Cork Ring

Ahh, glitter and wine, two of a girl’s best friends and the basis of this statement ring. This is the perfect project to show off that cool printing you sometimes see on the top of wine corks. Make a bunch at once for your Girls’ Night Out cohorts!

You will need:

* 1 wine cork with interesting printing on the top

* Coping saw

* Sandpaper

* Mod Podge Dimensional Magic Glue or Judikins Diamond Glaze

* Gold glitter

* E6000 glue

* 1 blank brass or gold-tone ring

  1. Slice a 1⁄4"–3⁄8" thick coin from the printed end of the cork with a coping saw. Gently rub fine sandpaper across the cut edge to smooth. Wipe off any dust.
  2. To make the interesting image on the cork end raised and glossy, apply Mod Podge Dimensional Magic or something similar like Diamond Glaze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (Acrylic paint sealer or even clear nail polish would work in a pinch!) Let dry.
  3. Shake out some glitter onto scrap paper and squeeze out a lentil-sized blob of E6000 onto a different piece of scrap paper. With a pin or something similar, drag some glue along the outer edge of the cork round in a thin even coat.
  4. Carefully roll the edge of the cork in the glitter so that it sticks to the glue. Make sure you completely cover all sides, no bald spots! If you missed some, don’t worry about it, just dab a little bit more glue on and roll in the glitter again. Let dry. Brush off any loose glitter.

  5. Apply a small blob of E6000 on the round pad of the ring base and smear it around so the whole surface has glue on it. Carefully orient the image on the cork so that it faces the way you like and gently press onto the ring base. Let dry.

Wine Profile: Zinfandel

The reputation of the U.S. wine industry is based largely on the ability of European grape varieties to grow well here. Zinfandel became a particular source of pride in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries because it was considered the only indigenous American grape variety to produce wines that Europeans could respect. However, thanks to genetic testing courtesy of the University of California at Davis, Zinfandel was determined to be identical to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kastelanski. No one truly knows how the grape arrived in America, but the reputation of American Zinfandel wines is secure.

Zinfandel would probably not occupy as much California vineyard land as it does today were it not for the success of White Zinfandel in the 1980s. Zinfandel is a red grape, but when it is crushed and the skins are left to soak in its juice for a few hours, the juice turns pink. Quick removal and partial fermentation results in a sweet, pink, fruity wine that has captivated wine drinkers in the United States.

Red Zinfandel is a completely different story. Zinfandel can ripen to high sugar levels, creating high-alcohol wines with a pronounced viscosity and raspberry, peppery aromas and flavors. Growing Zinfandel requires skill as its large grape bunches often do not ripen evenly.