Sign Up for the Recipe Publishing Newsletter
Wine Information for the Beginner
There is so much to learn when you start your adventure with wine. First of all, indulging to excess will ruin your palate. If you truly want to learn and enjoy wine, do not overdo it. Many wines are actually healthy when taken in moderation.
Decanting Wine
One of the first terms you may hear is decanting. To decant a wine means to allow it to breathe and remove the sediment. Not all wines are decanted. Older red wines are the beverages that benefit most from this process.
Sediment forms naturally in older bottles of wine as small particulates in the wine settles to the bottom. To remove the sediment, you want to slowly pour it into a decanter, keeping the bottle in the same position it was in during storage so you do not disturb the sediment. Pour the wine slowly.
If you cannot see the sediment, light a candle and shine it near the bottle so you can see it before it pours out with the wine. Older wines now enjoy a nice period of breathing. This lets the air mix with the wine, bringing out its aromas. Thirty minutes to an hour is a good amount of time to decant wine. Longer and you risk ruining the wine.
Pouring
Is there really a proper way to pour wine? You bet! Show your guests the bottle first so they can see the label and its vintage. Open the bottle with the least amount of fuss possible. Your goal is to remove the cork without breaking it into bits or spilling any wine. If it is a sparkling wine, you do not want to let all the bubbles out.
Pour out a small sample for someone to sample. They should swirl it in the glass, sip it, and give the okay or not. Pour the wine to everyone, moving clockwise around the table. Always pour from the right side of the person receiving the wine. Fill each glass half full. Set the bottle in an ice bucket to stay chilled if there is any wine left in the bottle. That wasn't so hard, was it?
Wine Stains
If you are drinking red wine, it is only a matter of time before you will have to handle a wine stain or two. There are commercial wine stain removers at the store. Pick one up and keep it on hand. If you do not have any when a spill occurs, do not worry. It is still possible to remove it.
For fresh wine stains that have not dried yet, stretch the fabric over a pan and pour boiling water through it. This should rinse most fresh stains right out. If it is a carpet, blot it with a washcloth, rinsing the cloth out frequently.
If the red wine has dried, you can actually use white wine to bleach out the red color. If you would prefer not to use your white wine like this, try baking soda. Mix it with water into a paste and apply it to the stain.
