That they pour wine. Basic rules of table etiquette part 2

In the legendary book “Camo Coming” by Henryk Sienkiewicz there is a brilliant phrase: “Don’t be too pushy, remember that good wine should be drunk slowly.”.Yes, wine etiquette includes rules for serving, serving temperature, glasses, accompanying dishes, and much more, but there are three main rules for drinking wine: drink good wine, in the right company and slowly. Do you remember? Now about everything else in order. How to drink wine correctly? Let's start with how to serve wine: each variety requires a certain temperature: rich red wines with high tannins, as well as dessert and liqueur wines are served at room temperature, light red wines - at a temperature of 14 to 16 degrees, light white wines - at the temperature is about 12 degrees, and the champagne should be cooled to 6-7 degrees. If the temperature of the wine is lower than recommended, the bouquet will not open, and if it is higher, the aromas will mix and evaporate too quickly. As for the glassware, wine is traditionally drunk from special glasses with a thin stem, made of thin colorless glass, then it all depends on what wine to drink. Elongated glasses are suitable for red and dry wines, wide and open glasses - for semi-sweet ones. Wine etiquette requires champagne and sparkling wines to be drunk from narrow glasses. Glasses that taper upward are simply designed for fortified wine, and small conical glasses are designed for dessert or liqueur wine. A small, simple, but extremely reasonable rule also states: the stronger the wine, the smaller the dishes should be. By the way, if you are planning a gala reception, remember: glasses, glasses and wine glasses are placed in a row or semicircle in front of each plate in the order in which the drinks will be served. While ordinary young wines can be poured into a decanter or jug, vintage wines are served in “pristine” bottles. True, a characteristic sediment forms in aged wines - how to serve wine in this case? If this sediment easily rises from the bottom, then it is better to carefully pour the wine into another bottle, and the guests will have to take the word of the information you provide about the brand and vintage year. If the sediment is dense enough, the bottle is carefully placed on the table. The process of opening a bottle deserves special attention. Experts advise uncorking white wine immediately before drinking, but red wine - no less than half an hour before drinking, then it will have time to saturate with oxygen. Champagne and sparkling wines, of course, are opened at the table. The glass is filled with wine no more than two-thirds (or better, from one-third to half): in this case, you can “rotate” the drink, evaluate the shade and study the aroma. Remember that wine is not water; it cannot be drunk immediately or in large sips. Take the glass in your hands and enjoy the bouquet. Take a small sip and hold it on the back of your tongue for a second so that your taste buds fully “taste” the drink.
What to serve with wine and what is best to drink wine with are very common questions. Let's start with when and what kind of wine to drink. It is, of course, up to you to decide, but you must remember that in the summer dry white table wines, which have a certain freshness and the ability to quench thirst, will look more appropriate on the table. In cold weather, preference is given to red and strong wines with their warming effect. What's better to drink wine with? Fortified and aromatic wines (port, Madeira, sherry, vermouth) are excellent aperitifs that are recommended to be served before meals. Dry, semi-dry and semi-sweet wines are perfect for vegetable dishes. Dry red wine is a traditional accompaniment to poultry, veal, lamb, game dishes, as well as shish kebab, pilaf and boiled pork. Dry white wines and champagne harmonize well with fruits and cheeses. White table wine is usually served with appetizers, light meat and fish dishes. Delicate white wines without sharp acidity are ideal for seafood. Port wine, Madeira, sherry, and Marsala are combined with hot first courses. Liqueur and dessert wines, as well as sweet sparkling wines, will be an excellent addition to dessert. Of course, these are only approximate recommendations regarding what to drink wine with. But we can definitely say what you shouldn’t drink wine with: spicy, too fatty dishes, richly seasoned with spices, as well as salted and fermented foods - these are the main “enemies” of wine that will not allow you to recognize the taste and aroma of the drink. Despite the fact that the dessert should be sweeter than the wine, it is important not to overdo it: sweet food in combination with dry wine will make you wince: “Sour!”, and in this case it would be better to choose a young, fruity, sharp wine. Wine, cigarettes and tobacco smoke in general, dishes flavored with curry and mint, spicy culinary aromas, fatty fish and vinegar do not agree with how to properly drink wine. Despite the fact that tones of coffee, vanilla, chocolate and cinnamon are often present in a wine bouquet, the products themselves are not the best companions for wine, with the possible exception of some fortified wines.
There are practically no strict rules or restrictions on what to serve with wine. The categorical law requiring red wine to be drunk with meat, and white wine with fish, will soon become an anachronism that will be remembered with laughter. Don't be afraid to let your imagination run wild and experiment! The only thing you need to remember: the more complex the dish, the simpler the wine it requires, and vice versa: simple food matches the most delicate examples of winemaking. But the main and, perhaps, even the only criterion for what wine is drunk with is taste. The most simple, inexpensive and unaged wine can pleasantly shock you, sparkling with new colors, if you choose the right food that will form a brilliant ensemble with the wine. And the most luxurious collection wine will seem disgusting to you if it does not match the food served. There is never too much good wine, and Benjamin Disraeli said that “variety is the mother of pleasure,” so it is ideal to serve several good wines of different types to the table. In this case, you need to remember that aperitifs are served before meals (these, as we already know, are port wines, vermouths, and so on), and directly during the feast, younger and lighter wines are served first, and white wines must be served before red ones. But , returning to the beginning of our story, wine etiquette is a necessary thing, and a lot is determined by what kind of wine to drink, but without a cozy atmosphere, warm company and a good mood, it is impossible to get pleasure from drinking wine.

