Drinking wine is associated with class and elegance, so you want to make it look good, especially when you’re entertaining guests at home.
But drinking wine properly isn’t really about pretenses, it’s about making the most of your experience of the wine.
What’s a common wine drinking mistake? You should give fruity, flavored wine the chance to release its flavor, so let it sit in your glass for a few minutes before drinking it.
With that in mind, let’s explore the best ways to drink wine like a pro and what you should avoid. We’ll start with the basics of how to choose the right wine glass.
Contents
What Glass Should You Use For Wine?
The glass you use for wine will vary depending on whether you’re drinking white or red wine.
- For white wine, the glass will be a bit smaller than the one used for red wine. White wines don’t need to be oxidized like red wines, so you can choose glasses that have narrow bowls and that are tapered on top. This makes the wine aroma more intense.
- By comparison, a glass for drinking red wine should be larger so that the wine can oxidize and bring out its best flavor.
Note that whether you’re drinking white or red wine, you should never hold the glass by its bowl.
Keep your fingers on the glass stem as this will prevent the temperature of your hand from making the glass bowl become too warm and affecting the wine’s flavor.
How To Uncork The Wine
If you’re hosting a party at your home and you have high-quality wine to share, make sure you uncork it properly. Here are some tips to remember.
- You should first remove the foil that’s on the top of the cork, and then twist the corkscrew spiral into the cork.
- Pierce the cork a bit off-center so that the radial diameter of the spiral part of the wine opener is centered as this will make it less likely that the cork will become torn.
- When half of the corkscrew has penetrated the cork, lift the corkscrew handle so that you can remove the cork.
How To Pour The Wine
When pouring wine, make sure you follow different rules depending on whether you’re serving red or white wine.
- For red wine, carefully pour the wine until your glass is filled to where you want it (we’ll explain how much you should pour in the next section). To make the pouring stop, gently twist the bottle upwards. This prevents you from spilling the wine.
- For white wine, you should wrap a napkin around the bottleneck. This prevents your hands from warming up the bottle and affecting the wine’s flavor. It also dries the bottle as white wine is usually chilled and can have condensation on it. Pour the wine into the glass and stop pouring the wine by twisting the bottle upwards in the same way as what you’d do with red wine.
Whatever wine you’re pouring, make sure you tilt the bottle opening over the wine glass. You can direct the stream of wine into the center or along the side of the glass, as that doesn’t matter.
How much should you pour?
The standard amount of wine that you should pour into every glass is five ounces. This is so that everyone will get enough wine.
But it might feel tricky to know how much five ounces is if your wine glasses aren’t marked.
Here’s a simple trick to remember: wine bottles are usually divided into five servings as five ounces is the equivalent of 150mls (via Wine Folly).
Should You Swirl Your Glass?
You’ve probably seen wine experts swirl their glass of wine before tasting it. Why do they do that?
Swirling the glass helps to expose it to a larger surface area so that it can make more contact with the air.
This is what makes its aroma stronger. Hold the wine glass by the base or stem when you swirl your wine and sniff it as you swirl it.
When tasting wine, you should sip it slowly. With each sip, gently move the wine over your tongue’s taste buds.
Gently swish it around your mouth and try to hold it in your mouth for about 10 seconds before you swallow it. This will enable you to better absorb the flavor.
Should You Decant Wine?
There are usually mixed feelings when it comes to the question of decanting wine, but this is something that can really boost the flavor of it.
Decanting is usually done by pouring wine into a glass pitcher or wine decanter and letting it rest for about 40 or so minutes.
Most wines will benefit from decanting, especially those that have been aged for over 10 years. Decanting allows the wine flavors to be released and it also separates sediment.
You might not always need to decant your older wines. When you’ve poured the wine into a glass, sip it to see if its initial taste is good.
If not, you should go ahead and decant the wine with a carafe that’s got a narrow base. This will prevent too much air from getting into the wine and changing its taste (via Wine Mag).
As for younger wine, you should also taste it before deciding to decant it or not.
If it doesn’t taste right, such as it’s too acidic or it tastes like vinegar, then you should go ahead and decant it to bring out its best flavors.
And, in case you’re wondering, you don’t have to restrict decanting to red wine – that’s a myth as a white wine can also be decanted.
If you’re drinking natural wine, then decanting it is even more important as such wines are susceptible to volatile acidity and reduction (via Bon Appétit).
Related Questions
At what temperature should you serve red wine?
Red wine tastes best when it’s between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit. To achieve this temperature before serving it, make sure you rest the wine bottle in an ice bucket for 10 minutes (via wikiHow).
What about white wine?
White wine tastes better when it’s served at between 41 and 48 degrees Fahrenheit. So, make sure you store white wine in the wine fridge.
Remove the bottle of wine about 20 minutes before you serve it. (via wikiHow).
Conclusion
There are many different elements involved with drinking wine properly, such as how to uncork and pour it, and how to decant it.
In this article, we’ve provided you with all the tips you need when it comes to how to drink wine like a pro so you can shine at the next social event you host.
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