HELPFUL HINTS
The helpful hints below are organized by subject matter subtitle. We hope you will find them useful.
General Wine Hints:
Filling an ice bucket halfway with equal parts of water and ice will chill the wine faster.
For a fresh wine stain, pour a generous amount of salt on the stain, pat it down, let it stand 10 for minutes, scrape away the salt, then blot thoroughly with club soda.
Did you throw the cork away and want to store the leftover wine? Just put a piece of plastic wrap around the neck and hold it in place with a tightly wound rubber band.
Have wine that was left out and gone bad? It is still good for cooking or you can freeze it into ice cubes for later use in sauces and casseroles. It is not advisable to store your wine with foods that can ferment, like cheese. Moldy flavors will enter the wine through the cork. The wine will take on the taste of what ever permeates the cork.
Remember the serving temperature of wine is not necessarily the same as its optimum storing temperature.
Always serve your wine on the cool side if uncertain as to what the right serving temperature should be.
You now have your wine cooler that keeps your wine longer, so host a wine tasting party! It is a party enjoyable for wine lovers, and a fun way to get together with family and friends.
It is not advisable to store your wine with foods that can ferment, like cheese. Moldy flavors will enter the wine through the cork. The wine will take on the taste of what ever permeates the cork.
If you open wine but do not finish it, pour the leftovers in a smaller container and refrigerate it until you can finish it. If you do not finish it within three days, the taste and aroma will degrade rapidly. After three days, save it for cooking or just throw it out.
When you host the wine party, one 750 ml bottle of wine holds about four or five glasses, so one bottle for every two guests should be enough.
Wine serving temperatures are best defined by one’s individual tastes. On your next bottle of wine, decant half of it into another container and try serving the two different halves at different temperatures. This little experiment could help you define the best serving temperatures for your own tastes.
Whether in a wine rack or wine cooler, your wine should be stored flat (i.e., horizontally).
If your wine has a screw cap instead of a cork, you can store them upright.
Always store your wine in a dark place to minimize affects from UV rays and other light.
To keep your cork pliable, you should store your wine in an area where humidity averages around 70 percent.
If you cannot readily control the wine storage temperature as in a dual-zone wine cooler, the best all around temperature for storing wine is 55 degrees F.
Red Wine Hints:
Serve red wines below room temperature so that alcohol will not produce an unpleasant bite on the palate.
Most red wines like Merlot, Bordeaux, Zinfandel, and Shiraz should be served around 60 degrees F.
If you have over chilled your red wine, warm it in the glass with your hands and enjoy the aromas as they unfold.
Most restaurants serve their red wines too warm. Ask your waiter for an ice bucket to chill the wine off before you drink it.
White Wine Hints:
Champagne is best served slightly colder than a typical white wine at about 40 degrees F. If the bottle is coming out of your refrigerator (typically 35 degrees F.), let the bottle stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes before serving.
Serve most white wines like Chardonnays, Rieslings and Sauvignon Blancs at about 45 degrees F. to maximize the aromas and flavors in order to get full enjoyment from them.
Draft Beer Hints:
Draft beer is best stored and served between 34 and 40 degrees F. A standard refrigerator temperature is normally around 35 degrees F.