You can serve wine without special knowledge. All you have to do is bring the bottle in and place it on the table. But the correct serving of wine turns the whole process into an exciting spectacle that amuses guests and fuels interest in the drink. We will look at the important nuances of wine etiquette, knowing which, even in an ordinary apartment, you can have an unforgettable tasting.

The process of serving wine consists of the following stages:

1. Preliminary preparation. If you plan to serve young wine, then 1-2 days before the event it should be placed in a vertical position. A bottle of old wine is usually placed on a special stand at an angle of 30-40 degrees. The fact is that during long-term storage, sediment appears in the wine, which, in a vertical position or at an angle, moves to the bottom of the bottle without interfering with the tasting.

Wine stand

The most important aspect is the temperature at which the wine is served, since the aroma of the drink depends on the temperature. The richer the aromatic bouquet of the wine, the higher the serving temperature should be. I recommend focusing on the following values:

Dry white, rose and sparkling wines – 7-10°C;
High-quality white and liqueur wines – 9-12°C;
Young red wines – 13–15°C;
Old red wines with a complex structure – 15–17°C.

Proper table setting also plays an important role. The choice of glasses was discussed in one of the previous materials, but we will not dwell on this now. When setting the table, glasses are placed behind the cutlery on the right.

Proper table setting

If you plan to taste several types of wine at once, then the glasses are placed in the following order: to the right are glasses for red wine, to the left are glasses for white varieties, and even further to the left is a glass for champagne. It is not customary to place more than three glasses on the table. If a special type of wine is served with a certain dish, then the glasses are brought to it later.

2. Introducing the bottle. Proper serving of wine involves showing the bottle and its label to everyone present before opening. At the same time, guests are solemnly announced the name of the brand, producer, vintage year and appellation (geographical region where the wine was produced).

3. Opening the bottle. A bottle of old wine should be uncorked exactly in the position in which it is in the stand. If there is a danger that the wine may spill when opening, lift the bottle slightly. After this, carefully remove the foil and wipe the neck with a cloth napkin.

Then they proceed to uncorking the bottle. You can open wine without a corkscrew, but it is still better to use this tool. The corkscrew (sommelier's knife) should be installed exactly in the center, screwed in one turn, pulled slightly and rocked. This will loosen the plug. Then the corkscrew is screwed in four turns.

It is very important not to pierce the cork all the way through, otherwise pieces of it will end up in the wine, which will ruin the taste and appearance. Next, the cork is pulled out three-quarters, the corkscrew is removed from it, and the cork itself is pulled out with your fingers.

The edge of the neck of the open bottle is wiped with a napkin, the cork is inspected and sniffed on the sides and bottom. This is how they determine whether the wine has spoiled. The markings on the stopper must match the markings on the label. The removed cork can be placed on a small saucer and placed on the table, it looks very beautiful.

