Besides being a social drink, red wine, when taken in moderation, has a number of health benefits. The antioxidants in red wine have been reported to lower chances of experiencing cardiovascular diseases. The wine gets its red attribute from the grape’s hue, which varies from deep red, purple and blue. If you are a beginner to wine drinking, the following tips should help you in drinking wine the correct way.
1. Ask for an Expert Opinion
If you are a new wine connoisseur, you may feel a bit lost as to what wine would complement your evening. The beauty about ignorance is that you can always ask for an educated opinion. Your waiter could be a great source of information as to what flavour of red wine is ideal for your evening based on what you are dining on.
2. Sample First
In many restaurants, it’s customary to offer clients a sample of red wine to taste. Where this is not automatically offered, ask for it before placing your order. Sampling wine at a restaurant does not commit you to buy it in case you are not impressed. An added benefit, if you sampled a wine in a restaurant that you enjoyed, you may be interested in buying red wine online in the future to enjoy at home.
3. Choose the Right Type of Red Wine
There are two common types of grapes for making red wine: Pinot Noir and Beaujolais. Each type is unique in terms of benefits and specific traits. However, with time, you can develop a preference for one type over the other. To discover your unique red wine style, it is recommended that you taste a variety of flavours first.
4. Use the Right Glass Style
Glasses for drinking red and white wine are very different. Those for drinking red wine are clear, short and wide. They also have a bowl-like shape. On the other hand, white wine glasses are slender, lanky and tall. Red wine tastes much better when it is aerated, hence the need for short, wide glasses to allow swirling of the wine without spilling it.
5. Swirl the Wine
Most people think that swirling wine is done to impress others. It actually has a science behind it. Doing this oxidates the wine to increase its flavour as the fermented juices interact with oxygen. This allows your red wine to breathe and as a result bring out the spirit and the nature of your red wine.
6. Drink It at Just the Right Temperature
To maintain its natural taste, red wine should be taken chilled or with ice. It should also not be too warm. If it is chilled, it has an icky, bitter taste that makes it highly unpleasant. On the other hand, if it’s too warm, it produces a strong alcoholic odour that overpower’s its natural taste. Finding the right balance between coldness and warmth will ensure you get to enjoy your red wine in as natural a taste as it had before leaving the grapes.
7. Filling Your Glass
While you might be tempted to fill your glass to the brim, don’t do it. Moderation and savoring your wine are key to enjoying a glass or red wine.
A half-full glass allows your wine to breathe easily. A stem makes it easy to easy to swirl your wine for better aeration. If it’s filled to the brim, you won’t have swirling room. In any case, you can always pour yourself another glass.
8. Savouring the Wine
The benefits of good quality wine aside, it is important that you enjoy your wine slowly. Don’t be in a rush to gulp it all down; otherwise, you will miss out on the taste experience. It is important to savor it and get to enjoy its full taste since even the most expensive wine in the world makes no sense if you don’t enjoy the taste.
To be a swashbuckling wine connoisseur goes beyond the quality of your red wine. How you consume it is as important as the quality of the wine itself.
