We are all guilty for these mistakes wine drinkers make because we all make them. Most wines are luxury items, therefore getting the most out of each bottle is important. By avoiding these 7 Deadly Sins of wine, you might enjoy that glass even more!
1. This wine is too COLD!
Over chilling wines may make them refreshing, but it also tamps down the aromas and flavors of the wine while highlighting the tannins. If you’ve made this mistake, just allow the wine to warm up a bit before drinking it.
2. This wine is to HOT!
From the one extreme to the next. Serving wines too hot is much worse than serving them too cold. There’s no need to cook a wine. This damage will show up in time as caramel, molasses flavors and the premature aging of the wine with an accompanying change in colour, so take care when, and where, you store you wine. Also, before opening a bottle, use a wine temperature guide to determine the best serving temperature for your wine.
3. This wine need some air
Allowing a wine to breath is often seen as a pompous affectation of snobby old men and their fancy wines, nothing could be further from the truth. The last glass of a bottle normally taste the best. wines have been bottled with durability in mind, often being produced in reductive, or oxygen free environment. This is no coincidence. Letting a wine breathe helps to stimulate the development of aromas and soften tannins.
4. This wine needs a bowl
Using the right glassware is extremely important. A nice, big bowl, leaves plenty of space for swirling and allows for a wine’s aromas to accumulate, making it easier for you to enjoy.
5. This wine needs to rest
Ever heard of “travel shock?” It basically says that wines which have recently traveled need to rest in order to show their best. It’s similar to bottle shock. Both bottle shock and travel shock produce wines that are muted, dull and basically uninteresting. Let your wines rest!
6. This wine needs a better dinner party
While it is easy to promote a “drink-what-you-like-with-your-dinner” attitude, the truth is that some wines simply don’t work with certain foods and vice versa. Artichokes for instance make wine taste bitter while oily fish makes big reds tastes like tannin and metal.
7. Assuming you know all
Assuming that you really know enough about a wine to dismiss it after one encounter is the biggest mistake we make with wine. There are many things that can make a wine show poorly, from the six mistakes that lead up to this one to things like bad corks, dirty glassware and even a bad palate day. It all boils down to having an open mind and realizing that we all make mistakes, so next time you don’t have a good experience with a wine, don’t be so quick to blame the wine!