Cork on a saucer

4. Filling glasses. The wine is poured so that it does not come into contact with the remaining foil on the neck of the bottle. The ladies' glasses are filled first. The pourer should stand on the right side, holding the bottle with the label facing the guest. If it is difficult to reach the glass from the right side, then you should approach from the left, take the glass and pour the wine by weight; wine etiquette allows this.

The glass should be filled two-thirds full with white wine, and half full with red wine. The bottle is kept as close to the glass as possible, but they should not touch. This concludes the wine serving ceremony; the host invites guests to enjoy the drink itself.

Glass filling process

In restaurants, the process of serving wine is slightly different. Details in the video.

The wine glass should be filledno more than half.The exception is the wine glassfor champagne, because in a full glass the wine’s performance is better demonstrated

A glass of beer filled to the brim is a sign of the bar owner's responsible attitude towards the client. In relation to wine, this is a false step. Full glasses will ruin the pleasure of wine and make you look like an amateur. The fact that this is done in many restaurants that serve wine by the glass is no excuse.

A full glass does not allow you to truly enjoy the wine. The bouquet does not concentrate and immediately disappears. Often it is very difficult to bring a full glass to your mouth. Especially if you hold it correctly - by the leg. A full glass is too heavy and the grip area of the stem is too small - a circus trick for those who want to drink wine without spilling. For the sake of safety, a person is forced to grasp the bowl of a glass and bring it to his mouth. The result is fingerprints that will become noticeable after the wine is drunk, and this is very unsightly. In addition, the heat of the hand is quickly transferred to the wine, the temperature rises, especially if the glass is held in the hand for a long time. All efforts to serve wine at the correct temperature will go down the drain. This is especially true for white wines, the temperature of which rises much faster from 10 to 13 °C than for red wines (18 to 21 °C).

Optimal volume

White wine glasses, which are generally smaller in volume than red wine glasses, should be filled no more than half full. Only in this case, the aroma that the wine exudes will linger in the glass and will not evaporate so quickly. How much wine is in the glass does not matter for the “quality” of pleasure, whether it is one or two deciliters. The aroma develops equally in both small and large volumes.
The size of the glass is decisive. Therefore, it is better to pour more wine into large glasses.

How to pour wine correctly

In small glasses that hold a small volume of wine, it is better to pour wine more often, but little by little. In good restaurants, if a client orders a glass of wine, the wine is poured from an open bottle into small 250 g decanters. The client receives the amount of wine he desires and at the same time determines how much to pour into his glass. With red wines the situation is different. Red wine glasses are generally larger than white wine glasses. They should be filled about a third full. At least that's what the rule says. Small red wine glasses, which are usually served in cafes, should be filled halfway. This is required by a correct attitude towards wine, even if many cafe visitors believe otherwise.

Champagne - a special occasion

Only champagne should be poured into the glass more fully than other wines. Depending on the type of glass, it can be even three-quarters full - this applies to narrow wine glasses. This is done more for visual reasons: the play of bubbles is simply better visible in a full glass. By this sign, connoisseurs can determine how thin the wine is. Sparkling wines made according to the principle of bottle champagne, and champagne itself, form thin bubbles, as if strung on top of each other and rising up from the bottom of the glass. Sparkling wines fermented in a tank have larger bubbles. Particularly valuable champagnes, such as single-vintage wines or prestige cuvées that have matured in bottles for three, five or more years, are often served in shorter glasses or glasses with a larger cross-section. These wines need to “breathe” after uncorking the bottle. In this case, the glasses are filled halfway or two-thirds.

Cream of tartar in a glass: The potassium salt of tartaric acid is similar in appearance to glass shards or sugar crystals. Cream of tartar does not in any way reduce the quality of the wine. Rather, this is a sign that you have pure, “living” wine in your glass.

