| Wine FAQs |
| 1. How do you open a bottle of wine? |
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There are many different kinds of corkscrews, however the favorite is still the traditional waiter's corkscrew:
The traditional waiter’s corkscrew has four components:
- 1) The main body, usually slightly curved to fit better to the palm of the hand.
- 2) A fold-away foil cutter blade.
- 3) A screw
- 4) A hinged lever, to provide leverage so the cork can be pulled up and removed.
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To open a wine bottle, we must first use the blade to cut-off the foil around the top of the bottle. Be careful to remove enough foil (about ½” from the top) so that the wine doesn’t come in contact with the foil when the wine is poured.
Next, insert the tip of the screw at the center of the cork’s surface and insert the rest of the screw by slowly turning clockwise. Don’t introduce the screw all the way through the cork to avoid cork particles falling in the wine.
Finally, rest the small hook in the lever on the tip of the bottle to create a pivot point and pull out the cork. |
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| 2. What kind of glass is used to drink wine? |
 Wine glasses must be plain and transparent, so that you can appreciate the wine’s color, and made of glass or crystal. Wine glasses must also have a stem to hold the glass without warming the wine with the heat of your hands. |
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| 3. How do you pour wine? |
 Wine must be poured slowly toward the center of the glass. The glass should be filled only up to slightly below the widest section of the glass (usually less than half a glass), so that the guest can swirl the wine without risk of spillage (see section Tasting Wine). Finish pouring the wine tilting the tip of the bottle upwards and slightly rotating your hand, so that the wine doesn’t drip. |
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| 4. At what temperature should wine be served? |
 The temperature at which wine is served has a tremendous impact on its taste. Serving wine too cold or too warm will negatively affect its taste and qualities.
A conventional rule of thumb is that red wine should be served at room temperature while white wine should be served chilled. However, we need to be more precise, since room temperature varies from city to city and season to season, and some refrigerators may be set too cold.
On average, for best results, wine must be served at the following temperatures:
- 1. Sparking Wine: 9˚ C
- 2. White Wine: 12˚ C
- 3. Rose Wine: 11˚ C
- 4. Red Wine: 17˚ C
Slight variations of less than +/-10% are acceptable. |
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| 5. How to taste wine? |
The first step when tasting one is to inspect the cork. The cork must be intact and the only trace of wine must be at the bottom of the cork. If the cork appears moist, cracked or has wine stains on the sides or top, it most likely means that the wine has been exposed and is not in good condition.
Another possibility is that the cork is hard and dry; a dry cork won’t be air tight and may be the sign of an exposed wine. You can also give the cork a quick sniff to see if you detect a moldy smell, which is a sure sign that wine has gone bad.
If the cork seems OK, the next step is to pour a small amount of wine into the glass and swirl it vigorously by lightly pressing the bottom of the glass against the table and follow with a circular motion of your hand (be careful not to spill the wine). By swirling the wine, you will increase the wine’s surface of contact with the air and allow it to release its aroma.
You can then pour more wine into the glass (about one third full, but never more than half) and proceed to enjoy your wine. If you have guests, serve the women and older persons first, followed by the rest of the people and you at the end.
You can continue to swirl the wine and bringing your nose close to the glass to feel the wine's aroma before sipping it. |
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| 6. How long can you keep wine once the bottle has been opened? |
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 Keep wines up to 3 days after the bottle has been opened. Once a bottle of wine is opened, the oxygen in the air starts a process that initially softens the flavors and opens up the aromas of the wine. You can (and usually should) refrigerate recorked bottles.
