Wine
Corks, decanting, glasses and other wine questions.
- Does white wine need to breathe or be aerated? Usually not, and too much air can dull a delicate white. A few full-bodied whites, like young white Burgundy and oaked Chardonnay, can benefit from a short decant.
- How do you open a wine bottle with a broken cork? Try twisting a wide-threaded screw into the cork, or working a sturdy knife in and twisting. If it still won't budge, push the cork in and strain the wine through a coffee filter.
- What are tannins in wine? Tannins are the compounds in grape skins, seeds and oak that make wine feel dry and puckery. Reds have far more than whites.
- What is a corked wine? Corked wines smell and taste like a musty old basement. Other people say it’s more like wet cardboard or wet dog. Let me tell you what it really is.
- What is wine decanting? Pouring wine from its bottle into another container, either to expose it to more oxygen or to leave sediment behind in older wines.
- What kind of wine glass to use? Different wines are traditionally served in differently shaped glasses. This page points to Wine Folly's guide to choosing stemware.