10 tips for serving the perfect glass of wine

By MiNDFOOD

10 tips for serving the perfect glass of wine
You’d think pouring a glass of wine to enjoy with dinner would be a simple task, but you may be surprised to hear that a little more effort is required to ensure your wine tastes its best.

While serving your wine in the correct glass is common knowledge, what about temperature?

According to Taylors Wines Company Director Justin Taylor, temperature can play one of the biggest parts in ensuring wine is enjoyed the way the winemaker intended – and typically, slightly chilling your reds and warming your whites is the best approach, which may come as a surprise to most. 

Justin has shared his tips on how to serve and enjoy wine at its optimum temperature: 

#1 DO: As the old adage goes, red wines should be served at ‘room temperature’. However, think about what ‘room temperature’ actually is – as it’s certainly not consistent around the world! The room temperature saying originally came from medieval French drawing rooms, with 14-16 degrees typically the ideal serving temperature for reds.

And white wines? They usually need to be left out of the fridge for about half an hour before drinking. Think about the temperature around your bottle, and factor that in to the actual serving temperature.

#2 DON’T: So, how to get your wine to that desired temperature? Whatever you do, don’t use ice cubes to chill your wine. Melted water will dilute your favourite wine, making it less palatable. Try using an ice bath for the wine bottle to quickly chill it, or try using frozen grapes instead to chill your wine in the glass. 

#3 DO: Chill your glass: If you want to bring the temperature of that glass of red down, put your wine glass in the freezer while you wait. The temperature of your glass will bring the wine down a few degrees. 

#4 DON’T: Use a microwave to reheat your over-chilled wine. If you’ve left your red in the fridge too long or simply can’t wait to crack open that bottle of white, set the bottle near a sunny window or on top of the fridge to bring the temperature up to its optimum level. 

#5 DO: Plan ahead. Getting your wines to the right temperature takes a little time and effort, so be sure to factor in the time needed to chill or rest your wines before that special dinner party. 

#6 DON’T: forget the chilly bin and ice! The great outdoors is the perfect spot for a lightly chilled glass of red. Be sure to pack a chilly bin with some ice to manage the temperature while you’re out enjoying a sunny picnic or day at the beach. 

#7 DO: Try different wine gadgets. There are a lot of fun tools to bring out the best in your wine. While temperature is one of the most important factors to enjoying a wine at its best, tools like aerators or varietal-specific glassware can further enhance the enjoyment of your wine.

Taylors Estate and Promised Land wines feature a colour-changing sensor on the back of the bottle, which indicates when your wine is at the right temperature to drink. 

#8 DON’T: forget to maintain the temperature of your wine bottle while you’re enjoying it. Make the last glass from the bottle as good as the first by taking a temperature check while you are savouring the wine. 

#9 DO: Taste test. The only way to know if you’ve achieved the perfect temperature for your wine is to give it a taste test. As your red is chilling or your white is sitting on the bench waiting for service, pour yourself a taste to see if the flavours are to your liking. 

#10 DON’T: Be afraid to practice these steps! Get into the habit of chilling your reds (or in the case of whites, making sure they’re not served ice cold). In doing so you’ll never go back to drinking wine at room temperature ever again (in fact you might end up wondering why you ever did).

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