How to Serve and Store Wine

Serving Wine
If you are offering guests a glass wine, temperature impacts the overall taste of the wine. White wines that are too cold will result in a cool, tasteless drink. Red wines that are too cold will lose their flavor or become flat. If wine is too warm, it will be overly alcoholic or even resemble a vinegar flavor. Red wines should be served at a cooler room temperature, around 65 degrees. Sparkling wines should be chilled, with at least 90 minutes of refrigeration and 20 minutes on ice before serving. Wine that is refreshing and white, like a pinot grigio, should be refrigerated for at least 90 minutes to get them to properly chilled temperature. Other white wines should be brought to room temperature before serving. Wine that is fortified is best served slightly cooled, but warmer than other chilled white wines.

Wine Glasses
The correct wine glass can keep up two of the most important aspects of wine: temperature and taste. Round glasses are made for red wines, with a fuller bowl to let the wine settle at room temperature. The stem of the glass also allows you to grip the glass without disturbing the wine. Temperature is kept chilled with white wines through their slightly narrower mouthed glasses and long stems. Flutes are long and narrow to keep the carbonation within the liquid for as long as possible.

Decanters
Winemakers hope to bring out multifaceted bouquets and flavors of wine grapes. These flavors are sometimes only reached through mild oxidation, which can be achieved with decanters. True aeration can occur in any pitcher, jar, or legitimate decanter; any wide-mouthed bottle that can allow air to hit the wine will help the process. This can best be done by pouring wine from a high height, allowing much of the wine to get fresh air.

Storing Wine
There are mainly three factors that will impact the fresh or suitably serving condition of wine: their exposure to light, humidity and temperature. Properly storing wine ensures that these conditions are held constant, so you can be confident that you’ll be serving wine that is well preserved. For wines to be consumed within 6 months, keep them stored in an area has a stable, cool temperature where the corks can stay moist. For longer storing, wine bottles should be kept in dark areas with high humidity, at around 50 degrees. This temperature allows the process of aging to progress steadily. Wine should not be left in areas that contain objects with strong odors, which may permeate the corks, or with machines that cause vibrations, which slow aging.