The fundamentals of opening, pouring, serving and decanting wine.
Remove the foil
It doesn’t matter if you cut the foil above or below the lip, although tradition is to cut below.
Using your wine-key
Insert the worm off-center at a 45° angle and rotate the screw until the worm is about 95% of the way in. Slowly pull the cork out to reduce breakage.
Standard pour
The standard serving size for wine is 5-6oz or 150-180 ml. Dry wines average 130-175 calories per glass depending on alcohol level.
Opening Sparkling Wine
The cage
Remove the foil and untwist tab 6 times. Keep your thumb on cage and cork – they will come off together.
Twist
With one hand firmly holding the cork, and cage, use your other hand to rotate the bottom of the bottle.
Release
When the cork pushes, resist it and slowly release it.
Keep bottle at a 45° angle for a second or two
after
you remove the cork.
Aerating Wine to improve
Aroma and Flavor
Which decanter?
Get one you love. It’s wise to get one that’s easy to fill, pour and rinse. A wine aerator is technically more efficient although not as stately.
What to decant?
All red wines can be aerated. An aerated wine won’t store open for long, so be sure to decant only what you plan to drink. Use an aerator to accelerate the process.
Pour
For increase air-to-wine contact, pour wine so it distributes on the sides of the glass as it fills.
Wait
The bolder and more concentrated the wine, the longer you should wait. 15-30 minutes is a good starting point.
