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Get To Grips With Your Wines
by: Hannah Terry
Tips on giving a bottle of wine.
When we're going somewhere it's easy to grab a bottle of
wine off the shelf, but wouldn't it be nicer to be able to
give the matter some thought and have a label specially designed
for the special occasion, whether it's a birthday, wedding,
or just a 'thank you'? There are many companies now who offer
this facility and you will find that you'll be able to send
your own message as well as write the names of the people
to whom it is intended.
Next time you're wondering which wine to buy, it's worth
remembering that nowadays most wines are best drunk young.
We now prefer the light-bodied wines rather than the heavy
ones that were so popular a few years ago and they are really
best consumed within three years of harvest (for white) and
five years (for red).
Keep your store of wines away from the light and the heat.
It's not necessary to keep the bottles on their sides as they'll
be fine standing upright for up to a year.
If you're taking your wine with you on a long journey you
should try to keep it as cool as possible. Cool bags are very
useful but, failing this, make sure that the bottles are kept
out of direct sunlight. If you're leaving your car for a period
you could try putting the bottles underneath in the shade,
but it's not a good idea to forget about them! When you eventually
arrive give the bottles time to return to room temperature
before you open and consume.
The barrels used for storage were burned on the inside during
the Middle Ages. This created sulphur dioxide which preserved
the wine for much longer. In very cheap wines this is still
used and can bring on appalling headaches and allergic reactions
in some people (tip: it's best to avoid cheap wines!).
When you're serving a strong red wine you may find that there's
a lot of sediment. This certainly doesn't want to go into
the glass. Historically (and if you have time) these wines
should be decanted. To do this correctly you should make sure
that all the sediment has been taken from the sides of the
bottles and give it time to settle on the bottom. This could
take several days to work and if you want to be a real perfectionist
you could give it up to a couple of weeks. When you do pour
the wine into the decanter pour it very slowly and gently
and don't let any of the sediment pass through.
And the last question? Is it best to use a corkpuller (a
handle with two prongs) or a cork screw? The corkpuller will
fit into your pocket and is considered the best by most professionals
as it's much quicker, but the technique does need a lot of
practice. If, however, the cork is not tight or is plastic,
a corkscrew will do a better job for you as the pressure of
the prongs with a corkpuller can easily push the cork into
the bottle. Whatever you use, however, the important thing
is that you concentrate carefully and if the cork starts to
move you change to a corkscrew.
Happy drinking!
About The Author
Hannah Terry is the owner of www.cookingflair.com,
a first class resource for Cooking information on the Internet.
Please visit for more about this article and related topics.
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