A lifetime of love affair in a one night stand
How to properly breathe, decant and store wine — eight practical tips from The Wine Monk for getting the most from every bottle.
Written by The Wine Monk · Singapore
All about wine storage, drinking, allowing the wine to breathe and appropriate serving temperature
Wine and Oxygen are to each other what two people attracted to each other for the first time are. As soon as a bottle is opened and starts to come in contact with Oxygen, it starts to change itself. A wine bottle opened for just 20 mins can sometimes taste nothing like its 20-minute-earlier self. It's to do with the release of aromas and flavors as the oxygen interacts with the wine. And the one that has been allowed to breathe and live for a couple of hours, will blow her more expensive and illustrious siblings out of the water.
However, much like too much of a lover, too much oxygen is bad for the wine. It's rare to see the same sparks fly again the next day and almost impossible to see any kind of passion left the day after that.
A big culprit that 'tips us over' these days, is the generous use of gimmicky gadgets that sometime provide false sense of comfort — to pour out or preserve any type and age of bottle. Not so well known is that an unchecked and rampant use of decanters for old, aged, trophy bottles can also do the same damage.
While using a decanter can be great for a young wine to bring her around faster, we would strongly discourage, no, entreat, earnestly plead you to spare that beloved decades-aged bottle this shock. Let the beauty that has waited all these years come around on her own, little by little, glass by glass.
Some tips to enhance the pleasure, enjoy the tryst
- Buy from suppliers who are as passionate about your wine as you are, and who refuse to cut corners on shipping.
- Store the wine in wine cellars preferably below 16°C (Champagne and sparkling wine should actually be stored much lower).
- Open the bottle 15-20 mins before you drink. If you stored it in the refrigerator, give it at least 30-45 mins.
- If it's a young wine, decanting is fine. Do it slowly and be mindful of the sediments.
- Consider placing the opened bottle near where the air conditioner vents are.
- Consider buying a cheap manual vacuum pump for your leftovers and try to consume within a few days.
- Never store an opened/half-drunk bottle lying down even with the vacuum stopper.
- If you don't have a wine cellar, put that vacuum stopper and store it in the refrigerator.
Lastly, the same bottle can taste much better when it is shared in the company of friends. You have worked hard all year round. Take a break and invite that friend over.
