Don’t make any poor decisions when it comes to choosing or storing your wine. One poor choice can entirely hinder the taste of your hard acquired bottle. The best way to learn how to serve, taste, choose and store wine is to learn some great insider tips. The following article is equipped with all you need to know about wine.
A lot of wines have foreign names. It is best to familiarize yourself with the pronunciation of these names before you talk with experts about your wine tasting experiences. A wine expert will quickly label you as a novice if you are not familiar with the correct pronunciation of certain names.
If you are having oysters or seafood, stick to white wine. White wine is lighter and has a higher acidity level, so it is best to have this when you are eating lighter foods. Seafood is a perfect combination with white wine, and will help to maximize the sensation that you get.
Find someone else who enjoys wine. It could be an employee at a store you go to often or an online blogger or critic whose opinion you respect. This individual can help you figure out what to try next, particularly if you are stuck in the rut of simply drinking the same thing over and over again.
When purchasing a wine for dinner tonight, make sure to ask in the store if the wine is ready to drink. Some wines need to age in order for their true flavor to come out. This might mean months or even years should go by before the bottle is enjoyed. By asking if the wine is ready to drink, you have a better chance of walking out with a bottle you will enjoy.
Think about what you like when shopping for wine. Wine professionals may have strong opinions about which wines are best, but ultimately, your own palate is all that matters. If you like it and it’s cheap, then purchase some. You want to enjoy what you’re drinking.
In order to fully taste the wine, you have to be able to smell it. Make sure that your nose is as clear as possible prior to doing a tasting. Once you have the glass in your hand, lean your face down toward it so that your nose is partially in the glass. Make sure you smell using both the right and the left nostril.
Sangrias have become popular recently. To make the perfect sangria combine your favorite red wine along with lemon and orange slices. Then, stir in 2 tablespoons of fine sugar and a shot of brandy. Pour the mixture into a wine glass and add in a small amount of lemon-lime soda, ginger ale or club soda.
Take notes on any wine that you try out. You aren’t going to really know what you are doing at first. However, over time, you will start noticing specific trends in your notes and reactions. You might even see that your reaction to particular wine’s changes as you drink more of them.
You can read as much as you like about wine, but ultimately, you have to decide for yourself if you like it or not. Price often doesn’t matter. You may like an inexpensive bottle of red wine much more than a costlier version. Don’t apologize for your tastes. Drink what you enjoy.
A good tip if you’re buying any wine from the grocery store is to make sure you get a bottle that’s fresh. Like anything in a supermarket, all the old stuff gets pushed up to the front, so you might need to dig a little deeper to find the newest bottle of wine you want.
Carry a map or some sort of direction for your given area. Some of the best wine venues are incredibly organized and easy to navigate, while others are chaotic and will lose you in the twits-and-turns. Print off a map of your designated area, and you’ll never miss that perfect shop just around the bend.
If you are finished with your sparkling wine, make sure that you do not store it in the refrigerator for any longer than 3 weeks. After this time period, it will lose its taste and quality, rendering it useless as a quality wine. This can help you to avoid serving poor wine to guests.
If you are dining out with work colleagues and trying to impress the boss, try to arrive at the table first and order a bottle of wine to be delivered upon your guest’s arrival. This will really make it look like you know your wines. Avoiding a wait time for the bottle can also enhance the evening for everyone.
When stocking your wine collection at home, opt to purchase experimental bottles before buying full cases. With such a vast number of different wines out there, you want to expose yourself to as many wines as possible before committing to a case. Keep your collection full of ‘educational’ bottles.
A good tip if you’d like to save money on wine when dining out is to skip the wine by the glass. This is how a lot of restaurants make most of their money on wine but the consumer really misses out because most bottles are open for too long anyway.
You may feel a bit overwhelmed by all of the things you didn’t know about wine. However, by choosing to take mental notes and applying all you’ve just read, you are setting yourself up for success. Remember, even the bartenders and wine tasting connoisseurs have needed help in the beginning!