Aids for filling glasses

Wine is not mineral water. Therefore, it is not wine that is poured into a glass, but the glass that is filled with wine. That is, they pour slowly and carefully, silently and not in a too wide stream. The bottle should be grabbed approximately in the middle of the body and slowly tilted over the glass. In this position, it is most convenient to stop pouring wine when there is already enough in the glass. The bottle should always be kept with the label facing up. It is ugly if, while pouring wine, a person holds the bottle by the neck. In addition, it is very difficult to control the stream pouring out of the bottle. However, even those who do everything right have problems with the last straw. For those who have not yet acquired skills in serving wine, such an item as « dropstop» . This is a rolled piece of silver foil that is inserted into the neck of the bottle. With its help, you will not drip on the table and will be able to control the flow of wine when filling glasses.

A special tip on the bottle - “dropstop”, allows you to pour wine without spilling a drop - a very useful accessory for those who love wine

Tasting even the most expensive wine can turn into a banal binge if you don’t know the basic nuances of drinking this noble drink, which in ancient times was called a gift from the gods. We will look at four important aspects that influence the perception of color, smell and taste.

1. Glasses. An important factor whose importance is often underestimated. Each type of wine has its own glass shape, which clearly reveals the organoleptic properties. For white varieties, glasses with a wide top surface are suitable; for red varieties, a tulip-shaped shape is optimal; champagne (sparkling wines) is drunk from narrow, tall glasses that allow the bubbles to rise upward. Ideally, you need to have all the sets, but at home you can limit yourself to two sets for red and white wine.

The right glasses for wine

Wine glasses must be completely transparent and wiped dry, otherwise the color of the wine will be distorted. The thinner the glass, the more convenient and enjoyable it is to drink wine. During tasting, the glass is filled to a maximum of 2/3 of its volume and held only by the stem so as not to affect the temperature of the drink. Champagne is poured to the top.

2. Temperature. Responsible for the full development of the aromatic bouquet and the first taste. Manufacturers often indicate a recommended temperature range. If there is no such data on the label, the optimal serving temperature is:

young (1-2 years of aging) red wines – 13-15°C;
aged red wines with a complex structure – 15-17°C;
dry white, rose, sparkling wines – 7-10°C;
high-quality white and liqueur (sweet) wines – 9-12°C.

3. Tasting process. It starts with assessing the color of the wine. The glass is raised to eye level and held straight for a few seconds, then tilted towards you. Good wine shines, shimmering in the light, there are no particles or bubbles of carbon dioxide on its surface (with the exception of champagne) indicating spoilage.

After the visual assessment, they move on to smell testing. First, a glass of wine is brought to the nose, a deep breath is taken and the drink is sniffed. Quality wine should not smell of sulfur or yeast. Then the glass is rotated several times around its axis by the stem to saturate the wine with oxygen. After this, the smell is assessed again; it is after oxygen saturation that the real aroma is revealed.

Areas of the tongue responsible for the perception of the taste of wine

The obvious highlighting of one of the components indicates a poorly balanced wine. A metallic taste indicates low acidity, and strong viscosity is a characteristic sign of a lack of tannin. A few minutes after a sip, an aftertaste appears, completing the experience of the drink. It should be bright and long.

4. Snack. Depends on the traditions that have developed in a particular national cuisine. There is no consensus on this matter. The following rule often works: the more expensive and high-quality the wine, the simpler the appetizer is served with it. The converse is also true. White bread, hard cheeses without spices and grapes have almost no effect on the perception of the taste of wine.

All other dishes are selected depending on the type of drink, its sweetness and strength. For example, white varieties go well with cold appetizers and seafood. Red wine is best served with meat, sausages, fried fish and soft cheeses. For dessert, it is customary to drink sweet fortified and liqueur wines.

Of course, you can drink wine from an ordinary cut glass, or even from the neck of a bottle, eating what you have at hand, if it corresponds to the spirit of the place, company, and time. However, for this noble drink, certain rules for use have long been created, which serve not so much to complicate the process, but to help the wine fully open up. Let's look at how to drink wine correctly.

Wine glasses

The first thing that comes to mind when asked “How to drink wine?” these are: the right glasses for wine. Dry and red wines are usually drunk from tall glasses made of colorless glass. For semi-sweet varieties, wide wine glasses are best, which, as a rule, do not have additional decoration.

Wine glasses are designed for champagne and dry wine. Fortified wines are poured into narrowed glasses; dessert and liqueur wines are poured into conical glasses. Port wine is poured into glasses, the top of which is made of blue or green glass.

