Tour Vin – Helpful Tips for Wine Storage and Service

Published on: July 28th, 2015

To fully enjoy the wine you are serving, it is important wines be stored correctly and served at the proper temperature in the appropriate stemware (after all, water goblets are not meant for wine tasting). We’d like to offer some serving and storage tips to make sure your tasting experience is enjoyable and fun for all.

Wine Storage
Wine that is not stored properly can result in the wine tasting faulty (awful!). Cool, long-term wine storage is recommended at a constant 50-59 degrees Fahrenheit. Extreme temperature changes can cause irreparable damage.

It is best to store wine on its side so the cork maintains contact with the wine. This prevents the cork from drying out, which will allow air to oxidize the wine. Twist off bottles can be stored standing up. However, wine should never be stored in a refrigerator – the extended cool temperature will not allow the wine to age properly.

Bright light will also heat up wines. You may consider under-the-bed storage as long as the room is relatively cool.

Serving Wine
As a general guide, full-bodied reds can be served at room temperature – 60-64 degrees. If red wine is too cool, warm the wine by holding the bowl of the glass in your hand (no blow dryers!). Full-bodied white wines should be served between 50-55 degrees and champagne is best cooled to 43-50 degrees. The trick is to serve wine at a temperature that allows it to best exhibit its aromas and flavors.

Many scoff at wine folks who serve particular wines in a specific glass. There is actually merit to this “snobbery” because different glass shapes direct the wine to specific parts of your mouth. This allows the drinker to experience the acidity, fruitiness, dryness, tannins and sweetness as the wine was intended.

The use of the correct glass will enhance the wine tasting experience. Generally speaking, red wines are best served in larger-size glasses; white and rose wines should be served in medium-size glasses; and sparkling wines are best served in flute glasses. Ports and sauternes are best enjoyed in small glasses.

Should you decant wines? If there are heavy deposits in the wine bottle, usually due to age, decanting is recommended. Some young wines require aeration to allow air to stimulate the wine to its full potential. Leaving an open bottle on the table (airing the wine) does not serve that purpose since too little of the wine is actually exposed to air.

We hope this answers a few questions about wine so you can enhance your overall wine tasting experience.

Tour Vin will be in Napa Valley in August to check out new venues for our clients. A recap of our trip will be discussed in our next issue of our newsletter, The Roaming Vine. Check it out – the newsletter is free!

Don’t forget – the Napa Valley Crush is right around the corner. Contact us to help plan your next trip to Napa Valley!

Cheers!
Ed Pollard
Tour Vin
Napa Valley Concierge