Serving Wine - Preparing the Wine
Temperature has an important influence on wine for the whole of its
life, from fermentation, through its cask and bottle life, right to the
moment it is served. Different wines react in different ways to the
influence of temperature, but a rule for them all it is that a wine
should not be served too cold, for bouquet will not readily be given up
at very low temperature. Warm champagne may seem nauseating, but
champagne that is too cold will be tasteless. The ideal temperature for
a dry white or a champagne is about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. All dry reds,
sweet dessert wines and brandy should be served at not less than
75-80°F. Sherry, strange as it may seem, often tastes better when served
a little cooler than 75-80°F.
Bring your dry reds and dessert wines from the cellar, or from the
cupboard and let them stand upright all day in the dining room. This
will have the twofold effect of allowing any floating sediment to settle
to the bottom of the bottle and of bringing the wine to the temperature
of the room. The dry whites and the champagne may be put into the
refrigerator for an hour or two, or preferably, stood in an ice bucket
for 20-30 minutes before serving.
Open the dry reds two or three hours before they are to be served. The
same should be done with the dry whites if they are to be cooled in an
ice bucket. Leaving the wine open for this short time will dispel any
"bottle stink" there may be. The dessert wines, but not of course the
champagne, may be opened for hours, or days, before being drunk, without
spoiling.
There are few rules for serving wine at the table: passing the port to
the left may well remain the preserve of societies to whom traditional
habits are necessary for the fulfilment of an occasion. Graham McInnes
(quoted at the beginning of this chapter) reports the distress of a
guest at lunch, asking plaintively to have the port "passed" to him
because he could not bear so to offend tradition as to reach for it
himself, although the decanter was quite close to his hand.
One habit in the serving of wines that is worth preserving is that of
the host pouring first from a new bottle a little of the wine for
himself before serving his guests. This is not to test the temperature
or quality of the wine, for he has handled and prepared it himself, and
there is no question of "sending it back". It is done so that the host
will get any small pieces of cork or dust that may have entered the
bottle on opening, and his guests will not. At a restaurant, the waiter
first serves the host so that he may approve the wine and its condition.
If it is pricked (overlong exposed to air or has wept and soured) the
host may require it to be replaced; if it is too cold, or not cold
enough, he may ask for the temperature to be adjusted. A good waiter—and
a good host—will not fill the guests' glasses to the top, for a full
glass allows the bouquet to dissipate easily. Nor will he keep a glass
"topped up", but again part-fill it when empty. If one's guests are
practised in the taking of wine at table, the bottle is best left within
handy reach of all to attend to their own needs as they arise.
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