The One Item Every Wine Lover Needs Is On Amazon, And It’s Not What You Think

If you’re a red wine lover, there’s a good chance that at some point in your life, you’ve had to contend with a dreaded wine spill. There are few things that can induce as much panic as spilling a glug of red wine on someone else’s rug or couch, striking terror in the heart of each and every person who witnesses the event.

Luckily, there is one secret weapon that everyone should keep handy, whether they drink red wine or not: Wine Away stain remover, which I discovered after a particularly devastating wine spill while housesitting in my early 20s. It was a lifesaver then and has been ever since.

Sommeliers, bartenders and maître d’s have long sworn by this trusty, never-fail wine-spill solution, which I learned firsthand when I was a hostess in fine dining restaurants right out of college. To confirm that this is still the case, I reached out to my cousin, Pedro Salcedo, who happens to be a wine consultant and former San Diego tasting room manager. He spoke enthusiastically about its efficacy, noting that he finds it is best when used as quickly as possible. “I always had a little bottle for staff and myself, we’d use it if we spilled on our clothes and it worked really well,” he told me. He and his colleagues found it to be so effective that they even went so far as to sell it at the tasting room where he worked.

Before your very eyes, it works quickly to eliminate both fresh or dried stains (critical when you can’t get to a spill quickly) without having to use bleach or harsh phosphates. The active ingredient is methylcyclohexane, an organic solvent, and it has a fresh citrus scent so you don’t have to worry your home smelling funky afterward.

Best of all, it’s a multi-purpose stain remover. It’s just as effective at erasing horror-inducing red wine stains as it is at eliminating all traces of coffee, blood, ink, fruit punch, sauces and even pet accidents. It’s one of those cleaning products that work on even the most unexpected messes. I learned this the hard way after I left my friend’s toddler unattended in my bedroom with a pack of red gel pens on New Year’s eve. Luckily, we were able to save our white linen bedspread and pillowcases with Wine Away, but not before my friend’s soul left her body. But don’t just take my word for it; the thousands of positive reviews speak for themselves.

Protect your home from sloppy wine drinkers and other stain-related disasters and pick up a little Wine Away for yourself. You won’t regret it, and your blood pressure and upholstery will thank you for it.