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If you're serving two dinner wines remember this simple protocol
- White before red - young before old.
A dry wine always precedes a sweet one as the sweet taste will linger.
Sweet wines should be served with deserts.
White and Rose wines should be served chilled but don't uncork them
until you are ready to serve, unless time is short. It will also cool
quicker if placed in a container which has 1/3 ice cubes and 1/3 cold
water as this allows the bottle to sink into the ice cubes rather
than balance on top.
Don't throw out wine left in the bottle (who am I trying to kid!)
Recork and it will keep in the refrigerator for several days. If not
consumed after a few days it can be used in cooking and, eventually,
you can use it instead of vinegar.
If a guest brings wine it may be worth asking if they would like it
opened immediately or would they rather have it at their next visit.
A good wine should be allowed to rest for 24hours after traveling
otherwise it won't be at its best.
The matter of wine glasses is important but much overstated at
the present moment. A glass designed for Bordeaux can make the
Bordeaux's aromas more obvious, and prettier. But the same glass won't
ruin another wine if you, for instance, happen to pour an Aussie Shiraz
in it.
In fact, just about any glass with a tapered bowl to it can express
the aromas in a wine. And while the high-end glasses can enhance an
aroma, once you pour the wine in your mouth, one glass is pretty much
the same as another.
But most of the enjoyment of a wine comes from the aroma, so selecting
a glass that is at least designed for any wine, if not for a specific
wine, ought to enhance the aroma.
More importantly, make sure any wine glasses you utilize are clean.
Glasses stored in a cardboard box probably smell like a cardboard
box. Glasses should be rinsed and dried with a clean, cotton cloth.
There are nifty gadgets for retaining a wine's freshness. The most
common system for use in homes is the VacuVin, which pulls air
out of the top of the bottle after it's been opened. Some people have
plenty of luck with it, but I find that simply placing the bottle
in the fridge (whether red or white) retards the deterioration enough
for me.
For most red or white wines, two or three days is about as long as
the wine will hold up before it starts to show some tiring. But Champagnes,
dessert wines and especially German wine (sweet or dry) can hold up
for a week or two after opening.
When it comes to pairing food and wine, don't try so hard. Pair
the wine and the guests first. In other words, before flipping
out over whether or not this or that wine goes with this or that food,
relax and simply make certain that the wines you're serving are wines
your guests will like.
Sparkling wines are a little bit sweet and are, obviously, bubbly.
The sweetness works well to cool the fire of any spicy dish, so if
you or your guests like spicy food, that can be a fun match. Riesling
work very well with spicy foods for the same reason.
Fried foods are very likeable with sparkling wines, because the bubbles
make the fried food seem less, well, fried.
White wines come in all denominations from light and sweet, to light,
floral and bone dry, to rich, buttery, and powerful. The easy recommendation
is to serve light wines with light foods, heavy wines with full-bodied
foods.
Consider light sautéed snapper with something light, such as Sauvignon
Blanc, and pan-seared salmon with something richer, such as French
Pinot Gris, Chardonnay or even a light red, such as Pinot Noir.
Red wines too vary from the light and simple to the powerful and brooding.
Sometimes it's easy to simply match up the light dishes with the lighter
wines, and save that ten-pound cassoulet for a powerful Italian red
or Rhone wine.
But the only rule that matters is to have fun and stop worrying about
wine!
When it comes to serving temperatures, most people expect white
wines to be refrigerator temperature and for red wines to be served
at room temperature. That's unfortunate. If wines are served too cold
(straight out of the refrigerator) the wines are so cold as to be
less flavorful than they will be a half hour or so later.
And American rooms are warmer than the European castles of yore. Warm
red wine is not a lot of fun to drink.
So the easy rule of thumb is to place the red wine in the refrigerator
a half hour before you're going to serve it. And take the white wine
out of the refrigerator a half hour before you're serving it.
With regards to the storage of wine, wine likes to be kept cool
and quiet, and wants to be in the dark. So that wine rack sitting
on top of your refrigerator should be re-gifted as soon as possible.
If you have a basement, keep the wines there. If not, you can keep
the wines in bags or in a box in a hall closet, or in the coolest
place in the house. |
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