Serving Tasting Storage

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Serving, Tasting and Storage

Serving Serving wine properly is an easy and uncomplicated skill. It means simply that the wine is brought to the table well rested and at the right temperature, that it is uncorked without unduly disturbing the wine, decanted if it is an older red, poured into the right glasses and, if there is more than one kind of wine, presented in an order that shows each wine at its best. Traveling, even from the wine shop to your home, can disturb older fine red wines. After you've purchased such wine, lay the bottles down for at least a few days before drinking. A well-rested wine will taste better and give more pleasure than an upset one. Temperature A wine is at its best when it is served at the right temperature. Bring all wines to their correct temperature slowly and gently. Do not put the wine into boiling water or on a radiator, and do not put ice cubes in the wine. Dry white wine and rose wines are served cold, but never overly chilled. Sweet white wines, Champagne and other sparkling wines are served colder. No wine, however, should be too cold, or its flavor will be muted. Red wines are served at room temperature (about 65 degrees F.) or slightly cooler. The only exceptions are light, fruity red wines such as Beaujolais which are served slightly cooled. Decanting Older red wines (8 to 10 years and more) may throw a sediment, a deposit that is harmless but which can cloud the last few glasses poured from that bottle. Such a wine should be decanted. To decant: 1. Uncork the bottle gently, disturbing the wine as little as possible. 2. Hold the bottle against a bright light or over a candle, and pour the wine slowly and steadily into a clean, odor-free decanter. Stop when you see the sediment coming to the neck of the bottle. A small amount of wine clouded with sediment will be left in the bottle. Most of the wine will be clear and bright in the decanter. Pouring In pouring wine, hold the bottle just above, but not touching the glass. Fill the glass one-third to one-half full. If the bottle has been in an ice bucket, use a napkin under the bottle; be sure it doesn't hide the label. Guests like to know what is being served. Expect to pour about six glasses from each bottle. The order of Serving If you are serving more than one wine, serve them in the following order: 1. Light before full 2. Dry before sweet 3. Young before old 4. Dry white wine before red wine.

Proper Wine Storage In storing wines at home, the factors to consider are temperature, vibration, light, humidity. A cool, dark, quiet, moderately humid cellar where the wines are away from steam pipes, boilers and drafty windows and where the temperature is a constant 55 degrees F., is perfect. So is an air-conditioner closet or a special wine-storage unit. But with a little care, it is possible to keep wines in a small house or apartment without having a built-in cellar or investing in expensive equipment. What is important is to keep the temperature constant with no great and sudden fluctuations. White wines prefer a slightly cooler temperature than reds, keep them near the floor where the temperature is lowest. Wine should not be kept where there is vibration, extremely dry or extremely wet conditions, very high or very low temperatures or where there are strong odors that can penetrate a wine's cork. Neither should wine be exposed to bright, direct light. Most wine bottles, in fact, are made of green or brown tinted glass in order to cut out light. Proper Storage All wines should be kept horizontal so that their corks remain wet and thus, no air is allowed to enter and spoil the wine. Store wine in any dimly lit, relatively quiet and cool spot such as a seldom used closet or in a quiet hallway. Most wines, with the exception of the great ones from Burgundy and Bordeaux, need no aging. Roses, fruity reds such as Beaujolais, regional reds, Champagnes and other sparkling wines and most whites are ready to drink as soon as you buy them.

