Swirl, Sniff, Sip: Know How to Drink Wine Like an Expert?

Whether you have wine as a standalone or as food pairings, every wine session must be perfect for savoring its refined taste and flavor. Wines are usually for special occasions. Also, they are the most expensive of the lot. There is always an elegance to pouring out wine in a specified wine glass and a way to drink it. There is notified wine etiquette that defines the wine-drinking ritual. 

How wine drinking is different

Unlike other beverages, wine lovers may need to know the names of wines, ages and how to drink them. If you don’t bother, you will be missing out on the most vital aspect of wine, its flavor profile that will enable you to enjoy the wine better. It might sound a little over the top for some when you are told to swirl, sniff, and sip alone or in public—not knowing this and gulping down wine wouldn’t be much of an indulgence but a tipsy affair.

Before you pop that wine bottle cork, you need to understand some of the basics and begin celebrating. Knowing the winemaking techniques and a few words to help you describe the aromas will help you appreciate the wine better. Just a bit of finetuning, and you would be drinking wine like a pro—a nuanced approach to understanding flavor profiles.

Learning the ropes

The first thing to know is that wine can be either dry or sweet. Most people just know that there are white and red wines, another misconception. So, as we go along, we will get to know the wine you are drinking and how to savor it in the right way. You will also need guidance on the food pairings and how to tell between a fine-aged wine and a recently produced wine.

  • A bottle of dry wine will not have residual sugars, hence no sweetness on the palate after you consume it.
  • Dry wines can be used as aperitifs or during the course of dinner.
  • A bottle of sweet wines works great after dinner also referred to as dessert wines. The flavor palate matches with cheese pairings.
  • The red wine is made from black grapes, which give it that deep rich color (Cabernet Sauvignon)
  • White wines are colorless as the grape skins are part of the juice extraction (Chardonnay)
  • While making wines, producers also make Brut and Champagne, which is slightly a different vinification. It requires a two-step fermentation and needs more laboring as compared to winemaking.
  • Rose wine, a dull pink color, is made with a blend of white and red grapes or sometimes with red grapes only.
  • There is also orange wine, which may be new to your knowledge, but these are made from white wine grapes; however, the grape juice is used with the skin.

Now so much information does need time for processing as you begin understanding the assorted colors, tastes, and aging process. You will then enjoy your wine better.

Serving the wine at the right temperature matters because it can change the way how wine tastes, both for white and red wines. Too cold the flavors get muted for white wines, and red wines can be acidic when served too warm. Hence 450 to 500 are optimum temperatures for serving both white and sparkling wines. Heavier sort such as Chardonnay or lighter ones needs more chilling 550 to 600. Finally, Red wines need more chilling, so they are ideal for consumption at 600 to 650.

Wine glasses play a significant role as well. The larger brim allows you to breathe in the wine’s aromas. The red wine glasses have a larger bowl, and shorter stem as the wine is allowed to mix with the oxygen for flavor enhancement. The big, bold flavors of red wine need room for the aeration process to reduce the bitter taste.

Red wines are ‘U’ shaped bowel with longer stems and smaller glasses. However, there are exceptions to the rule Chardonnays are served in wide glasses to amplify the aromas as red wines and are also served six degrees warmer than the temperatures in which most white wines are served.

Drinking wine right

  • Hold the stem of the glass with the base of your thumb, index finger and middle finger while the remaining fingers are resting on the base. It would be best if you held the glass like a bowl for a large wine glass, placing the stem between the index and middle fingers.
  • Swirling helps to oxygenate the wine, helping your wine taste better.
  • Filling the glass to one-third of the capacity gives it space to swirl and not cause spillage
  • Check out the cork because a bulging cork, too tight corks, or badly sealed cork are red flags that your wine isn’t good enough

Why wine drinking is an experience

Wine drinking is a flawless indulgence that should not obliterate its natural attributes. You must know that wines tell a story when you drink them in the right way. The first sip takes you through the unique sites, soils, climes, and production history.

The complex flavors swirl in your mouth as you take in the different flavors and aromas. The endearing aspect of wine is the integration of this complexity to bring you that seamless experience with various singular sensations as you taste the wine at the tip of your tongue and when it hits the roof of your mouth as you take in the first sip. The sensations of the textures, density and flavor will provide symmetry to the integration.

The nose as well as their entire mouth, experiences the velvety tannins that meld, making you taste the perfectness in wine. The way you sip in wine will help permeate the positive sensations allowing it to stay on the palate. You will individually perceive the oak elements and tannins’ quality as dry or sweet and make most of the duel of opposites integrating to elevate the flavor profile to a new level.

The perceived intensity of wine components is the power of a complex, elegant, balanced wine. Powered with the right information, you can now proceed to have a wonderful wine-drinking experience.

Shop for the wide range of wines at The Wine Stop.

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