Wine serving temperature

Red wine is poured no more than 2/3 of the glass, white wine - no more than 3/4. The optimal temperature for serving red wine is room temperature; sometimes they are even warmed up a little to open up the bouquet (this is true for older varieties). White wine is served at a temperature of 6-8 degrees, pink – 8-12 degrees. Sherry, Madeira, and dessert wines are usually served at room temperature. It is better not to store red wine in the refrigerator, but to put it there some time before you open the bottle.

A decanter is a special decanter with a strongly expanding lower part, and decanting or decanting is the process of pouring wine from a bottle into a decanter. White wines are generally not decanted (although certain white wines may benefit from this); for mature red wines, decanting is required to separate the wine from any sediment that has formed in the bottle during aging. Younger red wines that have no sediment are decanted to oxygenate them.

Firstly, the wine is saturated with oxygen both during the process of pouring from the bottle into the decanter, and in the decanter itself, since thanks to its shape, the area of contact between the wine and oxygen is maximum - this smoothes out wine tannins, reveals the taste of the wine, and makes it more balanced.

Secondly, in 99% of cases, sulfur dioxide is added to wine: this method of preservation, without which the wine will simply turn into vinegar, was invented by the ancient Greeks. Sulfur is contained in wine in absolutely harmless quantities, and yet why not get rid of it if you can? During decanting, a significant part of the sulfur dioxide evaporates, which means that you will definitely not have a headache the next day.

Mature wines are decanted for about 30 minutes before serving, younger wines are less demanding in this regard and will be equally good after 15 minutes or an hour. No decanter? Take a regular jug, pour the wine into it, and then pour it back into the bottle.

Food that goes with wine

A true gourmet would never drink wine without a proper appetizer. Firstly, red wine contains a lot of tannins, which almost always cause migraines on an empty stomach - that's why you get a headache in the morning. Secondly, with the right snacks, red wines become even tastier.

For fish and poultry, white varieties are best suited, for red meat - red; rose wines are served with gourmet appetizers. Champagne and white sparkling wine are a good choice for lobster, oysters and lobsters. In general, sparkling wines go well with desserts, ice cream, pate, and fruit.

Snacks for different varieties

Below we will describe classic and not so classic snacks for red wines of different levels of sweetness. Sugar content is by no means the only parameter that forms uniform rules for choosing snacks. If you have a favorite wine and you buy it regularly, then you should be concerned about choosing snacks to go with it. Moreover, if you have a holiday coming up, then you need to take the time to open the bottle that you are going to serve and try the drink with different snacks.

Selecting snacks for dry wine

Not everyone drinks dry red wine. A large amount of acid, a tart taste, and a low degree do not suit many people in this type of alcohol. However, if we are talking only about taste, then it can be brightened up by choosing the right snacks.

Meat. Baked pork, ham, prosciutto, even bacon are ideal bases for an alcoholic snack. If you don’t know how to surprise your guests, then you can prepare a mix of pieces of meat of various preparations with fruits and soft cheeses. Dry red wine will be offset by the dense taste of meat and will lose some of its acidity.
Cheeses. Cheese is a perfectly acceptable snack for red wine. The main thing to remember is a simple rule: the drier the wine, the riper the cheese. Dry wine is never served with soft young cheeses; they do not go together. It is better to choose sweet and mature cheese. This cheese is always dense; it can be cut into slices or prepared as an appetizer with olives on skewers.
Fruits. How dry wine goes with fruit is a controversial issue. It is dangerous and at the same time effective to play on the contrast between the acidity of the alcohol and the sweetness of the fruit. In this regard, it is best to choose peach, mango, sweet oranges, pear and even melon.
Tartlets. What to eat with alcohol at a party? Of course, tartlets. The only question is what to make them from? Red dry is served with meat and fish pates on white bread, with sharp cheeses on the same white bread and some vegetables. Bread generally goes well with wines, does not clog the taste and protects guests from getting drunk too quickly.

Semi-sweet and semi-dry - the secret to a successful feast

Semi-sweet and semi-dry wine are two versatile options. They are drunk much more often than dry or fortified spirits of this type because they are more neutral. In addition, they are much better suited to food - a full meal, not just modest snacks. If you think about what to serve this alcohol with correctly, you will come up with a long list, but this does not mean that it will be difficult to navigate.