An opened bottle of wine can be stored as:
You can store an open bottle of wine if it is re-corked and placed in the refrigerator for up to 5 days without a negative effect on the wine's taste. Just remember to remove the bottle from the refrigerator with enough time for the wine to achieve its optimal temperature. |
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| 7. Food and wine pairing |
 White Wine:
Chicken Tikka Masala / Makhani, Tandoori fish / prawns, Reshmi Kebab, coriander chicken, Malabar prawn / chicken curry (coconut milk based), sag aloo /paneer, channa masala, samosas/pakoras, chicken / lamb vindaloo
Red Wine:
tandoori chicken / paneer, mutton roganjosh, chicken tikka, Paneer Tikka, kadhai ghosht, Kadhai Paneer
Rose Wine:
Biriyani, Chettinad Chicken, chicken/lamb curry dishes (tomato based), Hara bara kabab, lamb cutlets |
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| 8. How to store wine? |
The key to understanding proper wine storage is to know what the enemies of wine are. They are heat, light, oxygen, low humidity, vibration.
Wine must be stored in a cool place away from direct sunlight. Ideally, wine bottles should be stored on their side so that the wine keeps the cork moist and air tight. A cork drying out will lead to its shrinkage and possibly Oxygen entering the bottle, resulting in oxidized wine.
In the last few years, portable wine cellars have become popular. These small refrigerators can be set up at the optimal wine temperature and can store a few or many bottles of wine. |
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| 9. Health benefits |
 Drinking wine in moderation (a glass of two each day) has proven health benefits. These include
- 1. Anti-aging effects in red grape skins (Harvard Medical School in Boston, 2004)
- 2. Improved lung function from antioxidants in white wine (American Thoracic Society, 2002)
- 3. Coronary heart disease reduced (University of California, Davis, 1995)
- 4. Healthier blood vessels in elderly (University of Ferrara in Italy, 2004)
- 5. Ulcer-causing bacteria reduced (American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2003)
- 6. Cancer cells killed by protein in red grape skins (University of Virginia Health System, 2004)
- 7. Stroke Prevention: Arteries kept clean by polyphenols in red grape skins (William Harvey Research Institute, 2002)
- 8. Decreased ovarian cancer risk (The Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Australia, 2004)
- 9. Stronger bones (Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology Unit, St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, 2004)
- 10. Lower risk of stroke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2001)
- 11. Lower risk of heart attack for men with high blood pressure (Worcester Medical Center in Massachusetts, 2004)
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| 10. What does "vintage" mean? |
| The vintage year on a wine label is the harvest year of the grapes from which the wine was made. The characteristics of a particular vintage year are determined by the weather conditions and resulting grape crop for that year. |
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| 11. Are there rules to knowing which vintages are better for which wine regions? |
| The characteristics of a particular vintage are determined by the quality of that year’s grape crop. Improvements in wine making over the years have made vintage year less central to choosing a wine produced in most wine regions. Vintages are more important when collecting more expensive wines, especially those designed to be aged, and in growing regions where a less than satisfactory growing season is not compensated for using innovative wine making technology or practices. |
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| 12. Where does cork come from? |
| Corks are produced from the bark of a tree grown in the western Mediterranean. It is unique in that it can be peeled from the tree without hurting the tree. |
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| 13. Why is cork used to stop wine bottles? |
 Cork is used to stop wine bottles because its structure renders it light, elastic, and impermeable to most liquids and gases. |
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| 14. Why are some wines white, some red, and some pink? |
| White wines are generally made with grapes with yellow or green skins. White wines can also be made from black-skinned grapes if the juice is separated from the grape skins early enough–i.e., before fermentation. Red wines get their color from being fermented in contact with the skins of dark grapes. Rosé gets its pink color by either a short contact time with the skins of dark-colored grapes before fermentation or by mixing finished red wine with finished white wine. |
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| 15. What are sulfites and should I be worried about them? |
| Sulfite is a term used to describe sulfur dioxide and other sulfur derivatives. Sulfites are found in all wines as they are a natural product of fermentation. Only 1% of the population is allergic to sulfites. |
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| 16. Is wine fattening? |
| Wine is fat free and contains no cholesterol. |
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| 17. I’ve heard that drinking wine, especially red wine, is good for me. Is this true? |
| There has been more and more consensus in the last few years within the scientific community and governmental and public health circles that moderate wine consumption is in fact associated with a number of positive health outcomes. |
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