Serving the perfect glass of wine involves these 4 steps:
Temperature Of The Wine:
The temperature at which you serve a wine makes an immense impact on its taste. Serving wine while cool masks some imperfections, which is suitable for younger or cheaper wines. However, a warmer wine temperature allows a full expression of the wine’s characteristics, which is favorable when serving an older or more expensive wine.
When adjusting the temperature of a bottle of wine, realize it will cool at about 2 °C (4 °F) for each ten minutes in the fridge. It will warm at about the same rate once removed and left at room temperature. Of course the actual temperature of the room also affects the speed with which the wine will warm up.
If you need to chill a bottle quickly, 35 minutes in the freezer will do it nicely. Just remember the bottle!
How to Decant Wine:
Decanting means pouring wine into a container before serving. Frankly, I’m often guilty of skipping this step! Decanting is only required with older wines or Ports, and some reds, which contain sediment. If you see debris in your bottle, decant it! That debris, or sediment, can add bitterness to the wine.
Younger wines can also benefit from the aeration that decanting provides. Of course, a wine decanter can also be used simply for the look. Some decanters have top that sits over the main part which can double as a glass, although not “the” perfect wine glass.
Before attempting to decant a wine that contains sediment, first allow the bottle to sit upright, giving time for the sediment to sink to the bottom. Then pour the wine slowly into the decanter keeping the bottle angled so that no residue sneaks its way into the decanter. For a sly trick, you can pour the wine through cheesecloth to assist in filtering out all unwanted particles. The big trick is to decant the wine out of sight of any guests. You can do this right before they arrive and display the decanted wine with the bottle if you choose.
Pouring Wine:
It’s really not just dump it in the glass! Still wines (no carbonation) should be poured towards the center of the glass. In contrast, sparkling wines should be poured against the side, like a beer, so that unwanted bubbles do not appear.
To control drips, twist the bottle slightly while tilting it upright. When pouring wine, the glass should be filled to the two-thirds point. This allows guests to swirl the wine and smell the bouquet. Besides, a glass can always be refilled if desired. Serve wine to the women and any older guests first, and then the men. End the round with pouring your own glass.
3 Types Of Glasses:
As important as the serving temperature, are the type of glass in which wine is served. Different wines call for different shapes for a reason. The shape of the glass can have an affect on the taste of the wine. The three main wine glass types are:
White wine glasses: shaped like a tulip
Red wine glasses: rounded with large bowl
Sparkling wine flutes: tall and thin
A suitable all-purpose wine glass holds about ten ounces and is transparent to allow for examination of the color of the wine, as well as its body. Also, it should have a slight curve in at the top to hold in the bouquet. While an all-purpose wine glass is acceptable for serving a red wine or a white wine, be careful not to serve a white wine in a red wine glass.
Of course, when among friends, wine-snobbery may be thrown out the window! Just be sure to not drink out of the bottle. Unless you each have your own bottle. 🙂