Meat. If we talk about meat, it should be something light. Red meat, as a snack for light alcohol, is not always what you need. Therefore, it is worth choosing game - rabbit, chicken, partridge, duck.
Fish and seafood. Simply the perfect solution. Of course, seafood is always served with red wine carefully; this alcohol can overwhelm its taste. However, fatty fish, mussels, and shrimp in spicy sauces go well with this drink.
Cheeses. Semi-sweet and semi-dry wine goes well with blue cheeses. This is a real gourmet treat. However, mature cheese will also come to the table, but light cream cheeses should be put aside for now.
Fruits. Fruits can be served with wines with low sugar content (both sweet and non-sweet). The main thing is that these are fleshy fruits, such as pear and mango. You can serve combinations of different fruits on skewers; it will also be delicious to add pieces of sweet cheese to this appetizer.
Desserts. Semi-sweet goes perfectly with desserts. These can be biscuits, mousses, and meringues. Semi-dry will be delicious to eat with flaky sweet pastries with the same fruits and ice cream.

Sweet wine - be careful

There are two opposing opinions regarding snacks for red sweet alcohol. The first suggests that, in principle, there is no need for snacks with sweet wine. Secondly, this alcohol, especially fortified wines, is best enjoyed with fatty, protein-rich foods. Taking the second path, consider the following options.

Meat. Red, spicy, spicy, salty meat - this is what you need to eat with such alcohol.
Red fish. Salmon, trout, and tuna will go well with sweet wines. Seafood is served with such alcohol extremely rarely, only in cases where the dish has a truly pronounced taste.
Cheeses. Cheeses should be selected for sweet red wines in almost the same way as for dry ones. The only exception is that cheese with green and blue mold goes well with such alcohol.
Fruits. You can snack on sweet wines with fruit. It is better to choose citrus fruits, apples, kiwi - fruits with sourness to achieve a contrast of taste.
Desserts. Naturally, sweet wine is simply made for desserts. The main thing to remember is that the higher the sugar level in alcohol, the more neutral you should choose the dessert - otherwise it will be too sweet.

Technically, a sweet wine is a wine with more than 45 grams of sugar per liter. This category includes not only classic sweet wines, but also fortified wines, and even Portuguese port. Port wine, as you know, is offered as a snack with nuts, mature cheese and fruit.

The benefits of red wine

According to scientists, dry red wine brings the least harm and the greatest benefit to the body. Dry wine is a product of grape fermentation, in which all the sugar that is in the grapes is fermented by microorganisms to the state of alcohol. Only sugar that is naturally found in grapes is fermented and no other sugar. Therefore, the ethanol content in dry wines, as a rule, does not exceed 13%. Fruit and berry wines in the classical sense of “wine” are not wine.

What is healthy about dry red wine?

First of all, we must talk about the powerful antioxidant resveratrol. This antioxidant helps reduce cholesterol levels in the blood and is approximately 10-15 times higher than vitamin E as an antioxidant (antioxidants are substances that neutralize active radicals that are constantly formed in the human body as a result of vital activity and lead to cell aging). Dry wine contains three times more resveratrol than juice of the same grape variety.
Dry red wine also contains a number of valuable microelements. Rubidium is considered one of the most valuable microelements. It is this microelement that has a calming, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effect. It is no secret that some clinics have long been using dry red wine as a natural source of trace elements in the treatment of mental disorders caused by a lack of lithium or rubidium. However, we should not forget that an excess of rubidium is more harmful than its deficiency, therefore daily consumption of dry red wine in large quantities will not bring any benefit.
Wine itself has a rather complex chemical composition, which is why it is used to treat a fairly extensive list of diseases. For such a concept as wine treatment, even a separate term was invented - enotherapy. In Crimea, there are a number of clinics that treat diseases such as anemia, diseases of the cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal tract, and impotence with wine.
In a separate line, I would like to highlight the role of dry wine in the fight against general aging of the body. Back in the 30s of the last century, studies confirmed that people living in the wine-growing regions of France age noticeably slower and live an order of magnitude longer than residents of other regions of the country.

