BonTon Wine
A small school of wine bon ton
Wine should be pleasure, which is why it should be treated with special care, there are a few rules to make the most of what it can provide.
Imagine you invited dear guests to dinner. You came up with dinner, but what wine will you serve? Do you have right glasses for white or red wine? Want to be a real host and present wine in a professional way? Or do you go to a restaurant and you are not sure which wine to choose with a meal or how to taste wine? Continue reading…
Wine and food
The old bon ton rule dictates red wine with venison and red meat, and white wine with white meat and fish menu. We bring you even more detailed tips to properly serve and combine wine and food.
Although you can always rely on the old bon ton rule that red meat and venison go well with red and white and fish with white wines, or on a completely new one that you should rely only on your own palate and judgment, there are more specific tips:
Appetizers
Lighter wines are served with appetizers. Stick to serving dry white wines, roses or sparkling wines with lighter appetizers, and lighter red wines with stronger meat appetizers.
Cheeses
Cheese is accompanied by sweeter white wines, while those with an intense taste are stronger than white wines. Mild-tasting cheeses can go well with red wines.
Main meal
White fish and seafood – are served with moderately strong white wines, broths and various blue fish dishes, dry and red wines .
Pasta with red sauces (meat) – red wines, and with white sauces and cheese medium strong white wines. The pizza goes beautifully with light young red wines.
Desserts are looking for sweet wines, especially fruit desserts with slightly more acidic wines with fruity aromas.
Wine and temperature
Each wine has an optimal drinking temperature at which its properties, aromas are best expressed and therefore: Temperature at which a certain type of wine is served:
Sparkling wines are served chilled at a temperature of 6 ° and drunk at 8 ° C
Dry white wines and rosés are served at temperatures up to 10 ° C and consumed at 12 ° C
Young red wine is served at 15 degrees C and drunk at 18 ° C
Old sparkling wine is served at temp. from 17 ° C, and drinks at 20 ° C
The wine is always served a little colder so that during drinking it is heated to the ideal temperature.
"People are like wine - if they get better with age, then they are very high quality"
-Philippe Bouvard
Wines and glasses
Unlike, for example, a martini glass (whose edges are tilted “outwards”), the vertical edges of a wine glass are tilted “inwards”. This allows the aromas of the alcohol to be concentrated around the very edge of the glass. This means that when we point the nose towards the middle of the glass, the sharpness of the ethanol (alcohol) is reduced, which makes the aromas of the wine more pleasant.
One of the more important rules of bon ton is knowing the types of glasses in which you serve wine and its quantity.
- serve the wine in wine glasses in the shape of a tulip (narrowing at the top prevents the loss of aroma) on the stand (holding the glass to the stand prevents the wine from heating up),
- for red wines, choose larger glasses made of slightly thicker glass than for white wines, while avoiding those made of tinted, colored and ground glass, because wine is also enjoyed with the eyes
- As a rule, serve red wines in larger and even large glasses with a pronounced belly shape and narrowing towards the top, which with their shape preserve the aroma that is released faster in red wine,
- serve white and rosé wines in similar, but slightly smaller and narrower glasses that narrow slightly in the upper part, and sparkling wine in very narrow and high glasses so that the bubbles are released upright and kept as long as possible,
- after washing, rinse the wine glasses well and wipe them with a clean kitchen cloth to remove the remnants of detergent that can damage the aroma.
Proper glass holding
One of the basic rules of wine bon ton is how to behave nicely with a glass of wine in hand.
In addition to proper posture, it is important to keep the glass clean, so a towel should be served at the table before each sip. Be sure to hold the glass by the foot. In some cases, especially when the wine is tasted standing, the glass may be held by the base. Properly holding the glass does not heat your wine, does not leave fingerprints and allows the caterer to see the amount of wine you have.
Improper posture is also a sign of inappropriate attitude towards wine because it is not possible to enjoy the appearance and appearance of wine.
Second most important: the glass must never be empty!
Wine and behavior
If you are having dinner or a special gathering, it is your turn to check the glasses before the arrival of the guests, serve the wine in the original bottle, and pour it into the appropriate bottle on the table. Before serving the wine to your guests, taste it and make sure it is of the right quality and temperature.
Bottle should be turn with the label facing upwards, so that it is visible, and the bottle must not touch the glass. Also pay attention to the filling of the glasses, check out our pictures – to always know which measure is sufficient and according to bon ton depending on the wine and the glass. Sparkling wine glasses are filled up to 3/4, red wine glasses up to 1/3, and white wine glasses 1/2.
When serving a new different wine, be sure to change the glasses. Do not add wine to half-empty glasses because the wine is enjoyed slowly. It is important to know that the sound knock is reserved only for special festive occasions, while in all other cases it is enough to just silently touch or just touch the glass one on another.
Wine tasting in the restaurant
For many people, ordering wine in a restaurant awakens nervousness and fear that they will not choose the right wine. The dish is chosen first, then the appropriate wine or more. As many courses as possible, both white and red wine are served at the same time.
The most expensive wines are not necessarily the best wines, and talking about the price of wine is not a taboo topic. Make sure that the service of pouring quality and premium wines by the glass is available in your restaurant.
The waiter brings you wine and shows you the cork. He quickly looked at the label, confirmed the selection and stopped at the year of harvest, and said it in a low voice, so that those interested could register the information.
Wine opening and quality control
The next step is to open the wine and check the quality, the waiter uncorks the bottle and smells the cork. After smelling the cork, you should leave it on the table so you can inspect the cork too, it should be the same color and a damp, dry and damaged cork with an unpleasant odor probably hides the rotten wine. In that case, the waiter will bring you a new bottle.
Then it is time to tasting wine. First you have to look at the light to establish color and clarity. The glass is shaken or twisted and the wine is smelled. A sip of wine is discreetly poured into the mouth and thus encircles the tongue, and is swallowed. After accepting the wine, the waiter pours wine to the guests.
Wine tasting and the basics of wine bon ton are simple and quick to apply. When it comes to wine, no one should be in a spasm, everyone can enjoy drinking wine.
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