Wine is a living product that requires special attention. So, whether you are an experienced wine enthusiast or a novice, you need to take the right steps to ensure you fully enjoy a good bottle of wine. So let's see what are the 9 mistakes to avoid with wine .
Storing your wine bottles in poor conditions
You might think that once in its glass bottle, the wine is protected from the external environment. However, it continues to evolve, and it remains particularly sensitive to different elements:
- Light : wine does not like direct light, because it will accelerate the oxidation process of the wine;
- Odors : the wine, through the cork, can absorb strong surrounding odors;
- Temperature variations : like light, a fluctuating temperature will have an impact on the oxidation of wine;
- Vibrations : small vibrations around the wine can generate chemical reactions which will influence the wine aging process.
Therefore, it is advisable to keep bottles of white wines, red wines, and rosé wines away from these elements. The ideal is to opt for a wine cellar .
Always serve red wine with cheese
Serving good red wines with cheese is not really a mistake, but other food and wine pairings would be more appropriate. Indeed, the acidity and tannins contained in red wine are not the best friends of dairy products, and ultimately, few red wines go perfectly with cheeses.
Better to opt for a good white wine , which will work wonders with your light cheeses, as well as with cheeses of character. And why not try a rosé wine to accompany your cheese platter ?
Serve the Champagne in a glass
Certainly, the sensual shape of the Champagne glass, drawn on Madame de Maintenon's breast, is very elegant for serving a sparkling wine, but we must recognize that it is not ideal for showcasing it. In fact, the cup, with its very wide opening and its shallow depth, crushes the wine and disperses the bubbles .
But the champagne flute is not the ideal solution either, because the opposite effect produces, and the aromas do not have enough space to express themselves.
Then choose to serve Champagne in a tulip glass , to take advantage of the tight opening and the wide container.
Serve red wine at room temperature
Generally speaking, wine lovers know that red wine is not drunk chilled, like white wine or rosé wine. But the serving temperature of a red wine is also not as high as the temperature in your home.
So, to fully enjoy the aromas of red wine, it is better to keep it at an ideal temperature of between 14 and 18°C depending on the type of red wine. A bad temperature, hot or cold, could then weigh down the tannins of the wine, and reduce the power of the aromas.
Always decant a red wine
Very often, red wine needs to aerate to open up and completely release its aromas. It is then interesting to put it in a carafe a few hours before serving it, to give it time to express itself. But this is not an absolute rule, and old wines are not affected by this technique.
Indeed, the great vintages of red wines suitable for aging have had plenty of time to air out in the cellar, via the porosity of the cork stopper. There is no need to decant them so that it opens. On the other hand, it may be interesting to decant it to allow the residue to settle at the bottom , and thus avoid settling at the bottom of the wine glass.
Thinking that organic wine is necessarily healthier
Organic food uses growing and production techniques that suggest the product is healthier, without pesticides or weedkillers. In the world of wine, the nuance is greater, because the winegrower in organic farming is not authorized to use certain synthetic phytosanitary products, but he has every right to use all those which are still authorized by the Specifications.
Thus, organic wines are not free of chemicals , and it is debatable whether organic wines are healthier than conventional wines.
Always serve a sweet wine or a sweet wine for dessert
Who says dessert, says sugar. So, instinctively, many consumers are tempted to serve sweet and sweet wines to accompany dessert. However, adding sugar to an already sweet and fatty dish can only overload the taste buds, at the risk of making the whole thing very nauseating.
It is then better to end the meal on softer notes , with dry white wines or very chilled rosé wines, or even a sparkling wine or a light and fruity red wine.
Sweet wines are best served as an aperitif, or with dishes based on seafood.
Trust only prestigious appellations
It must be recognized that wines from recognized appellations are safe values , especially for novices who are afraid of making a mistake. On the other hand, this does not mean that the other wines are bad. On the contrary, we may be surprised to discover very good bottles of local wine, or from small independent producers .
Please note that the appellation is a title awarded to winegrowers who request it. Many vineyards do not take this approach, even though they produce very high quality wine.
Do not store wine bottles horizontally
Have you ever noticed that good wine merchants store their wine bottles horizontally ? Not very practical for reading the label, but essential for preserving the qualities of the wine. In fact, by storing the bottles horizontally, the wine is in permanent contact with the cork, which does not dry out and therefore limits the oxygenation of the wine .
Avoid, then, storing your bottles vertically, unless you plan to open them quickly.
The success of a wine tasting is not limited to the stage where you take the wine in your mouth. Many criteria ensure the success of such an exercise. You now know the 9 little mistakes to avoid to enjoy a good wine .