How to drink wine correctly at a tasting?

The tasting begins with assessing the color of the wine. The glass is raised to eye level and held straight for a few seconds, then tilted towards you. Good wine shines, shimmering in the light, there are no particles or bubbles of carbon dioxide on its surface (with the exception of champagne) indicating spoilage.

The most pleasant sensations come from getting to know the taste. The correct way to drink wine is to bring the glass to your mouth, moisten your upper lip in it, and only then take a little wine into your mouth so that it hits the upper surface of the tongue, where the taste buds are located. Then open your mouth slightly, letting in a little air. At this moment, the sweetness, strength, acidity and consistency of the wine are felt. The obvious highlighting of one of the components indicates a poorly balanced wine. A metallic taste indicates low acidity, and strong viscosity is a characteristic sign of a lack of tannin. A few minutes after a sip, an aftertaste appears, completing the experience of the drink. It should be bright and long.

How much should you drink?

However, all of the above can be equated to zero if you do not know what dose of wine should be consumed in order to achieve a positive effect, and not vice versa. The most beneficial dose is considered to be three glasses of wine (approximately 450 ml) per week. If you want to achieve a therapeutic effect, a single serving should be at least 80 ml; if the serving is smaller, you will not get any results.

But often we don’t think about the medicinal properties of wine; we are more concerned with the question of how and how much to drink in order to feel good in the morning. It is best to drink natural dry wine, do not mix more than two varieties and do not exceed a dose of 300 ml. (for sparkling – 500ml.)

Semi-dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and fortified wines place a greater burden on the body’s enzymatic system, although to varying degrees. To ensure minimal stress on the body, read the label carefully. Natural wine cannot contain additives and is produced only from grape raw materials.

How should you drink?

Remember a simple rule that will allow you to significantly reduce the load on redox enzymes if you decide not to limit yourself to one type of wine at an upcoming event: “from light to dark, from dry to dessert, from weak to strong, from simple to sparkling” .

As for sparkling wine, which we all indiscriminately call champagne, intoxication comes from it much faster than from ordinary natural wine, although it also goes away faster. The thing is that the carbon dioxide contained in sparkling wine, when transformed into a gaseous state, increases the effective absorption surface of alcohol, which leads to the fact that alcohol enters the blood faster, and in the case of sparkling wines, part of the ethanol begins to be absorbed in the mouth, bypassing liver. If the sparkling wine is also sweet, then sugar also helps to increase the absorption rate. The temperature of the wine, not just sparkling wine, is also of great importance. Mulled wine, for example, makes a person get drunk faster. The faster the alcohol is absorbed, the faster the process of its decomposition begins, which is why we sober up faster from sparkling wine.

Contraindications to drinking wine are: gastritis, stomach ulcers, and allergies.

Remember that poison can be medicine, and medicine can be poison, and everything depends only on the dose. Think about what, how, when and in what quantities you drink, and then the morning will be really good.

Scientists' opinions on red wine

In 2009, experts from the Koch Institute conducted a study of more than 1,500 Australian men and found that moderate amounts of alcohol help improve sexual function in men. True, scientists then recommended drinking no more than five times a week: such men had erection problems on average 30% less often than others. Here, however, it is important to remember that if you drink alcohol often and in large quantities, then problems with potency will also inevitably appear.

Scientists from Johns Hopkins University claim that red wine improves the immunity of nerve cells in the brain. In addition, if you drink often, but a little at a time, the rate of age-related changes in the blood vessels of the brain will slow down and the risk of strokes will decrease.

A group of American scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison conducted their study in 2008 and concluded that red wine reduces the rate of aging of the body and maintains a healthy heart. Drinking wine in small quantities leads to an effect similar to that of a diet with a 20-30% reduced calorie content.

Another interesting study was conducted by Italian scientists. They published their results on the pages of the scientific journal American Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. A glass of wine is an excellent prevention of tooth decay, gum disease and sore throat, experts concluded. “Our findings indicate that wine can act as an effective antibacterial drug, killing streptococcal bacteria and upper respiratory tract infections,” said Professor Gabriella Gazzani.