It's Up to Me

Hello babes! Let’s continue learning a little bit about the wine universe! The picture above is at Banfi Castle,  during my trip to Toscana! The paradise of wine lovers.

 

1) Filling a wine glass

 

The volume to be served in a glass of wine varies according to the type of wine.

Fill red wine glasses 1/3 full, white wine glasses 1/2 full, and sparkling wine 3/4 full.

 

2) Twist

 

Twist the bottle at the end of pouring a glass of wine, to prevent drips. There are a lot of gadgets to help on this time, but a little twist is always a good idea.

 

3) Cheers

 

The Modern Manners experts believe clinking glasses is improper etiquette. They recommend you simply raise your glass… Otherwise, according to French superstition, you’ll risk seven years of bad luck (read: bad sex), if you don’t clink. 

So, let’s clink! And to avoid breaking the glasses the best way to clink is that you aim your wine glass bell (the big round part in the middle) to the bell of your clinking-buddy’s wine glass. Always make eye contact with the other person,  when clinking glasses.

You also should clink glasses individually with each person at the table without crossing anyone’s arms (another French superstition!).

If someone is toasting you (your wedding, your birthday, your general awesomeness), don’t take a sip. Just smile and look humble.

 

4) Don’t smell the cork

 

We’ve all seen movies where a sommelier deftly removes the cork from a bottle of wine and hands it to a diner who takes a whiff before giving the go-ahead to pour. While it certainly looks glamorous, smelling that cork will not tell you anything about the wine. Even if a cork breaks and crumbles into the bottle, always sample the wine before rendering judgment. It would be a shame to miss out on a perfectly good bottle based on the condition of its closure.

 

5) Returning a wine at the restaurant

 

You should only refuse the wine you've chosen if it is faulty. If the wine is perfectly good, but not quite what you wanted, patience. However, if it was the sommelier chose the wine, this change is easier. If you are changing the wine, not on the same label, but by a different wine, the etiquette recommends that you do not get a much cheaper wine, as it can seem that you regretted it the price, not the label. Most restaurants will accept the refusal of the bottle without discussion. If the sommelier disagree with you about the sanity of the wine, he will advise you not to change for another bottle of the same label, because the problem is the incompatibility of the wine with your personal taste. The tolerance on the issue of change varies greatly from restaurant to restaurant. Not everybody follows the motto: "the customer is always right". It's always the conversation, understanding and common sense.

 

Next week we’ll talk about how to taste wines! If you have some questions, please, feel free to send me an email! It’ll be my pleasure to help you!