Basics About

Serving
 Wine tastes better served slightly cool
• Hopefully you’ve already experienced how wildly different your coffee, tea
or soda tastes at different temperatures. This same ideology applies to wine.
Also, some of the more delicate floral aromatics in fine wines are completely
subdued at overly cool temperatures or burn off too quickly when the wine
is too warm. 5-10 C 7-13 C 16-18 C 18-20 C
• TIP: If you drink
affordable wine most of
the time, serving it
slightly chilled will
disguise most “off”
aromas.
• TIP: A wine above 23 °C
will start to smell more
alcoholic because of
increased ethanol
evaporation that occurs as
the temperature rises.
Facts :
• After serving the wine, its temperature rises by 1ᵒC every three
minutes, until it reaches room temperature. Let's not forget that,
once in the mouth, the wine inevitably warms up.
• Cooling- A mixture of ice and water is much more effective than ice
cubes that touch only a small part of the glass surface.
• “Room temperature” – it is from the French Chateaus, and it is 19 C.
 Ritual to Open a Bottle of Wine
•  Cutting the foil: top lip or bottom lip?
Wine sommeliers cut the foil at the bottom lip. This is the tradition because foils were
previously made out of lead. Also, this method tends to reduce stray drips when
pouring at the table. Foil cutters, on the other hand, are designed to cut the top of the
lip. Cutting the top lip is more visually appealing and ideal for moments where the
wine is on display (like at a wine tasting).
• Where to poke the cork?
Poke the cork slightly off center. You want the radial diameter of the worm (the
‘worm’ is the curlycue part of a wine opener) to be centered so that it’s less likely to
tear the cork.
• Keep the cork from breaking
It takes about seven turns to insert the worm into the best spot, although wine
openers vary. Basically, the corkscrew should be inserted into the cork about one turn
less than all the way in. Some fine wines have long corks and you can go all the way in.
Serving & Glassware
• Wine is a peculiar
beverage. Serving it in
different glasses can
change the way it
tastes. This simple
guide aims to help
with the basics of
serving wine and
picking glassware to
ensure that your wine
tastes the best it
possibly can.
A proper glass will make any wine taste better
• In 1986, Georg Riedel, a 10th generation Austrian glass maker, came out with a line of
affordable machine-made crystal glasses called Vinum. The line featured different glass
shapes for different types of wine. It caused a lot of confusion.

• Consumers were accustomed to using just one wine glass and the Vinum line seemed to be
complete overkill. Georg Riedel had a clever solution, he started hosting “wine glass tastings”
to prove first hand the difference it makes.

• Regardless of his profit motives, Georg was right. Even novice wine tasters noticed a
difference between certain glasses. Ten years later, Georg was awarded Decanter Man of The
Year for his contribution to the wine world.

• Of course, this doesn’t mean that you have to buy the entire line of Riedel, Schott Zwiesel, or
Zalto… it just means that you might want to figure out which wine glasses fit your drinking
style because it will make your wine taste better.
Pouring a Standard Wine Serving
• A bottle of wine contains just over 25 ounces so it’s common to see it
portioned out into five servings (5 oz/150 ml)

• Of course, most glasses hold much more. A typical red wine glass is
about 17–25 oz. The space in the glass is designed to hold aromas, so
try your best not to overfill.
Holding a wine glass
Nearly every red wine tastes better decanted
• Decanting is the one thing we always forget to do that will greatly improve the flavor of
red wine. The classic method is to pour wine into a glass pitcher or wine decanter and
let it sit for about 30-45 minutes. The faster way is to use a wine aerator which decants
wine almost instantaneously. With the exception of very old red and white wine, almost
no wine will be harmed by decanting it (including sparkling), so it becomes a, “Why
not?” question!

• If you buy very affordable wine, a regular basis, it’s not uncommon to smell rotten egg
or cooked garlic. This happens even on some fine wines. Despite their sulfur-like aroma,
these smells are not from sulfites nor are they bad for you. It’s a minor wine fault that is
caused when wine yeast doesn’t get enough nutrients while fermenting, often during
large, industrial-grade fermentations. Decanting a cheap wine will often alter the
chemical state of these stinky aroma compounds, making them more palatable.
• TIP: Stinky rotten egg aromas in wines can also be removed by stirring the wine with an
all silver spoon or, if you’re in a pinch, a piece of sterling silver jewelry. It’s the real deal!
Decanting Old Wines
How long does wine keep after opened?

• Re-cork the wine after every glass pour. Keep the open wine bottle
out of light and stored under room temperature. In most cases, a
refrigerator goes a long way to keeping wine for longer, even red
wines. When stored at colder temperatures, the chemical processes
slow down, including the process of oxidation that takes place when
oxygen hits the wine. Wine stored by cork inside the fridge will stay
relatively fresh for up to 3-5 days
• Wine preservers are awesome, use them.
• Keep wine away from direct sunlight and sources of heat (like above
your fridge or oven.)