How to Make a Custom Wine Journal

 A long time ago, the Reforming the Feminine team wrote a series of “How To” articles in which the reader learned a variety of skills, including how to write a sensational blog, how to tell if you are a burnt out community group hostess, and how to love your daughter’s sugar-skull tattoo, to name a modest few.

If any of you missed that collection, they are worth checking out. Shelly’s tattoo article was a personal favorite. So in a nostalgic throw back to September 2007, here is another for the grab bag of useful talents.

When my husband and I first started dating in 2002, a friend suggested I start a journal as a creative way to capture the budding romance and early memories of our relationship. I filled four pages with emotional adjectives and discontinued the venture. Four years later, we’re married and another budding relationship needs documenting.

Our mutual redeemed relationship with wine.

We both believe that Christ gave wine to enjoy and have brought it into our home in moderation. My inspiration for creating a wine journal is two-fold. This week we spent 30 minutes in the wine aisle at Trader Joe’s selecting a few bottles to add to the rack. As I browsed the shelves, I noticed several bottles we had tasted previously, but neither of us could remember if we had particularly enjoyed any of them. A wine journal would have surely dispelled these doubts. The second reason is that my deliberate process for selecting wine has nothing to do with tannins, legs, or the year it was bottled. It hinges solely on the following conditions:

a) if the word chocolate appears anywhere in the description (ie. pairs with, hints of, etc.),

b) if I have seen the vineyard myself, or

c) if it has a well-designed and attractive label.

Obviously, this is a relationship that will deepen over time.

The wine journal provides a savvy way to retain those beautiful labels and remind us which bottles we have tasted before. Several Google searches found that someone else had had the same concept - for more tips on wine journaling, check out PinotBlogger.

HOW TO MAKE A CUSTOM WINE JOURNAL

Supplies

Empty wine bottle

Hot water

Dish towel

Clear Packing Tape

Scissors

Well-made Journal (thick pages are preferable)

Clean Spoon

With all supplies assembled, place two pieces of packing tape around the label, covering it thoroughly.

Hold the dry dishtowel around the neck of the bottle, ready to catch drops of water and to protect your hands from the hot glass (Note: I learned this the hard way. Fingerprinting is no longer a valid form of identification for me.). Slowly pour the hot water into the wine bottle, filling it to the beginning of the neck and being careful not to get the label wet.

Wait 8-10 minutes to let the glue react to the hot water.

This would be an ideal time to write a description of the wine in the journal. Include details such as what you enjoyed about that particular wine, who it was enjoyed with, the price, what food it was paired with, etc.

After 10 minutes or so, carefully peel the tape from a corner, making sure that the label is coming off with the tape. Cut along the excess tape from the edges of the label and paste it into the journal. The back of the label will still be slightly sticky, but using a few of the scrapbooking squares or 3M ScotchPads on each of the corners should hold it in place.

Since this was my first wine journal, and only second time attempting this process, there is plenty of room to grow. If you find additional ways to improve this, please send them along.

Enjoy!