Wine Tips: How to Enjoy a Glass of Wine
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You don’t have to be a wine connoisseur to enjoy a glass of wine, but the more you know about wine, the more you’ll enjoy it. Whether you’re serving a bottle for a special dinner or enjoying a glass with friends, here a few basic tips and facts worth exploring.
How do I decide between red or white wine?
The food you’ll be serving does play a part in making your wine selection. When entertaining, it’s wise to follow tradition. Pair white wines with milder-flavored meals, like fish, chicken and cream-based pasta dishes. Serve red wines to complement stronger flavors like beef, robust cheeses and pasta with red sauce. But remember, it’s more about personal preference than science. Order the wine and food combinations you enjoy. If you want help when buying wine, shop in a wine store, where knowledgeable staff can offer suggestions. Many grocery stores also have wine stewards in their wine departments who are happy make recommendations and answer your questions.
What is the ideal temperature for serving wine?
Different wines are best served at different temperatures. These are basic guidelines:
- Most whites should be chilled to 45–55°, with fruity white wines served the coldest.
- Reds should be served slightly cooler than room temperature—about 60–65°. Younger, fruity reds are best chilled to about 50–60°.
- Sparkling wine should be thoroughly chilled—refrigerate overnight.
- Serve dessert wine at room temperature.
When you serve wine at the proper temperature, you and your guests will enjoy it more. Many people make the mistake of serving white wine too cold and red wine too warm. Serve white wine that’s too cold, and you won’t experience all the flavor. Serve red too warm, and it may lose some of its fruity flavor and take on an unpleasant “alcohol” taste.
Should red wines “breathe?” If so, for how long before serving?
It’s debatable. When a wine is “breathing,” that means it is exposed to outside air, or being aerated. Some say the oxygen can soften the flavors and open up the wine’s aroma, while others say it can dull the wine’s flavor. Most agree, however, that white, rosé and some inexpensive or young red wines don’t benefit from breathing. Experiment for yourself.
A typical bottle exposes only a small surface of the wine to the air, so it can take hours for a bottle to fully breathe. You may want to transfer it to a wide decanter that exposes more of its surface to the air. (Decanting can also allow you to filter out any sediment from an older bottle of wine.) There are also devices that pump air into the wine, as well as pour spouts that add oxygen while you pour. Do a taste-test with two bottles of the same wine—let one breathe before you drink it, and taste the other as soon as you open it. You decide!
Why does an opened bottle of wine go bad? How long can I keep it?
That same process that aerates wine and makes it more enjoyable will eventually make it undrinkable. You can slow the process by refrigerating recorked bottles—even better, use a device to remove or replace the oxygen in the bottle. If you put an open bottle of red wine in the refrigerator to preserve it, be sure to remove it at least half an hour before pouring to bring it to serving temperature.
It’s a guessing game to determine how long a wine will remain drinkable. If you want to play it safe, drink wine within three days of opening.
What about health and wine?
It takes about 100 grapes to produce one glass of wine. The antioxidants in the grapes are preserved in red wine, giving it a healthful boost that can protect your heart and prevent cancer, and may reduce Alzheimer’s Disease-causing peptites. The key is still moderation—more than one glass a day can be harmful, not healthful, for women.
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