When serving wines, the glasses, temperatures and the need or not for decanting are decisive.
The glasses should be made of thin glass, have a stem, be light, transparent and should have no patterns on them. The diameter of the rim should be at least 1/3 smaller than the diameter at the widest part (tulip shaped) to ensure the aromas concentrate around the rim and it is therefore easier to savour them fully.
The glass used for white wine is usually smaller than the one used for red and both are smaller than the glasses used for old and/or full-bodied red wines, where a greater contact surface with the air will help define their aroma and accentuate their gustative characteristics.
Washing the glasses is extremely important and this should be done mainly using running water and a very small amount of gentle neutral washing-up liquid, to prevent the glass from acquiring odours (example: lemon scented washing-up liquid) which will then influence the tasting and appraisal of the wine. The place where the glasses are stored is also important and should be well-ventilated, dry and clean, to avoid the frequent “musty smell” that many glasses acquire when they are not stored properly for a long period of time.
The ideal temperatures for serving are:
White wines - 8 to 12ºC (46 to 54ºF)
Rosé wines - 10 to 12ºC (50 to 54ºF)
Young red wines - 16 to 18ºC (61 to 64ºF)
Old red wines - 18 to 20ºC (over 2 years and aged in wood) (64 to 68ºF)
The time of year also has an impact on the temperature at which the wines should be served; therefore, we should choose the lower boundaries during the summer and the upper ones in the winter, or when tasting takes place in a cold environment.
The temperature of the glasses is also very important, since a warm glass may raise the serving temperature of a white or rosé wine too much, just as a cold glass may spoil the serving of a red wine.
Regarding the order for serving the wines, the following rules apply:
Lighter ones are served before more full-bodied ones.
Dry ones should be served before sweet ones.
Whites before reds.
Younger ones before older ones.
When it appears that a wine has thrown a deposit, or if it has been in the bottle for over two years, it should be decanted to remove that deposit and/ or breathe, eliminating the reduction aromas that form in the bottle.
A younger red wine (2-3 years in the bottle) should not need decanting more than half an hour in advance. An older red wine, which has been in the bottle for 5 to 10 years, may need decanting 1 to 2 hours in advance.