Tasting Wine tasting is a fascinating, rewarding and deceptively simple art. What it requires is that you use your senses of sight, smell and taste and that you define and describe you impressions. What it offers is the opportunity to explore the subtleties of wine and to refine and sharpen your ability to enjoy wine. Wine is judged by color, bouquet (smell) and taste. To taste wine properly, fill a glass one-third to one-half full. Hold the glass by the stem, tilt it slightly against a well-lighted, white background and examine it for color. There are two aspects to consider in a wine's color: one is its clarity and the other is its actual hue. A sound wine is clear and bright. However, some wines may contain sediment, a harmless, natural by-product of older red wines (8 to 10 years old and more); such a wine should be decanted before being served (see chapter on serving). Color, or hue, tells us about a wine's type, age and substance. Each wine has its own characteristic color. For example, a typically young and healthy Beaujolais has a purple tone, Chablis is pale straw yellow with a greenish tinge and Montrachet is rich yellow. As a wine ages, its color changes. Red wines generally lose their vibrant shades and become lighter, changing to a brick color in old age. White wines become darker, changing finally to old gold. Next, swirl the glass, either on the table or while you hold it, to aerate the wine and thus, release the bouquet. Bring the glass to your noes and inhale the aroma. A major part of our impression and judgment of a wine come from smell. Smell helps you define how fruity or flowery a wine is and to point out both positive qualities and faults. With practice, smell will also help you identify, in fine wines, the grape variety that produced the wine. By the time you are ready to sip the wine, you should have a very good idea of how it will taste. Finally sip and swirl the wine around your mouth to get the full flavor. Draw a small amount of air into your mouth and let it mix with the wine. This further releases the flavor. (The slurping sound that results is quite acceptable at wine tastings.) One of the most important qualities to look for in tasting wine is balance, that is, are all the component parts of the wine in harmony. Your mouth, which is capable of distinguishing sweet, sour, bitter, and salty tastes, can also judge the body, or "weight" of a wine; is full-bodied, medium-bodied or light-bodied? And finally, there is the finish; along, lingering pleasant aftertaste is one sign of a good quality wine. Sweetness is readily apparent in any wine that has residual sugar such as Sauternes and Barsac, and some roses. The very slight amount of natural salts that might be present in a wine are rarely, if ever, discernible. If you taste bitterness, it usually means there is a high degree of tannin in the wine. Tannin, which comes from grape skins and is an important part of fine red wine, has an astringent, puckerish quality when the wine is young. As the wine matures, the tannin lessens and the wine develops a smoother, rounder taste. Acidity is an important part of all wine and especially of white wine. Too much acidity make a wine taste tart and unpleasant. Too little acidity makes a wine taste flabby. A balance amount gives the wine a fresh and lively taste. The entire wine-tasting process - from your first look at the color to your final analysis of the aftertaste - will probably take less than a minute. But if you've concentrated on your impressions and reactions, and have taken a moment to write them down, the memory of that wine will remain.

