Serving wines
What is the use of buying and storing the best wines if you don’t know how to serve them? While you don’t need to be acquainted with by all the procedures a professional would follow, a little know how can increase the pleasure.
Generally speaking, one should…
- Serve wine in the right order.
- Serve wine in the right glasses.
- Serve each wine at the right temperature.
- Open the bottle the right way.
- Decant the wines that need it.
- Serve the right amount.
- Know what to do with any leftover wine.
Even if the wine served is not the one at the top of the charts, attention to detail is a way to show one's guests they are important.
Serving wine in the right order
When there will be more than one wine to accompany the meal, there are some accepted rules that help to make the most of each one, neither wines nor palates benefit if flaunted.
Serve white wines before red wines – knowing that full-bodied whites are comparable to light reds and a light-bodied red may be served before a powerful white.
Serve light reds before heavy reds – or the lighter wine will taste too thin if served after a powerful one.
Serve dry wines before the sweet ones – if done the other way round, the dry wine will come out as too acidic.
The lower quality wine should come first – climb the quality ladder one wine at a time, so your guest can taste them in order.
Younger wines tend to be served first, when serving wines of the same kind –if the event is a tasting of Riojas, for instance- however, this guideline depends on the particular wine being tasted.
Chambré - tradition states a red wine is best enjoyed like this, which means at room temperature, about 68°-70°F (19°C). There is an exception, Beaujolais tastes better on the cool side.