Presenting wine
The name and vintage of the wine should always be announced, as well as taking precautions when transporting the bottle to make sure it doesn't get shaken up.
White and rosé wines should be placed in a bucket with ice and water, while reds are presented by hand.
Glasses
The shape, size and cleanliness of the glass can affect our appreciation of a wine. Wine glasses should always be placed to the right and water glasses to the left.
They must be made of fine glass, absolutely transparent and colourless. Glasses with a narrow opening are recommended as the wine's aromas can be appreciated more easily.
The glass should be held by the foot or stem (not by the bowl) to make sure your hand doesn't warm up the wine.
Serving temperature
High temperatures show up a wine's defects, also increasing the sweet sensation of the sugar and the alcohol, producing a suffocating effect. On the other hand, bitter and astringent sensations are more marked at lower temperatures.
Regarding the recommended temperature:
- Young whites, Fino and Manzanilla sherries: 7-10 °C
- Aged whites: 10-12 °C
- Rosé: 10-12 °C
- Young reds: 12-15 °C
- Aged reds: 16-18 °C
- Sparkling: 6-9 °C
Uncorking the wine
We must always remember that the foil should be cut under the rim of the neck to stop the wine from coming into contact with it. The bottle's neck should also be cleaned.
Make sure the corkscrew doesn't pass all the way through the cork, otherwise bits of cork could fall into the wine.
The cork should be smelled as it may have turned, transferring unpleasant smells to the wine.
Decanting
A wine can be decanted for two reasons:
- To separate it from the sediment (bitartrates or colour sediments).
- To oxygenate it in order to help release the aromas, in wines with a very marked "reduction" (enclosed wines).
Storing wine
Good cellar conditions will lengthen the life of our bottles of wine. It is a good idea to store bottles on their side, at a temperature of between 7 and 18 °C, without any abrupt changes in temperature and where they can't be harmed by direct light. 70% humidity is also recommended.
Bottles should not be stored next to food as this can pass on its aromas to the wine. It's also a good idea to record the date of purchase.
If you don't have a suitable place to store our bottles, it's better to buy the wine from a reliable establishment in small batches to ensure they have been kept under optimum conditions.
