Wine Tips

• If you're preparing a meal and you want a perfectly chilled bottle of wine waiting, get a bucket or container large enough to hold your wine bottle and fill it halfway with ice and halfway with water. The ice and water combined will chill wine more quickly than ice alone, making it ready-to-serve at mealtime. The wine should be chilled for 20 to 30 minutes. Adding rock salt to the ice and water will speed up the chill process slightly.


• Red wines are thought to be best served at room temperature. Room temperature, when referring to wine actually means cellar temperature. The perfect cellar temperature is around 55 degrees which is perfect for storing wine. Normal room temperatures will produce an unpleasant bite to wines that have been stored in such conditions.


• You should open sparkling wine turning the bottle, while holding the cork tightly. This process puts strain on the bottle instead of the cork, reducing the chance of breaking the cork.


• Sparkling wine should be chilled well before opening. A warmed bottle of sparkling wine is under greater pressure than a well-chilled bottle.


• Serving white wines too cold will cause them to lose their flavor.


• Red wine fresh out of the wine cooler may be too cold, reduce the temperature by placing the bottle in a bucket of tepid water.


• Wine should be stored and chilled away from sources of heat, light and vibrations. These can disturb wine sediments and disrupt the aging process. A cool, dark closet or basement is a great place to store wines if you do not have a wine cooling unit or wine cellar.


• Ideal wine storage temperatures are between 42°F and 65°F. Warm temperatures tend to accelerate the aging process.


• Red wine stains can be reduced by pouring a generous amount of salt on the stain and applying light pressure. Pat the stain down, then leave it alone for 10 minutes. Afterward, scrape away the salt and thoroughly blot the stain with club soda. If the area is carpeted, dry it with a paper towel. For a linen stain, wash it while it is still damp.