Education

How should I store my wine?

Basically, bottles of wine should be stored lying down to prevent the cork from drying out. To avoid the need to search endlessly for the right wine, individual bottles should be kept in a shelf system. Wine should be kept away from direct sunlight, and fluctuations in temperature and vibrations should be avoided. Choose a room where the temperature is constant, preferably less than 15°C.

How to get the best out of your wine

Almost all red wines need air to allow the fine aromas of the wine to come to the fore. Experienced connoisseurs even decant rosé and white wines to allow the full flavour and aroma to develop. Choose clear, undamaged glasses that are as large as possible. Only fill them a third full so that there is plenty of room to swirl the wine around, releasing the aromas and flavours. Ideally, wine glasses should be tulip-shaped so that they direct the full bouquet directly towards your nose.
For sparkling wines and champagne, choose narrow "flutes" that keep the bubbles for a long time.

What can you tell me about the corkscrew?

A good corkscrew is important for both natural and synthetic corks. A bad one can pull the inside of the cork out. Make sure that the corkscrew has a spiral that is open on the inside, so that you can look through it; this will give you a good grip on the cork. The well-known folding "waiters' corkscrew" is often the handiest, simplest and most practical corkscrew, which you should keep within reach at all times.

Colour

When assessing the colour, you should make sure that the light is bright enough to give the best possible impression.

Hold the glass at a slight angle against a white background, and this will give you an idea of the age of the wine. The lighter the colour in the glass, the more lively the flavour will be. Colour in the glass, the more lively the flavour will be.  The darker, more concentrated the colour is, the more powerful the flavour is. With white wines, the intensity of the colour increases with age, and with red wines it decreases. Swirl the glass slightly and look at the "church windows/flow marks" – they will tell you about the alcohol content and density of the wine.

Bouquet

Swirl the glass and inhale the fragrance of the wine – the first impression is the most intensive.

Flavour

Take a generous mouthful and rinse it around your mouth so that all the sensory areas of the tongue and palate are reached. "Chew" the wine a little. If you like, you can also take in a little air too – it "ventilates" the wine and strengthens the flavour.

Overall impression

Pay attention to the end notes – how long does the flavour last? This is an indication of quality. Check whether the elements in the wine (fruit, acid, alcohol, tannin, etc.) are harmoniously balanced. When putting together a menu, the flavour intensity of the wines should increase, rather than decrease.

You may find the following rules useful: Light, fresh wines should be served before the higher - alcohol, luscious wines. Wines with a woody note that you can smell and taste immediately are generally better after more fruity wines. The sweeter a wine is, the later in the meal it should be served. If you can't stick to this rule on occasion, you should include a course that refreshes the tongue and palate a little before you serve a delicate wine. The finesse of a great wine that has matured in the bottle is more effective if you serve it before an equivalent younger wine with a more intensive flavour.