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TASTE FINDER About Us Affiliate Program Legal Notice Privacy Statement All Reds All Whites Argentina Austria France Germany Romania Spain Serving, Tasting & Storage	Serving, Tasting and Storage Serving Serving wine properly is an easy and uncomplicated skill. It means simply that the wine is brought to the table well rested and at the right temperature, that it is uncorked without unduly disturbing the wine, decanted if it is an older red, poured into the right glasses and, if there is more than one kind of wine, presented in an order that shows each wine at its best. Traveling, even from the wine shop to your home, can disturb older fine red wines. After you've purchased such wine, lay the bottles down for at least a few days before drinking. A well-rested wine will taste better and give more pleasure than an upset one. Temperature A wine is at its best when it is served at the right temperature. Bring all wines to their correct temperature slowly and gently. Do not put the wine into boiling water or on a radiator, and do not put ice cubes in the wine. Dry white wine and rose wines are served cold, but never overly chilled. Sweet white wines, Champagne and other sparkling wines are served colder. No wine, however, should be too cold, or its flavor will be muted. Red wines are served at room temperature (about 65 degrees F.) or slightly cooler. The only exceptions are light, fruity red wines such as Beaujolais which are served slightly cooled. Decanting Older red wines (8 to 10 years and more) may throw a sediment, a deposit that is harmless but which can cloud the last few glasses poured from that bottle. Such a wine should be decanted. To decant: 1. Uncork the bottle gently, disturbing the wine as little as possible. 2. Hold the bottle against a bright light or over a candle, and pour the wine slowly and steadily into a clean, odor-free decanter. Stop when you see the sediment coming to the neck of the bottle. A small amount of wine clouded with sediment will be left in the bottle. Most of the wine will be clear and bright in the decanter. Pouring In pouring wine, hold the bottle just above, but not touching the glass. Fill the glass one-third to one-half full. If the bottle has been in an ice bucket, use a napkin under the bottle; be sure it doesn't hide the label. Guests like to know what is being served. Expect to pour about six glasses from each bottle. The order of Serving If you are serving more than one wine, serve them in the following order: 1. Light before full 2. Dry before sweet 3. Young before old 4. Dry white wine before red wine. Proper Wine Storage In storing wines at home, the factors to consider are temperature, vibration, light, humidity. A cool, dark, quiet, moderately humid cellar where the wines are away from steam pipes, boilers and drafty windows and where the temperature is a constant 55 degrees F., is perfect. So is an air-conditioner closet or a special wine-storage unit. But with a little care, it is possible to keep wines in a small house or apartment without having a built-in cellar or investing in expensive equipment. What is important is to keep the temperature constant with no great and sudden fluctuations. White wines prefer a slightly cooler temperature than reds, keep them near the floor where the temperature is lowest. Wine should not be kept where there is vibration, extremely dry or extremely wet conditions, very high or very low temperatures or where there are strong odors that can penetrate a wine's cork. Neither should wine be exposed to bright, direct light. Most wine bottles, in fact, are made of green or brown tinted glass in order to cut out light. Proper Storage All wines should be kept horizontal so that their corks remain wet and thus, no air is allowed to enter and spoil the wine. Store wine in any dimly lit, relatively quiet and cool spot such as a seldom used closet or in a quiet hallway. Most wines, with the exception of the great ones from Burgundy and Bordeaux, need no aging. Roses, fruity reds such as Beaujolais, regional reds, Champagnes and other sparkling wines and most whites are ready to drink as soon as you buy them.	Tasting Wine tasting is a fascinating, rewarding and deceptively simple art. What it requires is that you use your senses of sight, smell and taste and that you define and describe you impressions. What it offers is the opportunity to explore the subtleties of wine and to refine and sharpen your ability to enjoy wine. Wine is judged by color, bouquet (smell) and taste. To taste wine properly, fill a glass one-third to one-half full. Hold the glass by the stem, tilt it slightly against a well-lighted, white background and examine it for color. There are two aspects to consider in a wine's color: one is its clarity and the other is its actual hue. A sound wine is clear and bright. However, some wines may contain sediment, a harmless, natural by-product of older red wines (8 to 10 years old and more); such a wine should be decanted before being served (see chapter on serving). Color, or hue, tells us about a wine's type, age and substance. Each wine has its own characteristic color. For example, a typically young and healthy Beaujolais has a purple tone, Chablis is pale straw yellow with a greenish tinge and Montrachet is rich yellow. As a wine ages, its color changes. Red wines generally lose their vibrant shades and become lighter, changing to a brick color in old age. White wines become darker, changing finally to old gold. Next, swirl the glass, either on the table or while you hold it, to aerate the wine and thus, release the bouquet. Bring the glass to your noes and inhale the aroma. A major part of our impression and judgment of a wine come from smell. Smell helps you define how fruity or flowery a wine is and to point out both positive qualities and faults. With practice, smell will also help you identify, in fine wines, the grape variety that produced the wine. By the time you are ready to sip the wine, you should have a very good idea of how it will taste. Finally sip and swirl the wine around your mouth to get the full flavor. Draw a small amount of air into your mouth and let it mix with the wine. This further releases the flavor. (The slurping sound that results is quite acceptable at wine tastings.) One of the most important qualities to look for in tasting wine is balance, that is, are all the component parts of the wine in harmony. Your mouth, which is capable of distinguishing sweet, sour, bitter, and salty tastes, can also judge the body, or "weight" of a wine; is full-bodied, medium-bodied or light-bodied? And finally, there is the finish; along, lingering pleasant aftertaste is one sign of a good quality wine. Sweetness is readily apparent in any wine that has residual sugar such as Sauternes and Barsac, and some roses. The very slight amount of natural salts that might be present in a wine are rarely, if ever, discernible. If you taste bitterness, it usually means there is a high degree of tannin in the wine. Tannin, which comes from grape skins and is an important part of fine red wine, has an astringent, puckerish quality when the wine is young. As the wine matures, the tannin lessens and the wine develops a smoother, rounder taste. Acidity is an important part of all wine and especially of white wine. Too much acidity make a wine taste tart and unpleasant. Too little acidity makes a wine taste flabby. A balance amount gives the wine a fresh and lively taste. The entire wine-tasting process - from your first look at the color to your final analysis of the aftertaste - will probably take less than a minute. But if you've concentrated on your impressions and reactions, and have taken a moment to write them down, the memory of that wine will remain.
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