Virtual Wine Tasting Party: How to Open, Pour, Store, Gift Wine

For your next virtual wine tasting party, here is a roundup of wine tasting tips from Arterra Wines Canada and Erin Henderson, Founder and Chief Sommelier at The Wine Sisters.

1. How to open a bottle of wine with corkscrew

So, no matter what you may have seen on YouTube, it’s not done with teeth, a stiletto heel or a power drill.

Forgetting any party tricks, if you’re thinking of opening wine bottles like a pro then you must get comfy using what’s called a Waiter’s Friend.

The Waiter’s Fried is a one handled, (if possible) 2-levered corkscrew with a hinge that’s used as the standard in the wine industry.

You take off the bottle’s foil via the corkscrew blade and then cut under the bottom lip of the bottom so it won’t drip.

Then you put the pointed end of the corkscrew a bit off center, then twist it in utill you get to the final last curl.

The top lever goes against the bottle’s lip then you pull out the corkscrew halfway, and after that you bend the lever to put the bottom half up against the bottle’s lip, then totally pull it out gently.

Wipe off any debris away from its opening, pour and enjoy.

2. Cork vs screw caps pros and cons

Screw cap tops deliver many benefits including:

• Reducing any cork taint.
• Increasing wine lifespan thanks to the oxygen-free atmosphere a screw cap top offers.
• Less expensive than cork closures, which means the money saved by winemakers (in principle) gets passed to the consumer.
• Simple to open.

3. How much wine do you pour in a glass?

The recommendation is to pour the wine just to about a third of the glass, or right to the glass’ widest section.

This is done because you want to leave the extra space to let the wine breath and open up the flavor.

4. Does decanting wine improve it?

Decanting means you pour the wine out of its bottle and into a different container.

This lets oxygen integrate into your wine. Oxygen permits the wine to unwind and develop its top aromas and flavours just like the dark fruity and lush chocolate notes of a wine called Sandbanks Reserve Baco Noir.

Additional justifications for decanting wine? To get rid of sediment, control the temperature, and great, old-fashioned showmanship.

5. How to open sparkling wine?

• Take off the foil, then untwist the cage (six turns!)
• Maintaining the bottle in a vertical position, put a bar cloth or small towel overtop the cork, then put your thumb overtop the towel.
• Using the opposite hand, twist the bottle (instead of pulling on the cork). It might be difficult to begin with, however with a little effort you begin to notice the cork loosens up and pulls away you’re your bottle.
• Keep the thumb on top of the towel, then gently push against your cork like you’d rather it didn’t pop out of your bottle. That’s so the cork won’t end up sailing like a crazy missile when it comes from your bottle. It also lowers the chances of a spill (you want more wine to drink than to clean up) and lessens the New Year’s Eve bang when the cork pops off.

6. What’s the best wine for hostess gift in a virtual wine tasting party?

Perhaps you want to gift your friend a wine just for coordinating and hosting a wine tasting party.

Gift one costing between twenty and fifty dollars, around the precise amount you’d pay for a restaurant meal (similar to a cash gift for a wedding).

Try to gift some wine your host or hostess likes or maybe some sort of unique special kind of wine like Inniskillin Vidal Icewine.

7. What’s the best temperature for serving wine?

We need to get rid of the idea that wine is served at “room temperature” right now.

That phrase came about in the time people lived inside of stone chateaux and didn’t have central heating.

These days, room temperature is much too hot to serve wine at. Although we don’t have to be too precious regarding it.

Red wine should be served at about 10 to 12°C, with white wines served at between 6 and 8°C.

To simplify things, put red wine in the refrigerator about fifteen minutes prior to serving it and take white wine out of the refrigerator about ten minutes prior to serving it.

8. Does the size and shape of the glass really matter?

In general, people do not have the money, storage room or energy to take proper care of a huge assortment of fancy glassware.

Open some wine you enjoy, have fun and enjoy your evening or virtual tasting party over good conversation.

9. How to store open wine

Red and white wines need the bottle to be resealed with either the cork or screw top and placed into the refrigerator.

The cold slows down oxidization as well as the adverse development of wine.

Red wine will last about two or three more days and white white will last five more days.

If you don’t drink the rest you can still cook with it.

10. How to store wine without a cellar

In terms of storage, you need to be concerned with heat, humidity and light.

You can still store wine for thelong term without a cellar or wine fridge.

An unfinished basement in a quiet, dark and cold corner has the perfect humidity and temperature.

For condos, make use of your closet as a cellar. Other options would be to keep wines secure in cases lined along the bottom of a closet or a window-less area.

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