Hold the Wine Bottle From the Base
It may feel natural to hold a bottle close to the neck; however, when you do it, the law of your body’s physics will be against you. The bottle is the heaviest on the bottom.
“The best position for your hand on the bottle is at the base of it, the part of the bottle with the most girth,” says Nicole Erica Rodriguez, a Baltimore-based sommelier, and co-founder of Wine Culture with Nicole. “Your strength and control come from holding it at the heaviest part.”
The undersides of many wine bottles feature an indentation known as a punt. People with larger hands might find it a convenient location to place their thumb as they hold the base. If you find it difficult, but the bottle does not have punts, you can put your hands underneath it like you were holding grapefruit.
Twist to Avoid Spills
It is possible to pour sparkling, white, or red wines the same way as you would pour white or red wine by holding the bottle on its bottom and then placing it at an angle of 45 degrees to the glass. Then stop the pouring of sparkling wine in the early hours to allow the carbonation to decrease.
The final few seconds of each pour could aid in avoiding spills.
“When you’re ready to stop pouring, you want to quickly twist the bottle counterclockwise,” Rodriguez says. Rodriguez. It’s not advisable to shake your wrist, according to her, “but slightly pull it up so you catch the little droplets of wine.” She suggests doing this right over the glass of wine, so even if there are a few drips, they all fall to the bottom of many of the fine-dining establishments. Sommeliers will wipe down the glass between each drink using a serviette or a folded napkin on their forearms. Although it’s not a requirement to be done on Friday evenings on the couch, it’s a good idea to keep a napkin or towel in the event of drips.
“Even when I’m pouring a glass of wine at home and no one’s looking at me, I still have the serviette or towel,” Rodriguez says. Rodriguez. “Try to safeguard yourself as much as possible.”
How Much Wine to Pour into a Glass
The usual pour for a professional service of wine is 5-6 pounds for each glass. This means that a wine bottle of 750 milliliters has around five drinks.
As per some wine experts, there’s a precedent for this type of size.
“Hugh Johnson, the esteemed British wine expert, notes that throughout history three drinks have been considered the model for moderation,” writes Karen MacNeil in The Wine Bible. “Johnson goes on to suggest that from this historic counsel is derived the wine bottle, which just happens to contain 750 milliliters, or about three glasses each for two people.”
In modern eateries, the 5-6-ounce drink allows staff to uniformize prices and service. Furthermore, many glass wine glasses can hold 16-20 ounces of alcohol; a 5-6-ounce glass gives drinkers ample room to swirl their drink without it spilling over the side.
If you’re having a glass of wine at home, you can pour however much or how little you want. Rodriguez prefers to start with a small amount and gradually increase to a full-on pour. However, there are other factors to consider, she says.
“I gravitate toward a 3-ounce pour, but if it’s been a long day, then I’m going to have to go for those 6 ounces.”
