At Home With Wines!

December 12, 2024

At Home With Wines!

As we loom tantalizingly on the brink of the party season, how about a breezy primer on how to master the art of wine enjoyment at home,

Enjoying and entertaining with wine at home is, for many enthusiasts, one of life’s great pleasures. And like all good things, if it is to be savoured to the hilt, you’ve got to do it right. Here goes some illuminating tips on how to best store your wines so they’re pristine to taste and how to serve the wines so they’re enjoyed like they should.

Never Buy A Bad Wine, Ever

Buying wine that’s been stored right is simply a non-negotiable. And certainly not without its challenges given that most Indian ‘wine shops’ have inconsistent storage standards Wine unlike spirits requires special attention to storage. Wine is low in alcohol content compared to spirits and therefore considerably more vulnerable to elements like heat, sunlight and humidity. Bottomline, the wine has to be stored in a relatively dark space a constant cool temperature so please only buy your wines from shops that do so. We home deliver perfectly stored wines across Mumbai so we’ve got you covered on that count.

Storage Is Half The Battle Won

Now while storage until purchase is rightly the wine vendor’s responsibility, the mantle passes onto you the buyer. As explained earlier, wine needs to be stored well to be enjoyed at its finest. So it’s essential to store the wine in a cool dark space. If you plan to drink the wine within a couple of weeks, simply keeping the wine away from sunlight should work. Be sure to always set the wine down rather than standing up if the wine is closed under cork and that shields the wine from oxidation. If you plan on stocking the wine longer, then you’re going to need to store the wine in a dedicated wine cooler or alternatively, your refrigerator. Whilst not ideal, the refrigerator will keep the wine at a cool constant temperature, ensuring an optimum tasting experience when the bottle is eventually opened.

Cold is Gold

We store wines well with the singular purpose of relishing them when opened. And yet serving temperature is that last mile detail that’s almost as crucial as wine storage. Served at the right degree, the wine tastes just like the winemaker intended. Never serve the wine warm. There’s no coming back from that. Wine that’s too cold though can still be salvaged. So always serve white wines and sparkling wines at 12 degrees Celsius and red wines at 17 degrees Celsius. Don’t fall for the ‘red wine at room temperature’ guff. We’ve already bused that myth in our Wine Myths section. Chill your wines just right and you’re all set.

Definitely Decant

Now if you’re going to roll out and uncork a barrel aged red wine you’ve got to decant and here’s why. A decanter is a crystal glass vessel which opens up the wine, allowing it to breathe and fully express itself. They’re also veritable pieces of art. Red wines that have spent a long time in bottle need a bit of waking up and have also gathered sediment. Hence it’d be a good idea plunge the red into a decanter, letting it stretch its legs for a bit and you’ll be sure the red ferment is now in capital condition to taste.

Only Crystal, Dear

Wine is always consumed in wine glasses and while there’s no binding law, there’s a lot of good sense driving that dictum. Unlike most alcohol that can make do with a rock glass, wine needs its own glass to taste as grand as it can. To enjoy wine, its essential to nose and taste it and that’s what the wine glass makes possible. When you pour wine into a glass, it lets loose its abundant aroma and flavours and when you taste the wine, the shape of the glass lands the wine on just the right part of your palate so you taste the wine to the fullest, not missing out on anything that defines the wine’s personality. The stem of the wine glass also ensures your hand doesn’t warm up the wine. There’s so many good reasons to stock up a cache of good wines glass.