Take The Bottle Of Wine From The Wine Fridge One Hour Before Serving
To reach the proper temperature, it is wise to put the wine out an hour before serving. For people living in warmer climates, you might want to use an ice bucket to keep the wine from heating up too quickly.
Using ice water means the cooler temperatures of the ice can make complete contact with the wine bottle. That means your wine bottle stays at the proper temperature for a more extended period of time.
Red Wine Should Be Served Cool 60 To 70 Degrees
The most common misconception with red wine is that it is ideal to serve it at room temperature, when in fact serving it cool is the best way to enjoy it. To cool red down to its proper temperature, we like to place it in the fridge an hour before serving it. For quicker results, you can put it in the freezer for just 15 minutes. After opening and either decanting or pouring the first glasses, just as with white we like leaving the wine out on the table to slowly warm.
Core Grapes & Wines
Should Your Chardonnay Be Chilled In A Wine Cellar
If you spend less than $1,000 per year on wine, skip to the next section.
Beginner wine collectors who have less than 50 bottles of wine should buy a wine fridge. If you have a larger wine collection and additional money to spend on your wine hobby, building a wine cellar might make sense.
Aside from budget and wine collection size, building a wine cellar only makes sense if you plan to collect and age wines. Suppose you buy affordable wines and drink each bottle within a few weeks , a wine cellar does not make sense for your situation.
There are two ways to approach a wine cellar: rent space in a commercial wine cellar or build one in your home. Before even considering a wine cellar in your home, you need to know about the costs.
Renting space in a commercial wine cellar or storage company is a far better option. According to wine expert Jancis Robinson, the cost of wine storage varies depending on the volume of wine you store. Abbey Winery Services, based in Oregon, charges a minimum monthly fee of $20 per month, while Chelsea Wine Storage, located in Manhattan, costs much more . Still, they offer more to customers, such as a tasting room and easy access for New Yorkers. Note that some commercial wine storage services include insurance and delivery. Commercial wine storage makes sense if you plan to collect wine as a potential investment.
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Use The Right Corkscrew For The Task
Choosing the right corkscrew depends on the type of bottle you are going to open and the setting in which it will be tasted. It is also a matter of personal choice, a mark of your signature style as a sommelier. Among the different mechanisms that can be used to open a bottle of wine, choose the one that best represents your story and personality, as it will remain one of your most important tools as a master of ceremonies celebrating the nectar of the gods.
Wine enthusiasts strive to collect all the different types of wine openers and have one of each ready in their specialist toolkit so that they can mix things up and handle any situation. Whatever your wine tool of choice, it is essential not to damage the cork when opening the bottleif a few crumbs of cork fall into your wine, you wont be able to drink it!
How To Serve & Present White Wine
The ideal serving temperature varies based on the type of white wine. In general, it is best to serve most white wines chilled but not cold. The ideal temperature is usually between 10°C and 13°C .
Present white wine in its bottle. After opening the bottle, you should place it in a bucket of water and ice to keep it chilled.
It is good etiquette to open the bottle at the dining table.
Serve white wine in white wine glasses, which have a smaller belly than red wine glasses. Hold the bottle , never by its neck or cork. Fill the glass between and ½.
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How Long Should Chardonnay Breathe
Due to its full-bodied texture and deep layers of flavor, Chardonnay is a white wine that will benefit from aeration before drinking. It is advisable to let this wine breathe for at least thirty minutes before drinking. Simply transferring the wine into a carafe should be enough to enhance the flavors. By pouring the Chardonnay slowly into a wide-brimmed carafe, but dont forget to place the carafe in the fridge to aerate because your efforts to enhance the drinking experience will be negated if the Chardonnay becomes warm.
How Does Chardonnay Compare To Other White Wines
Sweet to dry to rich New Zealands white varietals cover a large spectrum. Here are some characteristics to expect from Aotearoas most popular commercial varieties.
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Sauvignon Blanc: Unique, vibrant fruit flavours
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Pinot Gris: Mouth-filling, refreshing acidity and marked fruitiness
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Riesling: From bone dry to lush and sweet
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Gewurztraminer: Breadth and weight, smooth texture, subtle acidity
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Sparkling: Nutty, balanced with fresh fruit.
