Wine Don'ts
by karl 8 months ago

Despite what you might think, wine appreciation is simple. It's all about buying, keeping and serving it!

What a shame to put a good wine to bad use! Wine that's too warm, wine with the wrong food, wine that's too expensive... It is actually easy to avoid traps when buying, serving, eating with and tasting a good bottle of wine.

Relax

Buying wine scares many people. Here are some tips to help you relax so you don't get taken to the cleaners.

• Vary your wine choice, otherwise you might just pass up something special.
• Even though price can be the best buying criterion, a high priced wine can also turn out to be quite humdrum.
• Read the label on the back of the bottle, if there is one. It will often display important information.
• At a wine boutique, ask for advice, particularly what food goes best with the wine.
• If you buy wine on vacation, don't carry it around in the trunk of your call for long periods of time.
• Be wary of low-priced wines with fancy appellations. Good deals can be found but taste a bottle before buying a few cases.

Conserve your wine under optimal conditions

To conserve a quality wine for a many years, keep it:

• Laying on its side.
• In the dark.
• At a constant temperature between 10 and 15°C (50 and 60°F).
• Far from chemicals.
• Only if it's a wine worth keeping!

Serving wine: Get started on the right foot

You're this evening's Sommelier... Don't stress, serving wine is easy.

• Serve a fine wine with a truly fine meal.
• Don't ever microwave your wine (Yes we've seen it written!).
• Serve a fine wine in the appropriate, transparent type of wine glass.
• Don't serve a fine wine too young.
• Make sure you serve a fine wine at the right temperature, ideally between 5 and 8 °C (41 and 46°F) for sparkling, 14 and 18°C (58 and 64°F) for reds.
• Remember to let red wines breathe before serving, especially if they are younger. Open the bottle at least one hour before, put it in a decanter and definitely taste it before serving it to your friends.
• Be careful of a corked bottle! Taste it first to make sure it doesn't smell rotten, stuffy or faded.

The right food for the right wine

The harmony of your wine with your food is an exciting adventure that's actually not too difficult. It also makes for great memories!

• Don't serve a fine, red, tannic wine with fish or seafood.
• Don't serve fine white wines with red meat or game.
• Save white wines for cheeses, especially for colder, white cheeses. Wines from a particular region go well with cheeses from that particular region.
• Don't serve too sweet of a wine for dessert. Wine should always be a little more sugary than the dessert. Don't serve a sweet wine or liqueur with a lighter, not-too-sweet dessert.

Tasting a wine correctly

Tasting is for everybody! You can detect a wine's subtler notes and imagine what it might go well with.

• Taste before eating, when a little hungry.
• Don't taste if you're tired or feeling under the weather.
• Make sure to try wines in an area free of excess odors and noise.
• Don't taste too many wines. Eight in one night is enough, try a few more if there are a few types of wines involved.
• It's OK to spit out wines, especially if there are more than 5 wines being tasted.
• Only fill up your glass a third of the way.
• Don't eat while tasting. You won't truly taste the wine if you do.
• Take notes on the ones you liked so you can track them down later.

Remember, wine is simple! The correct approach will open up a world of new tastes and sensations.

temperature, conservation, buying, purchasing, tasting, serving, accompaniment