How to Serve Wine

Seems like serving wine should be easy enough: Just open and pour. But have you ever had a glass of wine that came highly recommended but was underwhelming to you, or been disappointed by a wine you had loved previously? Maybe the wine wasn’t served in a way that let it shine.

Temperature and glassware can significantly affect a wine’s aromas and flavors. Understanding how and why will help you decide what’s best for your particular wine and occasion.

And if you’ve ever struggled with a crumbling cork or been stymied by an unfamiliar closure or an inadequate corkscrew, here are some guidelines for opening any bottle with ease and grace.

TEMPERATURE: THINK LIKE GOLDILOCKS

When it comes to serving temperature, a wine should be just right. Too hot and the wine’s alcohol will be emphasized, leaving it flat and flabby. Too cold and the aromas and flavors will be muted and, for reds, the tannins may seem harsh and astringent. Serving a wine at toasty room temperature or straight out of the fridge isn’t ideal. What’s “just right” for you is a matter of individual taste, but here are some general guidelines:

Light white wines, rosés and sparkling wines:
Serve at 40° to 50° F to preserve their freshness and fruitiness, and to keep bubbles fine rather than frothy. Think crisp Pinot Grigio and Champagne. This is also a good range for white dessert wines; sweetness is accentuated at warmer temperatures, so chilling them preserves their balance.
Full-bodied white wines and light, fruity reds:
Serve at 50° to 60° F to pick up more of the complexity and aromatics of a rich Chardonnay or to make a fruity Beaujolais more refreshing.
Full-bodied red wines and Ports:
Serve at 60° to 65° F—cooler than most room temperatures and warmer than an ideal cellar—to make the tannins in powerful Cabernet or Syrah feel more supple and de-emphasize bitter components.

Need a quick fix? If the wine is too warm, immerse it in a mix of ice and cold water, which is much more effective than just ice—about 10 minutes for a red to 30 minutes for a Champagne. If the wine is too cold, place it briefly in a bucket of warm water or just pour it into glasses and cup your hands around the bowl to warm it up. Keep in mind that a wine served cool will warm up in the glass, while a wine served warm will only get warmer.

OPENING THE BOTTLE: PULL IT, POP IT OR DO THE TWIST

Most wines are finished with a cork of some type—all natural cork, composite cork or a synthetic—covered by a capsule of either metal or plastic. To open:

Remove the top part of the capsule, cutting it around the neck just below the lip of the bottle.
Wipe the top of the bottle with a damp towel or cloth if necessary.
Use a corkscrew to remove the cork. There are several different models of corkscrew available (more on those later); the choice is a matter of individual taste.
Pour a small taste and check that the wine is in good condition—beware of musty aromas or those of old, browned, cut fruit—before serving.

You don’t have to smell or inspect the cork once it’s removed. A cork that smells bad, is dried out or crumbly or shows signs of a leak may indicate the wine is flawed, but that’s not always the case. Smelling and tasting the wine is the best way to verify that.

Champagne and sparkling wines have a different type of closure—no corkscrew needed here—and must be handled carefully since the contents are under pressure and a flying cork could cause injury. Make sure the wine is well-chilled and hasn’t been jostled much before opening, so the bubbles don’t froth out the top. To open:

Remove the foil.
Make sure the bottle is pointing away from anyone or anything breakable.
Place a thumb over the metal crown to prevent the cork from ejecting and loosen the wire fastener with the other hand.
Without removing the wire, keep one hand on top of the cork. Grip the bottle firmly about two-thirds of the way down with the other hand.
Turn the bottle, slowly releasing the cork. Aim for a gentle sigh, not a loud pop.
To avoid overflowing the glass, pour a little Champagne, wait a few seconds for the froth to settle, then continue pouring to about two-thirds full.

Screw caps have become popular as a way to better preserve wines; you’ll find twist-offs most commonly on white wines where freshness is a key consideration, but even on high-end reds worth aging. An enthusiastic twist and a “Boy, that was easy!” will probably do. Grab the cap firmly with one hand, twist the bottle with the other, and make a “crack” noise (the closest you can get to a cork’s pop) to loosen the seal.

Glass toppers—an elegant stopper that resembles a simple T-shaped decanter top—are another alternative to corks. If you come across a glass topper, you might not know it at first, as they lie underneath the bottle’s foil capsule. No special opener is needed, just flick it off.

WINE OPENERS: BE PREPARED

Assuming that not every wine you buy comes topped with a twist-off, you’re going to need a corkscrew at some point.

One of the most versatile is the waiter’s corkscrew, a compact hinged opener with a spiral screw or “worm” on one end and a lever on the other; these range from basic models under $15 to luxury versions with ivory handles and forged blades. Models with hinged levers come in handy for extracting extra-long corks. Also popular are powerful lever models, which reduce the effort of pulling and make it easier to open a lot of bottles in one night, as do electric wine openers.

Look for an opener with a thin screw or “worm,” which will be gentler on potentially crumbly corks than a thick one. And get one with a foil cutter—whether it’s a serrated blade attached to the corkscrew or a grip-and-squeeze accessory you place over the top of the bottle.

Whatever your preference, it’s always good to have a backup opener on hand to deal with problem cases such as the following:

Crumbling or fragile cork: Rather than forcibly drive a corkscrew into its center, use a two-pronged opener, known as an Ah-So. Starting with the longer prong, slowly slide the prongs into the tight space between the cork and the bottle. Rock it back and forth until the top of the Ah-So is resting on the top of the cork. Twist the cork while gently pulling it up. It takes a couple of minutes, but keeps the cork in one piece.

Broken or loose cork: If a cork breaks apart as you’re pulling it or is moving around the neck of the bottle, reach for a waiter’s corkscrew. Other types of openers may push the cork down into the wine. Insert the worm at a 45-degree angle into the remaining cork or loose cork and then slowly work it out.

WINEGLASSES: SIZE—AND SHAPE—DO MATTER

Glassware influences how you perceive a wine’s color, aromas and taste—so quality is key. Fortunately, there are many wine-friendly options so you can find a glass that balances aesthetic appeal with what you can afford and how much space you have in your cupboards.

Many wine lovers find an all-purpose, everyday wineglass that does the trick for them. In general, look for clear glasses with thin-rimmed, large bowls that hold at least 12 ounces, taper slightly at the top and balance well in the hand.

The clearer the glass, the richer the wine’s color appears. The thinner the rim, the less the glass distracts from the wine as you sip. A large bowl and a narrow opening (but not too small to drink easily from) help magnify the wine’s aromas. Stems keep your hand from smudging the bowl or warming the wine, but stemless glasses have become popular because they are easier to store, dishwasher-friendly and less prone to breakage.

The next step up would be to get an all-purpose red wine glass, an all-purpose white wine glass, and some Champagne flutes. Generally, red wine glasses have larger bowls and wider openings than those for white. Sparkling-wine glasses should hold 6.5 ounces or more and be narrow and tall or tulip-shaped to concentrate the aromas and bubbles.

If it’s within your budget and space to expand from there, there are also wineglasses that are designed to showcase specific types of wines—say, one for Pinot Noir that’s different from one for Cabernet-based wines. They’re certainly an indulgence, but if you try a side-by-side taste test with these differently shaped glasses, you can see how much they influence the way a wine tastes.

Whatever you choose, it’s best not to fill a wineglass more than half full. (Champagne flutes are the exception.) You need to leave enough air space to swirl and release the aromas. Don’t worry about looking stingy with your pours; now that you’re serving your wines in perfect condition, your guests should be getting twice the enjoyment out of every glass!