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Chardonnay Food Pairings Guide: Rules And Recipes
For a Chardonnay lover, its a buzz-kill when your favorite white gets destroyed by the food its served with. One minute youre loving the wines sweet fruit and round, harmonious flavors, and the next it tastes like bitter, alcoholic lemon water. Some white varieties are flexible at the table, and pair well with a wide variety of cuisines.
But Chardonnays subtle nature is easily overwhelmed by pungent foods. Pour it alongside the flavor equivalent of a noisy action flick, and its totally lost. What you want are quiet flavorsmild, subtle foods that are not too spicy, not too pungent and not too acidic. Bonus: pairing Chardonnay with foods that complement its rich, mild flavors makes the meal taste better, too. So here is our advice on how to create the best chardonnay food pairings that will make every bite worth it.
DONT
Do You Chill Chardonnay In The Summer Vs Winter
The season of the year makes a big difference to your wine drinking experience. In the hot summer months, a bottle of wine will turn into warm wine much more quickly. For example, the extreme heat of more than 100 Fahrenheit makes it more challenging to achieve the ideal wine temperature.
In these hot conditions, there are a few things you can do. Wine lovers might decide to use a wine thermometer to precisely measure wine temperature. If you mainly drink inexpensive wines, using a wine thermometer is not worth the effort. Instead, using a wine bucket is a better choice. Fill the bucket with ice water. The combination of water and ice an ice bath in essence keeps the wine immersed in colder temperatures for a longer period.In the winter months, it is much easier to have a chilled bottle. Put the bottle in your kitchen fridge for about 20-25 minutes, and you will have cool wine to serve. In the winter, there is less concern about the wine heating up too quickly. Therefore, you can skip the bucket of ice water.
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Prepare The Wine Glasses
After the table has ordered a wine bottle, you’ll need to choose the right glassware. Wine glasses are designed to enhance the style of wine you’re serving. To learn more about the different types of wine glasses available, check out our wine glass buying guide. Retrieve the glasses and prepare them for service while the guests look at their dinner menus.
- Select the wine glassware – Choose wine glasses that coordinate with the style of wine, whether it’s red, white, or sparkling.
- Inspect the glassware – Make sure each wine glass is free of chips, stains, or blemishes.
- Polish the glassware – Always give the wine glasses a final polish with a clean cloth. Make sure not to leave any fingerprints on the bowl of the glass. Wearing gloves can help with this.
- Place the glassware on a tray – Once the glassware is clean and polished, handle it by the stem and place it on a tray.
- Deliver the wine glasses – Place a wine glass to the right of each guest, being careful to only touch the stem. The position of the wine glass should be identical for each guest. If a guest refuses the glass, discreetly take it away.
What Is Wine Service
Wine service is the ritual of serving a whole bottle of wine to a table of guests. If a guest orders a single glass of wine, the full steps of service are not required. Most wines available by the glass are kept behind the bar, and the bartender pours the single glass for the server to deliver. Proper wine service by the bottle is performed at the table by the server.
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When To Serve & Drink Chardonnay
Chardonnay wines can present very different qualities. Thus, you can find the ideal Chardonnay wine for almost any type of occasion or food pairing.
Many Chardonnay wines can be a great option on formal occasions, such as a formal dinner. At the same time, you can serve Chardonnay at informal gatherings too, such as an aperitivo, a picnic, a barbecue, or a light lunch.
You can serve Chardonnay before the meal, or accompany it to a course or a cheese platter during the meal.
How To Pour Wine
When the wine bottle is open and the host has approved, it’s time to start pouring for the table. Follow these steps to provide a seamless wine pour:
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How To Serve White Wine
Serve white wine with a napkin and ice-bucket.
The rule serving white wine is the same regarding the direction, amount and motion of the pour. But the critical difference is that the wine will need to be kept in an ice-bucket, and will need to be poured with a napkin to prevent the moisture on the bottle from dripping on the table and the guests.
How Should I Serve Chardonnay
Like all whites, Chardonnay should be served chilled. If the wine is too warm, the alcohol tastes hot while the flavors are muddled. Too cold, and the aromas and flavors are muted. The best temperature range is 5055°F, which can be achieved by two hours in the refrigerator or 3040 minutes in an ice-water bath. If you dont finish a bottle of Chardonnay, replace the cork and stick it back in the fridge. The flavors will stay fresh for 24 days. Beyond that, the wine will start to oxidize. At that point, its best used for cooking.
