Tips on Improving Your Wine-Drinking Experiences

Tips on Improving Your Wine-Drinking Experiences

Whether you’re enjoying a tasting at a vineyard or sampling some wines at a fancy restaurant, you want to ensure that you thoroughly enjoy your wine-drinking experience.  Here are just a few tips to help make your tasting experience the best it can be for the ultimate treat!

* Make sure you are comfortable.

Hopefully the location you are at is the room temperature, and you are relaxed and comfortable.  Preferably you are able to enjoy nice seating and are not required to sit on hard stools or benches during your visit.  Lighting should also be “just right” to avoid stressing your senses.  The room or environment should not be too bright or too dim.  If you are outdoors at a vineyard where the sun is shining bright, seek shade or step indoors if the lighting is too harsh.

* Eat appropriate foods before your tasting.

It is important that you do not drink wine on an empty stomach.  This can provide an unsettling feeling, making you uncomfortable and causing you to feel the wine “buzz” earlier than expected.  Eat appropriate foods that are light yet filling before you taste wine to ensure your stomach can absorb the alcohol at a more “pleasing” rate.

* Let wine breathe and don’t drink too slowly.

Many wines need a few minutes to breathe once they are poured.  However, don’t take too long to enjoy that first drink or to finish off the wine glass.  This may cause the wine to warm up too much and drastically affect the taste, aromas, and finish of the wine.

* Enjoy a glass of water with your wine.

It is never a good idea to be thirsty when sampling wine.  Water can also help cleanse the palette a little before tasting a different sample.  It is also important to alternate wine and water to stay hydrated and reduce the chance of experiencing “wine head” later in the evening or the next morning.  It can keep you from getting too buzzed off of several glasses of wine when cutting eight ounces of water between glasses.

* Enjoy the environment around you.

Whether you’re sitting at a vineyard at sundown enjoying a flight of wines or sharing an intimate date with a loved one at a nice restaurant, use all your senses to take in your environment.  Feel the soft breeze and the warmth of the sun, or soak in the crystal wine glasses and music at the restaurant.  Sometimes, experiences are made better with a relaxing, positive environment.  Take in the moment as you take in the wine!

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