Additional Hints and Tips

Dining Out

What will you do when confronted with the wine list in a restaurant? If you don't recognize all the wine names on the list, ask the wine waiter's advice. He or she has tasted them all, it's part of the wine waiter's job to know what the wines taste like, and which dishes on the menu they will match.

Don't hesitate to order the house wine: there's no excuse for poor house wine these days.
Lots of restaurants stock fair range of half bottles, if three of you are having steak and the fourth is having fish, try one!
When the waiter brings the bottle to the table. take a look at the label and check that it's the same wine and the same vintage that you ordered.
The waiter should uncork the bottle in front of you. Let him or her pour an inch or two into your glass.
Small pieces of cork floating in the wine do not mean the wine is corked. Fish them out with a spoon.
If you're unlucky and have a rude wine waiter, then remember: nobody can make you leave a tip or go there again.

Glasses

Glasses are actually the simplest things of all to choose. You may want the glasses to be plain and undecorated. Not cut, not coloured, not enameled. None of these things will help you to see the wine. wine has beautiful colours; why obscure them with coloured glass.

Choosing the right shape

The next point is the shape of the glass, which can be important to tasting and enjoying wine. The ideal wine glass is tulip shaped.
This tulip shape will do for all wines. Buy slightly larger versions for red wine, slightly smaller for white.
Standard wine glasses, or Paris goblets are acceptable for all wines except sparkling. And they're simple and inexpensive.
For sparkling wines, avoid saucers. Choose tall, narrow flutes. Avoid rims that flare out.
Avoid metal goblets at all costs.
Fill glasses no more than half to two-thirds full. This allows you to get the full bouquet of the wine.

Temperature, Decanting and Breathing

This is where even the most knowledgeable people get confuse. Will the wine need to breathe? Should it be decanted? and if so, how long before the meal? and will it be too cold?

The simple rule is that most red wines should be served at room temperature, while whites should be chilled. Few wines these days need to breathe. Whites very seldom need to. Open red wine at the beginning of the meal or just before.

Decanting

Most red wines these days do not need to be decanted. The exceptions are those which have thrown a deposit in bottle, which usually means those that have been ageing in bottle for many years.

Order of Serving

As with all wine rules, the guidelines that apply here are based on common sense. These rules evolved because they work in practice.

They are:

Serve white wines before red
Serve young wines before old
Serve lighter wines before heavier
Serve dry wines before sweet

If you want to see how logical they are consider the following:

Young wine can taste raw after old wine, and is more difficult to appreciate a delicate white after a gutsy red.
Light wine, white or red, tastes insubstantial after a heavy one.
Dry wine after sweet wine is unpleasantly acidic.

First things First

This order of serving wines fits neatly with the order of most meals. First courses are generally lighter in weight and flavor than main courses, so it makes effect sense to serve lighter, younger wines with them and move on to something richer.

Cracking it Open

What sort of corkscrew should you use? The answer is, use whichever you find easiest.

Storing open bottles

Keep opened bottles in the fridge, and arm yourself with one of the gadgets currently on the market for preserving wine.

Providing that you're not planning to store wine for more than few weeks, almost any corner of the house will do as long as it is not beside a radiator or in full, hot sunshine.

For longer storage it's as well to bear in mind these points:
Wine can be harmed by strong light: try and keep bottles in the dark
Large and rapid temperature changes can also damage. Constant, cool temperature is the ideal.
Heat is very bad for wine
Do not keep the wine on top of the spin dryer.
Avoid anywhere with strong smells. There can be a chance of such smells tainting the wine.
Avoid anywhere too dry, which can cause the corks to dry out.
Avoid anywhere very damp, which can cause mildew.
Keep wines lying down, otherwise the corks will dry out and air will get in causing the wine to oxidize.

The best places to store wine are:

In the cupboard under the stairs
In the back of a wardrobe in the spare bed room.
In the garage, with the proviso above.
In the garden shed, if you can lock it.