Hopefully you’ve already experienced how wildly different your coffee, tea or soda (luke warm Coke anyone?) 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.

Wine-Serving-Temperature-Guide

RED WINE tastes better when served slightly below room temperature from 53-69 °F (light red wines like Pinot Noir taste better at the cooler end of the spectrum)
WHITE WINE tastes great from about 44 – 57 °F. (zesty whites on the cool side and oak-aged whites on the warm side)

SPARKLING WINE Affordable sparklers do great at 38 °F – 45 °F (serve exceptional Champagne and sparkling wines at white wine temperatures)

TIP: If you drink affordable wine most of the time, serving it slightly chilled will disguise most ‘off’ aromas.
TIP: A wine above 70 °F will start to smell more alcoholic because of increased ethanol evaporation that occurs as the temperature rises.

There are many different types of wine openers and the most popular with pros is the waiter’s friend. Most of us instantly get the logic of inserting a corkscrew into a cork and using a lever arm to hoist the cork out, however it’s the little details that bewilder us.

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.

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. Here’s one way exposing oxygen to wine improves the flavor:

Decanting wine helps reduce the rotten egg smell found in affordable red or white wines

If you buy affordable wine on a regular basis, it’s not uncommon to smell sulfur, 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. Decanting a cheap wine will alter the chemical state of these stinky aroma compounds, called thiols, into less detectable compounds called mercaptans.

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.

A bottle of wine contains just over 25 ounces so it’s common to see it portioned out into five-5 ounce (150 ml) servings. Fortunately, there are many US restaurants that pour a generous 6 oz (180 ml) serving, which is a nice gesture if you’re paying by the glass.

How to Pour Wine Without Dripping

So, now that your wine is in your glass, how are you supposed to handle the awkward top heavy glass? It seems logical to cup the bowl, however your hands will heat up your wine, so hold it by the stem.

Most wine won’t last through the night if the bottle is left open. Here are a few tips to preserve open wines for much longer:

Wine preservers are awesome, use them
Store open wines in the fridge (or wine fridge if you have one!)
Keep wine away from direct sunlight and sources of heat (like above your fridge or oven)
If it’s red wine that is young and tannic, it will last about 2 days at room temperature