!   You’ll need to check back often to see what’s new.

Our selection of wines will come soon.  We’ll start adding wines to the site beginning (hopefully) June 1st.  We’ll let you know.  Until then, we hope you enjoy shopping the array of quality, hand-selected items we’ve gathered for you in one easy place!

Check the Salut! Home Store online at Ebay

Don’t forget to check out our Salut! Home store online too, still at Ebay.  You’ll find BIA Cordon Bleu porcelain dishes & accessories, PicnicTime Baskets (coming this month), wall decor signs from Danielson Designs and more, with 100’s of items being added monthly there, too! 

Start at www.salutwine.com for all your shopping needs.  We’ll be happy to help.

 

Italian Wine Glasses – An exclusive at Salut!

A casual, stemless, unadorned European glass of choice for everyday wine enjoyment!

Traveling in Italy and touring Italian restaurants and the Tuscan countryside is a liberating experience for Americans.  Instead of the emphasis on ironed table linens, polished silverware and wood furniture and fancy menus, in Italy we instead learn to focus on the friendships, the enjoyment of the food, and the casual addition of the daily red wine to every meal and table.

Every slice of pizza and fork full of pasta takes on a deeper impression while we let the cobblestone roads and foreign language conversations around us provide an atmosphere to remember.  Handmade pastas, fresh tomato sauces and locally made cheeses are served on basic plates and tables, with 4 painted walls around and a few cheap lights above.

To this, we don’t add Riedel crystal stemware for a $4 glass of Chianti.  Stemless glasses are the convenient choice for the informal fare.  And adornment is not necessary, either.  There isn’t gold leaf, or a dragonfly or bee, or italian words on the side.  It’s just a clear glass with space to hold a full 6oz serving, with a substantial base to keep it steady, and a nice tapered shape to fit comfortably in your hand.  And here it is!

At Salut! we offer an exclusive set of four French-made Italian-Style casual, stem-less wine glasses.  Dishwasher safe, stackable, inexpensive & unique!  Your home should have a set of casual wine glasses to set the informal mood of friendship & food.

Each set is attractively gift-boxed and ready to give.  Add a bottle of Italian wine for an under $50 gift that is unique and useful. 

Order Italian Wine Glasses online for only $19.99 for a set of 4