The truth about wine

Through the glass
The matter of wine glasses is important but much overstated. A glass designed for Bordeaux can make the Bordeaux’s aromas more obvious, and prettier. But the same glass won’t ruin another wine if you, for instance, happen to pour Shiraz in it.

Just about any glass with a tapered bowl to it can express the aromas in a wine. And while the high-end glasses can enhance an aroma, once you pour the wine in your mouth, one glass is pretty much the same as another.

But most of the enjoyment of a wine comes from the aroma, so selecting a glass that is at least designed for any wine, if not for a specific wine, ought to enhance the aroma.

More importantly, make sure any wine glasses you use are clean. Glasses stored in a cardboard box probably smell like a cardboard box. Glasses should be rinsed in hot water and dried with a clean linen cloth. Soap should be avoided as this tends to leave a smell on the glass.

The perfect pair
When it comes to pairing food and wine, don’t try so hard. Pair the wine and the guests first. In other words, simply make sure that the wines you’re serving are wines your guests will like.

Sparkling wines are fruity and bubbly. The fruitiness works well to cool the fire of any spicy dish, so if you or your guests like spicy food, that can be a fun match. The Pasqua frizzante range from P.Cutajar works very well with spicy foods for the same reason.

Fried foods are very likeable with sparkling wines, because the bubbles make the fried food seem less, well, fried.

White wines come in all denominations, from light and fruity, to light, floral and bone dry, to rich, and powerful. The easy recommendation is to serve light wines with light foods, heavy wines with full-bodied foods.

Consider light sautéed fish with something light, such as a Sauvignon Blanc, and pan-seared salmon with something richer, such as an oak aged Chardonnay or even a light red, such as Pinot Noir from Burgundy

Red wines too vary from the light and simple to the powerful and brooding. Sometimes it’s easy to simply match up the light dishes with the lighter wines, and save that heavy cassoulet for a powerful Italian red wine or a Spanish Rioja Gran Reserva.

But the only rule that matters is to have fun and stop worrying about wine.

The right temperature
When it comes to serving temperatures, most people expect white wines to be refrigerator temperature and for red wines to be served at room temperature. That’s unfortunate. If wines are served too cold, they will be less flavorful than they will be a half hour or so later. On the other hand, warm red wine is not a lot of fun to drink.

So the easy rule of thumb is to place the red wine in the refrigerator half an hour before you’re going to serve it. And take the white wine out of the refrigerator half an hour before you’re serving it.

What’s in store?
Wine, wine likes to be kept cool and quiet, and wants to be in the dark. So that wine rack sitting on top of your refrigerator should be re-gifted as soon as possible. If you have a basement, keep the wines there. If not, keep the wines in bags or in a box in a hall closet, or in the coolest place in the house.

These wine tips were brought to you by P. Cutajar & Co Ltd.