The first question to ask is in what company, in what mood and in what place? In a restaurant by candlelight, in a beach café with a view of the sea and the twinkling starry sky, with business associates after a contract has been signed, in front of a flickering open fire in cosy togetherness, with fish, at a barbecue, at a wine tavern, after a walk, on the third rainy day in Tuscany or on your 50th wedding anniversary. The ambience plays an important role. Who hasn't experienced the deceptive magic of a holiday wine? A wine should be enjoyed at the "right time", ideally when it has reached drinking maturity or ideally its peak (see under ageing and shelf life). And, of course, the wine to be enjoyed should also go well with the food or harmonise with it if it is consumed with food.
If the occasion is a meal in a restaurant, the right wine for the food must be selected from the wine list, which requires a certain amount of wine knowledge. In more upmarket establishments, there is a sommelier who can help with the selection. Before opening the wine, the guest is shown the label. After checking the label (brand, producer, vintage, etc.), the guest accepts with a nod of the head.
A decision must be made in good time before consumption as to whether the wine should be decanted (aerated), which is the responsibility of the restaurant. Opinions on this vary from "absolutely not" to "absolutely necessary". The right wine temperature is an important factor. If necessary, wines can also be cooled very quickly using systems such as Ravi Wine Chiller or Rapid Ice. Opening the bottle should be a small ceremony. First cut around the neck of the bottle with a small knife (never use the tip of the corkscrew) just below the glass bead and then remove the capsule. With many bottles, removal is made easier by a special device (ribbon on the capsule).
Opening a still wine bottle
With a conventional corkscrew, the spiral is now inserted into the centre of the cork and gently twisted in; it must not pierce the cork. It is pulled in one piece without stirring up the deposit. Now test by smelling intensively whether there is a cork taint. This can be faint or intrusive, but is always unacceptable. Any good restaurant or wine merchant will immediately bring another bottle of wine or accept an exchange without any problems. In good restaurants, the cork is placed next to the guest's glass to give him or her the opportunity to check.
The last step in opening the bottle is to carefully clean the neck of the bottle with a cloth to remove any cork or foil residue. Metal residues from the capsule or foil could have a negative effect on the flavour of the wine. The increasing use of alternatives such as twist-off closures is giving rise to new aspects. Many wine lovers believe that doing without the natural cork is a "loss of culture". However, the often used pro-argument in favour of the "pop" as a sensual pleasure is not really valid, as a bottle should be opened professionally and silently. To protect the tablecloth, drip catchers such as wine ties or napkin cloths wrapped around the neck of the bottle may be used, especially for red wine bottles.
Opening a bottle of sparkling wine
The skilful opening of a sparkling wine bottle, on the other hand, requires different practices (although the technique of "champagne topping", i.e. sabering, is the absolute exception). The bottle should be held at an angle as far as possible so that the surface area of the liquid level increases, allowing more carbon dioxide to escape and thus reducing the risk of over-foaming. The neck of the bottle is wrapped with a cloth napkin.
The agraffe is then carefully opened but not removed, as this allows a better grip on the cork. By holding the cork with one hand and gently twisting the bottle (not the cork) with the other, the cork is slowly twisted out. If you were to twist the cork, it could break. At best, there will be no noise when removing the cork, because "popping the cork" is not part of the repertoire of a cultivated wine connoisseur. The only correct sound when opening a bottle of sparkling wine is a soft "pfffft" - the English aptly call this "Angel's Fart". There are special closures for sparkling wine bottles, e.g. MAESTRO.
Tasting the wine
In a restaurant, the waiter pours a small amount of wine for the guest (who has ordered and thus declared himself to be the wine connoisseur of the group), whereby the neck of the bottle must not touch the glass when pouring (for visual and practical reasons, as a thin glass splinters easily). Now take the glass by the stem (never by the goblet) and start tasting the wine. First, the clarity and colour are determined visually, whereby this is best possible against a light background such as a white tablecloth. The glass is now swirled extensively by drawing a "six" in the air and quickly repeating the small circle several times. This requires some practice so that neither you, the tablecloth nor others are affected.
This releases the flavours present in the wine, causing them to rise and become perceptible. However, as these are irretrievably lost, the swirling must not be done too often. In addition, the stained glass windows form in the form of individual "tears" or "legs" flowing down when the wine is poured. Depending on the distance between the tears, the alcohol content can be deduced (narrow = high, wide = low).
The flavour is then tested with the nose close to or directly in the glass by subtle sniffing. You should not inhale too deeply, otherwise the aroma will enter the lungs and not reach the olfactory nerves of the nose as intended. Wine connoisseurs can deduce the grape variety, the origin and a particular wine before drinking, as well as the producer and vintage after the first sip.
The character of a wine results from the sum of all its ingredients, the total extract, whereby the alcohol and sugar content play a particularly important role. This is tested by taking the first sip, whereby the wine is first rinsed back and forth a little on the tongue and palate in order to wet all the papillae responsible for the flavour. Wine connoisseurs also refer to this as "biting". The wine is left on the palate for a few seconds and a little air is added. Now the wine is swallowed.
An important criterion is the finish, i.e. the length of time all sensations last. A "long finish" of 10 to 12 seconds (in extreme cases up to a minute for special crescents ) is generally a positive sign of quality, the unit of measurement for this is a caudal. Only then is the wine released for pouring to the other guests, unless an intolerable wine defect is detected.
Pouring into the glass
If you serve your guests a wine at home, the process is basically the same. The guest with the highest level of wine expertise in the group is selected for testing or tasting. This should also be seen as a small honour for this person. The glasses must never be filled to the brim. This is not only for visual reasons, but also to allow the wine to fully develop its bouquet. There must be enough space in the glass to be able to swirl the wine well. As a rough rule of thumb, the appropriate wine glasses should be poured up to the point where the goblet has the largest diameter. Very large goblets should be filled to a maximum of one third. It is perfectly acceptable to clink glasses vigorously and make them clink. If necessary, toasts or toasts appropriate to the occasion can now be offered.
1 = Red wine glass, 2 = white wine glass, 3 = sparkling wine glass, 4 = port wine glass
Dealing with opened bottles
If any residue remains after opening a wine bottle (e.g. with large-format bottles or if only small quantities are served), the bottle should be resealed. This is particularly straightforward for bottles with screw caps. With increasing storage time, however, oxidative processes can lead to negative changes in flavour or, in the worst case, even to spoilage.
Various systems exist to solve this problem. One of these is Coravin, which uses a needle pushed through the cork to remove wine from the bottle without allowing air to enter the bottle. A much cheaper but less effective solution is the so-called wine condom.
Further information
See also decanting, decanting carafe, decanting basket, decanting machine, decanting ball, cooking wine, wine toast, wine rating, wine cellar, wine temperature and wine with food.
Further information can be found under Ancient grape varieties, Ancient wines, Aphrodisiac, Bacchus, Customs in viticulture, Dionysus, Eucharist, Health, Hedonism, Favourite wines (famous wine connoisseurs), Satyricon (Roman banquet), Drinking culture, Quotes (sayings of famous people) and Drinking (custom in student fraternities).
Wine glasses with grapes: by Photo Mix from Pixabay
Dinner plate: by RitaE from Pixabay
Glass of red wine: by Christine Sponchia on Pixabay
Brunello di Montalcino wine bottle: by HOerwin56 on Pixabay
Glasses: Riedel from the Vinum series
