Page 101 - Terčelj, Dušan. 2015. The Culture of Wine in Slovenia. Edited by Aleš Gačnik. University of Primorska Press, Koper.
P. 101
Recognising a wine
For the proper detection of aromas and flavours and for assessments, wine has to be presented
at the following temperatures:
• dry sparkling wines at 8˚C or less (semi-dry and semi-sweet up to 10˚C)
• bottled white extract wines at 10-12˚C
• white wines with residual sugar at 11-13˚C
• rosé and reddish wines at 11-12˚C
• red wines at 14-15˚C
• full-bodied, extract and old red wines at 15-18˚C.
These temperatures should be adhered to when serving wine with food.
Light white wine is not exspressive if presented at higher temperatures, its acidity can be
too perceptible and the fruity notes are lost. Equally, cold red wines are not drinkable:
they give the impression of being more bitter, even more astringent, than they really are
and the bouquet is not quite so pronounced. When we open a bottle of wine, we put it in a
special vessel: sparkling wine should lie on ice; a bottle of still white wine should be put in
a vessel made of plastic or ceramic that prevents it from getting warm; old red wines with
a sediment are placed in a basket so that the bottle is lying down and the sediment does
not disturb the wine when it is poured. Wine must be poured into glasses carefully, while
it runs clear. It is recommended that old red wines should be decantered into a glass carafe
with a wide bottom, where wine is left for a short time to be aired. This makes the heavy,
sometimes undesirable odours evaporate and the wine aromas become more pronounced.
White wines, particularly young wines, are rich in very volatile flowery and fruity aromas.
These aromas can be enjoyed only in a cooled wine. Stemmed glasses with a tulip shaped
cup must be used, in which the aromas become concentrated. Red wines contain heavier
aromatic substances that are more easily released in contact with air at a slightly higher
temperature. This is why red wine is poured into roundish glasses up to half way, where the
surface of the wine is largest so that it can get more air. Wine should always be poured only
up to the middle of the glass, never to the top. This ensures a better detection of aromatic
substances as we can swirl the wine in the glass.
By origin (or provenance)
The origin or provenance of wine denotes the region, district or locality of the grapes
from which it was made. The soil and climate affect the properties of both grapes and wine.
The same variety of grapes produces different characteristics when grown in different
winegrowing areas. With new technology in viticulture and winemaking these differences
are diminishing. Natural factors have an increasingly less important influence on the
characteristics of wine. This is why the French have added to the term of origin also the
expression “terroir” (environment), i.e. all the factors, including the influence of man
with his viticultural traditions and culture. We could add the influence of fashion, dictated
by competitive trade.
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For the proper detection of aromas and flavours and for assessments, wine has to be presented
at the following temperatures:
• dry sparkling wines at 8˚C or less (semi-dry and semi-sweet up to 10˚C)
• bottled white extract wines at 10-12˚C
• white wines with residual sugar at 11-13˚C
• rosé and reddish wines at 11-12˚C
• red wines at 14-15˚C
• full-bodied, extract and old red wines at 15-18˚C.
These temperatures should be adhered to when serving wine with food.
Light white wine is not exspressive if presented at higher temperatures, its acidity can be
too perceptible and the fruity notes are lost. Equally, cold red wines are not drinkable:
they give the impression of being more bitter, even more astringent, than they really are
and the bouquet is not quite so pronounced. When we open a bottle of wine, we put it in a
special vessel: sparkling wine should lie on ice; a bottle of still white wine should be put in
a vessel made of plastic or ceramic that prevents it from getting warm; old red wines with
a sediment are placed in a basket so that the bottle is lying down and the sediment does
not disturb the wine when it is poured. Wine must be poured into glasses carefully, while
it runs clear. It is recommended that old red wines should be decantered into a glass carafe
with a wide bottom, where wine is left for a short time to be aired. This makes the heavy,
sometimes undesirable odours evaporate and the wine aromas become more pronounced.
White wines, particularly young wines, are rich in very volatile flowery and fruity aromas.
These aromas can be enjoyed only in a cooled wine. Stemmed glasses with a tulip shaped
cup must be used, in which the aromas become concentrated. Red wines contain heavier
aromatic substances that are more easily released in contact with air at a slightly higher
temperature. This is why red wine is poured into roundish glasses up to half way, where the
surface of the wine is largest so that it can get more air. Wine should always be poured only
up to the middle of the glass, never to the top. This ensures a better detection of aromatic
substances as we can swirl the wine in the glass.
By origin (or provenance)
The origin or provenance of wine denotes the region, district or locality of the grapes
from which it was made. The soil and climate affect the properties of both grapes and wine.
The same variety of grapes produces different characteristics when grown in different
winegrowing areas. With new technology in viticulture and winemaking these differences
are diminishing. Natural factors have an increasingly less important influence on the
characteristics of wine. This is why the French have added to the term of origin also the
expression “terroir” (environment), i.e. all the factors, including the influence of man
with his viticultural traditions and culture. We could add the influence of fashion, dictated
by competitive trade.
97
