”
A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine,
”
wrote author Jean Anthelme Brilliant-Savarin in his book
”
Physiology of Taste.
”
“A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine,” wrote author Jean Anthelme Brilliant-Savarin in his book “Physiology of Taste.”
Being that wine is also a food, then the storing, serving and saving should be as important.
Here is some basic information to follow on these three S’s:
– For storing your wines, having a big cellar would be great. However, keeping your wines in a dark, cool place, like an inside closet, with a constant temperature is what is important.
– Keep your bottles laying on their sides is best to keep the cork wet, which prevents the drying of the cork and leakage from occurring.
– As for serving, I always like a big tulip-shaped glass for most of my wines.
Yes, there is glassware that is specially produced in various shapes and sizes for different varieties of wine, both red and white. I feel, in general, as long as the bowl is big enough, say around a 12-ounce glass or better, I can swirl the wine to mix without the wine flying out all over the place.
– Remember not to fill your glass past the mid-point of the belly of the bowl. You want plenty of swirling room.
That’s not a nervous twitch wine drinkers have with the glass. Being able to swirl and stick your nose into the glass to breathe in all those beautiful bouquets is key.
– There are a few ways of saving your wine in the event you cannot finish the entire bottle.
Putting the cork back will keep it until the next spring. If it’s longer, then gas in a can that blocks out oxygen by putting a blanket of gas on the wines surface works well.
There are a couple of different “wine savers” on the market, and some work better than others. These stoppers suck out the air and seal the wine in the bottle. They can save your wine for about five days before the loss of fruit flavors becomes apparent.
– The need to know how the wine-maker made the wines is not as important as the need to know how best to enjoy the wine they made.
Larry Brewster is the wine room manager at Dorothy McNett’s Place, 800 San Benito St.
