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| Why should I swirl wine in my glass before
drinking? |
| Swirling allows oxygen to enter the wine,
as well as the friction causes a slight warming - both of
which allow the aromas to come out through the evaporation
process. |
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| When should a wine be decanted? |
There are two primary instances you will
need to decant...
1. Just as is the case with swirling, decanting a wine 'opens' the
wine up with the introduction of oxygen. You will want to decant
young reds that are typically aged for longer periods of time (Napa
Cabernet, French Bordeaux, Italian Barolos).
2. Older wines will collect sediment as a result of aging. In this
case, before serving, you will want to decant the wine to avoid the
sediment falling into your guests' glasses. |
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| When is it appropriate to return a bottle
of wine? |
| In a restaurant, you are presented the
wine and allowed to sniff and sample before accepting the
wine for dinner enjoyment. This process occurs to allow you
to determine if the wine is 'corked' or has 'gone bad.' Trust
your instints here. If it smells like vinegar or dirty old
gym socks then the wine has changed for the worse in the
bottle. So to, you should sample the wine at home before
pouring it out in your glasses. If the wine appears to be
'off' you should shove the cork back in and bring it back
to the store. We will happily replace this bottle for you. |
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| How big can a wine bottle get? |
Capacity (Liters) followed by the number
of standard size bottles contained:
Standard (.75)Â 1
Magnum (1.5) Â 2
Jeroboam (3) Â 4
Rehoboam (4.5) Â 6
Methuselah (6) Â 8
Salmanazar (9) Â 12
Balthazar (12) Â 16
Nebuchadnezzar (15) Â 20 |
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| Is it necessary to rinse my glass between
each wine when I am sampling a variety? |
| Absolutely not! Wines are generally tasted
from the lightest bodied to the most full-bodied, therefore,
as each new wine is introduced to your glass, it will not
be affected by the previous wine. If, however, you are going
from a sweet wine to a dry style, you will want to rinse
as the sugar will linger - coating your glass and affecting
other wines. Also, it doesn't hurt to throw water in, and
to take periodic sips to keep yourself hydrated and therefore,
less likely to become intoxicated. |
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