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What Is The Right Way To Use Ice Water To Chill Wine
You might not be familiar with using a container of ice water to keep your creamy Chardonnay at the ideal wine temperature. Keeping Chardonnay cold with ice water is simple. Start with a metal bucket and fill it half full with ice water first. Then add some ice into the bucket. Finally, carefully place the bottle of wine into the ice bucket.
Using a bucket with water and ice together is the recommended approach for a straightforward reason. If you use only ice, there is less contact between ice cubes and the bottle. On the other hand, cold water completely covers the wine bottle on all sides. That means that your container of ice water will cool the wine more quickly.
General Wine Serving Tips
- If you are ever in doubt, serve the wine a few degrees cooler than room temperature. This will allow the release of rich and powerful aromas as the wine warms up to room temperature.
- Still, it would be best if you always poured wines towards the centre of the wine glass.
- It would be best if you always poured sparkling wines against the side of the glass to preserve the bubbles.
- No wine should ever be served over 20C .
- The shape of the wine glass is essential. Wineware has a What Are Wine Tasting Glasses guide to advise you on the appropriate glassware for your wine.
- If you are hosting a dinner party, it is always important to remember to serve wine in the correct order. You should try and serve lighter wines before full-bodied wines and serve chilled wines before those at room temperature.
- If you do not finish a bottle of wine, there are numerous ways to preserve your wine, such as: using wine bottle stoppers, wine shields, wine pumps and argon gas. These preservation methods are cost-effective and ensure the wine does not get wasted.
- Use a high-quality, reliable corkscrew such as a Laguiole en Aubrac or a Pulltap Waiters Friend Double Lever Corkscrew.
- Always have an extra corkscrew!
Wineware is always here to answer any questions you may have, so please contact us if you require further information or advice.
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The Perfect Pairings For Chardonnay Wine
Because Chardonnay has such a vast range of flavors, it is delightfully easy to pair with a variety of foods. All types of seafood are a good place to start, from grilled fish to raw fish to shellfish. White meats like chicken and pork can also work nicely, especially if prepared with a mild, buttery, or creamy sauce. When pairing meats with Chardonnay of any kind, you want to avoid any super sweet sauces. Depending on if your wine is oaked or unoaked, you will be able to play off different nuances when pairing your wine with food. Serve your Chardonnay slightly chilled between 5055 °F to get the most out of it. You can also opt for a Chardonnay wine glass . This will dispense the bold flavors evenly across your palate.
How To Serve Wine Properly
Serving wine properly includes the presenting and pouring of the wine.
Serving wine professionally is a crucial skill in knowing how to serve wine in a restaurant and how to present a wine bottle as a waiter.
The first step in serving the wine is the presentation of the wine. When bringing the bottle to the individual who ordered the wine, it is vital to frame the label with your hands and mention the specific variety, where it is from and the wines vintage.
Once the customer is happy, ensure they have the correct wine glass for their wines and initiate the opening process.
1.Slowly remove the foil top, cutting in neatly below the lip.
2.Insert the corkscrew and slowly remove the cork from the bottle.
3.Most wine connoisseurs will ask to smell the cork, so hand it to them to do so, while you wipe the bottle for any wine droplets.
4.Pour the guest a small sample to check the quality of the wine.
5.Once the client is happy, you can now start pouring for all the guests.
These are the critical steps with knowing how to serve red wine, as most red wines have cork-closures. But with any white wine that has a cork, these steps can also be followed, with a slightly different pouring system with white wine.
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The Best Things To Know About Chardonnay
Karen is a wine, cocktails, and food enthusiast. She holds a California Wine Appellation Specialist certificate from the San Francisco wine school and a Bar Smarts mixology certificate and bartends for charitable events.
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White wine lovers often choose Chardonnay as their favorite wine. Depending on the region grown and the winemaker, a glass of Chardonnay can be toasty and buttery or crisp and refreshing. With so many styles to choose from, it’s hard to believe that winemakers could elicit so many flavors from a single grape.
When To Serve & Drink White Wine
White wines can fit any occasion.
You can and should serve at least one white wine on formal occasions. Such as a formal dinner party.
However, white wine is ideal for most informal occasions too. Serve dry white wine as an aperitif or at an aperitivo. Or at a barbecue, picnic, brunch, or light lunch. Rich or fruity white wine is ideal for pairings with a salad, fish, or seafood course. You can serve sweet white wines to accompany a fruit salad or dessert, or after a meal.
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