"the wine you remember the most, the wine that you enjoyed the most, the wine that gave you the best pleasure"; this is how my previous post ended and I do believe it's a great start for some tips on how to enjoy wine to the maximum according to my point of view. so, let's go, with the abc's!
a, aging: the majority of all the wines out there are produced to be consumed within 1-3 years after bottling, so yes go ahead and pop that cork! if you enjoy the wine, then you know you need to buy more of that and age it if it's supposed to be aged and you think its worth it.
b, bubbles: if you are popping the cork or unscrewing the cap on a sparkling wine or a Champagne (yes they are different), please do try to enjoy it in a white wine glass instead of a flute; yes, it won't look that fancy as the ones you get with a wedding cake (by the way, worse pairing ever), but will give you the opportunity and pleasure to smell and taste the wine under better conditions
c, celsius or fahrenheit: yes, don't be afraid to taste your white wines less chilled than the home fridge temperature (5 C / 40 F), and, yes don't be afraid to taste your red wine slightly chilled (and not at 20-25 C / 68-77 F). depending on the type of wine, these generic rules can be overruled according to... your taste! yes there are some guidelines, but enjoy your wine the way you like it
d, decanting: what the heck is that you may ask; well some powerful or aged wines may need some time to get acquainted with the environment (contact with oxygen) once opened, in order to 'breathe' after being enclosed in a bottle for some time. a carafe or even a water jug with a wide opening can do the work. some (huge) wine glasses out there in the market can work as small 'decanters' as well.
e, equipment: a sommelier corkscrew (you can find one with $/EUR 5), a couple of decent universal wine glasses with a stem and a bowl of decent size, and a wine fridge if you intend to store some wine; if you own a proper wine cellar (with humidity and temperature control), then I doubt this information is new to you
f, food: yes, there are a few big 'mistakes' that someone could do in terms of pairing food and wine, but no rules are set in stone; yeap, if you pair a spicy dish with a high alcohol wine, you will remember not to do it second time. or if you try a sweet desert with a dry, acidic wine (remember the champagne with the wedding cake above?)
g, gee if only there was a part 2 of this blog post to continue on this useful piece of information... well, there is! come back soon for the rest of the abc's on "how to enjoy wine"!
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