Those who taste wines, with some sort of ritual,have a subtle desire for aesthetic experience. Not everyone is a born connoisseur, but everyone can become one with a chance to experience a subtle and sophisticated pleasure.
Each wine in its specifics is recommended for different times, occasions and with different dishes.
The history of many countries can be read through the history of their wines because of their presence at all important events. Wine in a wine glass tells its wonderful story about the vine germination and blooming, about the quiet work of the land and sun rays helping the grapes grow and reminds about “stormy” fermentation.
Suprisingly, it was not untill the 19th century when the harmony between the meal and wine became important.Evolving catering sector aimed at complete and the longlasting dish and wine unity, and it has secceeded in many cases. Certainly,the most important is individual taste, however to avoid faux pas it is worth remembering a few principles of wine serving:
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the order of wine serving during a meal should include the “big”bottle served with cheese, roast or venison
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each wine served should prepare the palate for the next one. A dish must approprietly match the wine served before and after.Opposites are not always unpleasant if subtle shades of wine colours are preserved.
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white liqueurish “grands vins” wines should never be served with venison or red meat
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reds should never be served with seafood or fish
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wine should always be opened at least 2 hours before being served ( placing the cork on the bottle neck) to let the air in and the flavour and aroma out.
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15 min before the meal with the exeption of champagne and sparkling wines.
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the wine serving temperature should always be kept as recommended
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the wine structure will effectively be presented in a proper wine glass
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when opening the bottle, its neck should be carefully wiped to avoid finding cork particles in the wine
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red wine bottles, stored in a horizontal position, should never be suddenly moved or lifted; and bringing them to a vertical position should be very gentle.
With the respone to the gourmet needs, we would like to mention a few words about champagne. Serving champagne as “brut” or dry with desserts, which themselves are of high sugar content, is a sheer heresy because it tastes immature and acidy and even the most beautiful bottle loses its value.
How and when do we serve champagne then?
Champagne should be served as an aperitif or at least one hour after the main dish, just before the guests leave, on a clean palate. Only then its uniqueness can fully be charished. Champagne can also be served during the main dish, only if started with youger and finishing with “senior” vintages.
The same rule applies also to sparkling wine.Mild natural and liquerish wines such as muscat and banyulus are recommended with very sweet desserts, whilst sauternes,monbazillac,vouvray and liquerish anjou taste the best with semi sweet desserts.
It is advised to have a sip of cold sparkling mineral water every time a different wine is tasted with the meal.
Wines, just as many other products, are classified. For the protection of producers and consuments, as well as for the complete information about wine and its quality in the countries producing it, certain norms have been introduced and are closely followed,and regulate the usage of particular trade marks and cross-references applied to the wine identification. These regulations have been accepted by the Brussels and are to be complied with in all the EU countries producing wines
