As a follow up to my last article, 'Essential Wine Accessories' I thought it would be interesting to touch on a few accessories that may not be quite so essential but are fun or handy to have regardless.

Wine pourers are traditionally made from clear plastic and fit into the neck of a bottle of wine. The pouring surface is designed to prevent dripping when pouring, for those with an unsteady hand, by returning any excess wine back to the bottle. This can be very handy for those interested in preventing red wine stains on any item of furniture that is not already red in color!

Decanters allow red wine to breathe, enhancing flavor and bouquet. Typically created from glass or crystal, decanters have a narrow neck, which leads to a very wide base. This wide base allows more of the wine to come in contact with the air, letting it breathe before consumption. Decanters are not a necessity but are a practical addition for those interested in enhancing the flavor of their red wine.

A bottle tote is also a practical accessory to have when going out on a picnic or to bring a cold bottle of wine to a dinner party. Usually made from neoprene (the same material diving wetsuits are made from), bottle totes can keep a bottle cool for hours, something handy if you are going to be out and don't want that nice chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to warm up before you have had a chance to drink it.

How many times have you been at a dinner party and have had to juggle your plate and your glass? Mingling plates are the perfect solution for those dinner or cocktail parties when a third hand is essential. With a slot and hole on the side of the plate, a wine glass stem can be inserted so that the glass is resting on the side of the plate. This leaves your hand free to eat without needing to balance a glass in your hand or setting it down on a table.

My personal favorite not so essential accessory is a wine chiller or wine refrigerator. Wine chillers can come in a variety of colors, finishes and capacities to fit your desires. Usually they are small enough to fit on or under a kitchen counter and most have gauges, which allow you to set the chilling temperature according to the type of wine being chilled. That way if you are using your wine refrigerator to store and chill red wine (because red wine should best be served at a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit), the temperature can be adjusted so that bottles are not chilled as if they were white!

The list of wine accessories can appear to be endless, and to write about them all in this article would take too long and bore you to death. So I hope that the few I have touched upon are helpful in deciding which not so necessary wine accessories are more necessary than others.