Serving Wine

By Darren Davis

Righto – you’ve bought your wine and cellared it carefully for a few years. Let’s open it up and have a bit of fun. 

For white’s wines, I’d recommend decantering. For red wines, I’d recommend decantering. Ok, basically, if it’s got a few years under its belt – pour it carefully into a decanter with a sieve to remove any chunky bits, or combined compounds as a result of colours and tannins falling out of solution. 

This will clean the wine up and get it ready for your enjoyment. It will also serve another very important purpose – that of opening up the wine. When a wine has been couped up in a bottle for a number of years it needs some encouragement to get out of its shell and show off its complex array of aromas and characters.

All wine can be stored at the same temperature, but the difference comes when serving the wine. Serve Champagne and other sparkling wines cold, (5-10 degrees). Serve white wines a touch warmer, (10 degrees), and serve red and fortified wines at room temperate, (15 degrees). 

Now a few tips for the novice. Never serve a white wine too cold – the colder it is, the more closed the wine characters will be. As the wine warms up, the aromatic profile of the wine opens up and in doing so, portrays a completely different wine, alive with a bubbling bouquet! Never serve a red wine too warm – the warmer it is, the harsher it will seem, and the more obvious the alcohol will become. 

As for glassware, there are plenty of designs out there, but as a guide, always choose a glass with a bowl that turns in at the lip, so that you can direct the aromas right up your nose!