Wine Knowledge: Getting the Most Out of Your Wine
July 5, 2013
Robert Sox
July 5, 2013
Attention spans are short during the summer so here are some quick to-the-point wine tips. You spend good money on wine, so get the most out of it. This won’t make your $15 bottle taste like a $50 bottle, but it will be a much more enjoyable $15 wine. Or if you are having a $50 bottle, you don’t want to short change yourself or your guests.
1. Don’t save your wines too long. Drink them sooner rather than later. Too many people still hold on to the notion that all wines get better with age. It really is a small percentage of wines that can be held for 10 or more years and still be good to drink. Most wines should be consumed within a year or two of release. There are of course some big reds and some whites that can go longer, but if you’re spending $10-$25 on a bottle, the best bet is to drink it within the next year. If in doubt, look for a review of the wine that might give a range of years when it is best consumed.
2. Buy some nice wine glasses. They don’t have to be super expensive but make sure you get something with a thin ridge on the lip and a decent size bowl so you can swirl the wine around. You don’t want your teeth clamping down on a thick glass. That taste transfers into your taste of the wine. Riedel is a quality producer and you can get their entry level glasses for about $10-$15/each. Riedel and other producers now make specific glasses for different wines: Merlot, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Bordeaux, etc. Each is designed for the particular characteristics of that wine, so that it focuses the aromas properly and it delivers the wine to the best spot on your tongue for the proper tasting experience. You have to be pretty far up the wine geek scale to make that investment but at least get a good glass for red and one for white. If you want just one size, get the one designed for standard red and use it for white too. I like drinking Chardonnay or other whites in a large glass. Again, I like to swirl without making a mess.
3. Use a decanter or at least pour the wine into a glass pitcher and let it breathe. This is true mostly for reds but some people do like to decant white wines too. Exposing wine to air softens up a big, bold red so that the tannins relax, the aromas open up and the true flavor of the wine is easier to enjoy. The length of decanting time depends on how big the wine is to start with, but an hour or so will improve most wines and not hurt any. You can experiment and taste along the way to see how quickly the wine opens up. The next time you have that same bottle you will have a better gauge on how long to decant.
4. If you aren’t going to finish a bottle on the same day you open it, store it properly so that it will taste the same tomorrow. And if it takes you more than two days to finish, you definitely need to take some steps beyond putting the cork back in the bottle. I don’t think my friends or I have ever faced the two plus day issue, but I know there are some that just drink a glass a night, and that could take four or five days to reach the bottom of the bottle. While exposing wine to air is initially beneficial, the benefits stop after a while and then wine starts to head towards vinegar. Buy a can of gas preserver like the brand Private Preserve. When you are finished drinking for the day, spray a second or two of the gas in the bottle and put the cork in. The gas is heavier than the air in the bottle so it settles down on top of the wine and keeps the air off. Leave the bottle standing up and you can put it in the refrigerator to help even more. If the wine is red you will want to take it out of the fridge the next day a while before you want to drink it so that it can warm back up to about 60 – 65 degrees. Another option is to buy a set of special of cork/like sealers that come with a pump. Vacu Vin is a popular brand. You put these special corks in and then pump the air out, creating a vacuum in the bottle. This works, but for me is more difficult because you have to keep up with those corks and the pump eventually has issues. The can of gas is about $10 and is good for 120 uses.
To go on longer will surely test the summer attention span. I’m going to stop and go have a glass or two of wine. Cheers!
Robert Sox
[email protected]
Native of Columbia, SC. Returned to Columbia area in 2004 after being away for school and work for 25 years. Undergraduate degree from Clemson and MBA from University of NC at Chapel Hill. Owner of the independently owned Best Bottle Wine and Gifts in Shoppes at Woodhill since 1985.
Sign up here to receive MidlandsLife weekly email magazine.
