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WENDY WATTA
EXPERT
ETIQUETTE
From choosing the right type of glass and how best you should hold it, to insight on how to
taste what’s in your glass, three wine experts share tips that will have you sipping like a pro.
Heinrich Kulsen,
Assistant winemaker, Nederburg
Brilliant Mathelumusa,
Sommelier, Capital Club
Tom Magara,
Wine Consultant
Different wines require different
types of glasses. As a standard, a
tulip-shaped 250ml glass with a
stem is often used. A glass with a
larger bowl generally works for red
wine as it allows more surface area
for oxygen to come into contact
with the wine and hence allows it to
breathe. Small glasses are great for
white wines as it keeps them cooler
for longer.
Learn to understand wine by looking
at it’s appearance, nose and impression on the palate.
Taste what’s in the glass in front of
you. It sounds rather basic, but we
often get too caught up trying to
taste from what we think about the
grape variety, region and also what
our peers think. We then end up saying things just to look smart. Forget
all that and simply taste the wine
that’s in your glass at that moment,
even if you tried the exact same one
the day before.
Always hold the wine by the stem.
Wine quickly adapts to changing
temperatures and your palm is
bound to warm it, making it taste
unpleasant.
Never fill up a glass to more than two
thirds its size. Rather refill or top up.
Putting ice in your wine is a personal
preference. It is however not the best
practice if you consider the physical
attributes of the wine that will be
watered do ݸ