Wines In Sequence

If you’re serving more than one kind of wine with the meal, there’s a general progression that works best for enjoyment.

Serve white wines before reds, light wines before heavy ones, and dry wines before sweet ones. Yes, there are always circumstances that defy the rules. Say you have a light-bodied red and a full-bodied white. Which rule do you break? It’s your choice. Or maybe you don’t like red wines at all. There’s nothing wrong with serving all whites.

 

Serving Wines

A few basic guidelines in storage and service will go a long way to enhance your enjoyment of wine. The idea is to recognize which of your needs are most important when selecting a wine, its proper serving temperature, and glassware to accommodate the occasion, whether casual or formal.

White wine should be served at around 55-58 degrees F—usually about an hour in the refrigerator will achieve this temperature.
• If the wine is too cold, it will mask the aromas and flavors making it seem simple.
• If the wine is too warm, it will seem fat (meaning lacking acidity and structure).

Red wine should be served at around 62-65 degrees F—remember that “room temperature” referred to drafty stone castles, not modern insulated homes. Place red wines in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
• When red wines are served too warm, they become overly alcoholic and flabby.
• If reds are served too cold, their aromas and flavors will be muted.

 

Wine Glasses

Use one glass per wine varietal, or if you only have one or two wine glass size(s) arrange each place setting with separate red and white wine glasses, plus water.

Wine glasses that have a deeper bowl and are tapered in toward the top are best for tasting your finest wines. The tapering has a dual effect:

While swirling the wine in the glass, the tapering helps to contain the aromas that are set free by the swirling.
The tapered rim helps prevent wine from splashing out of the glass while swirling.

Typically, white wines should be served in a tulip shaped glass, red wines should be served in a glass that has a more rounded and larger bowl, and sparkling wines should be served in glasses that are tall and thin (like champagne glasses). If you do not have the recommended glass, a suitable all-purpose wine glass should hold 10 ounces, be transparent and have a slight curve at the top.

With the exception of sparkling wines, it’s best not to fill a wine glass more than half full. This will leave enough air space to release the aromas. Most importantly, find a balance of wine-friendliness, aesthetic appeal and price, and settle on a the glass that seems best for you.

 

Pouring Method

For the initial tasting to check the quality of the wine, pour a small amount (1oz) directly into a glass toward the center, releasing the aromas of the wine. This also helps remove any cork fragments caused by opening. Inspect the cork to see that it is not too dry or crumbling, nor too wet. The wine cork and/or wine may smell “moldy”/”corked”, indicating spoiling.

If the wine is ready for pouring, with the wine glass on the table pour the wine directly into it toward the center, releasing the “bouquet” (unless the wine is sparkling in which case pour against the side of the glass to preserve bubbles). Slightly twist the wine bottle or decanter as you pour to help control dripping. Fill the glass to only about ¼ full this allows room for further aeration by swirling the wine, if desired.

 

Breathe Your Wine

The purpose of letting wine breathe, or aerate, is to allow the wine to come in contact with the surrounding air helping to slightly warm it, causing the wine’s aromas to open up and be present. The flavor will tend to soften while the overall flavor characteristics will improve.

Red wines benefit most from breathing, however select whites will also improve with air exposure. Typically, most wines will improve with as little as 15-20 minutes breathe time. However, young wines with high tannin levels need more time to breathe. As an example, a young Cabernet Sauvignon may require about an hour for proper breathing and flavor softening to take place. Older wines (8+years) should be allowed to breath in a decanter and may take longer time. This allows greater surface area for the wine to come in contact with the air.

Whenever possible, do not let your wine breathe in the bottle it is stored. There is not sufficient surface layer contact and air flow to have any effect of the opening of the wine. Use a decanter or wine glass to let wine breathe.

In general, the more tannins in a wine (usually determined by the darkness of the wine), the more time it will need to breathe. A lighter-bodied red wine, such as Pinot Noir, has lower tannin levels and will need less time to breathe.

 

How Much Wine To Serve

Cocktail parties
Plan on half a bottle of wine per person per two-hour period.
If guests will be serving themselves, plan for 10% more wine.

Dinner parties
Each 750ml bottle of wine provides about 5 servings of 5 ounces each or 6 servings of 4 ounces each.
If you are planning wine with a meal, plan 1 to 1.5 servings per course per person.

How to calculate the number of bottles you require of each wine
Multiply the number of people you plan to serve by the number of glasses on average that each person will drink divided by 5 (or 6 if you prefer a 4 ounce pour).

 

Dinner Party Wine Purchase Plan

Number of Wines	4 Guests	6 Guests	8 Guests	10 Guests	12 Guests
2	2 bottles	3 bottles	4 bottles	5 bottles	6 bottles
3	1 bottles	2 bottles	2 bottles	3 bottles	4 bottles
4	1 bottles	1 bottles	2 bottles	2 bottles	3 bottles
5	1 bottles	1 bottles	2 bottles	2 bottles	3 bottles

 

What type of wine to serve

If you expect the weather to be warm and your event is outside, or if your event is before 5:00 p.m., plan on 70% white wine, 30% red wine. Otherwise, plan to serve 40% white wine and 60% red wine.

 

Storage After Opening

Prolonged exposure to heat and open air causes wine to oxidize and become acidic.

Keep opened wine re-corked (or use a wine stopper) in the refrigerator immediately after opening to slow the oxidation process. Re-corked wine should safely last two to three days in the refrigerator. If storing longer than a few days, use a bottle preservation system.