Serving wine — temperature, glasses and decanting

Temperature

Temperature changes a wine more than most people expect. Too warm, and a red tastes heavy and jammy, with the alcohol sticking out. Too cold, and any wine goes quiet, while a red’s tannin, the drying grip of over-brewed black tea, turns hard. A rough guide:

Style	Serve at about
Sparkling wines, such as Cava and Prosecco	6–8 °C
Sweet whites, such as a sweet Moscatel	6–8 °C
Light, crisp whites and rosados	8–10 °C
Fuller or oaked whites	10–12 °C
Fino and Manzanilla	7–9 °C
Light reds: Pinot Noir, Mencía, young Bobal, Garnacha or Tempranillo	14–16 °C
Fuller reds: Crianza, Reserva, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Monastrell	16–18 °C
Pedro Ximénez	12–14 °C

“Room temperature” dates from chilly stone houses. In a warm flat, especially in a Valencian summer, a red on the worktop is too warm; roughly half an hour in the fridge puts it right. Whites and sparkling wines take longer, around two hours in the fridge, or roughly 15 to 20 minutes in an ice bucket with ice and cold water, which chills far faster than ice alone. A white with no smell at all straight from the fridge is usually just too cold; it opens up after a few minutes in the glass.

Glasses

One all-purpose wine glass is enough: clear, with a stem and a bowl that narrows towards the top to hold in the aromas.

Pour to about a third, which leaves room to swirl.
Hold it by the stem: a hand round the bowl heats the wine.
Sparkling wine works in a flute or in a white-wine glass, which shows more of the aroma.
Fortified wines are stronger, usually 15% vol or more, so use a smaller glass and pour less. Fino and Manzanilla traditionally come in a copita, a small, narrow glass.
Rinse off every trace of detergent: any film left behind flattens bubbles.

Opening a bottle

A simple lever corkscrew, the kind waiters carry, does the job: cut the foil below the lip, screw into the centre of the cork until one twist is left showing, then lever it up slowly. Screw caps are no sign of lower quality; many producers choose them to keep wines fresh and avoid the musty fault a bad cork can cause.

Sparkling wines, such as Cava, are under real pressure, so take your time:

Chill the bottle well and don’t shake it, or it may foam over.
Remove the foil and, while untwisting the wire cage, keep your thumb pressed on the cork.
Aim the bottle away from people and lamps, at an angle.
Grip the cork, under a napkin if you like, and turn the bottle slowly.
Let the cork ease out: aim for a gentle sigh, not a pop.

Pour slowly into a tilted glass, letting the foam settle.

Decanting

Decanting means pouring wine into a jug or carafe before serving it, and most wines don’t need it. A young, firm red with plenty of tannin may soften a little if poured into a jug a while before the meal, though the change is often small.

Older reds, such as a mature Gran Reserva, may have a dark, gritty sediment. The day before, stand the bottle upright so the deposit sinks to the bottom. Then transfer the wine to the jug in one slow, unbroken pour, watching the neck (a torch underneath helps), and stop when the first dark wisps reach it.

Very old wines are fragile and can fade if opened too early, so open them shortly before serving and decant at the last minute, if at all.

When a wine seems wrong

Corked. Not bits of cork in the glass, but a musty smell of damp cardboard or a closed-up cellar, with the fruit flattened. It usually comes from a contaminated cork, not from anything you did, and air won’t fix it.
Vinegar or browning. A vinegary smell, or a white or young red turning brownish, usually means too much air. See how to tell when an open bottle has gone off.
Not a fault. Tiny clear crystals, like coarse salt, can form under the cork or at the bottom of a white when wine gets very cold. They are natural, like the sediment in older reds; leave them in the bottle.

In a restaurant, the taste you’re offered is a check for faults, not for your preferences. If the wine smells musty or wrong, it’s fine to say so politely and ask for it to be replaced. Not liking a style isn’t a fault.

Enjoy it responsibly

WeWine is for adults aged 18 and over.
Put water on the table alongside the wine.
Smaller pours are fine, and so is leaving a glass unfinished.
Alcohol-free choices are always welcome, so offer some too.
If you’re driving, don’t drink.
If you’re pregnant, taking medication or worried about your drinking, skip the wine and talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
In an emergency in Spain, call 112.
Never pressure anyone to drink, and don’t top up a glass without asking.