How to Serve Wine..

copyright 2009, Maria Liberati
Tonight, I finished up one of my wine education and wine pairing events at one of my favorite vineyards. Something that no one seemed to have a clue about was what temperature should their wine be served at. Ahh.. this brought to mind my good friends GianLuca and Velia from the famous wine bar in Orvieto (Italy)- the Champagneria!!
A little wine bar in the main piazza of Orvieto but a place where one can get an education about wines from all over the world. Here is some information that I have learned from sommeliers like GianLuca and vineyards that I have trained at in Italy.
The temperature that you serve the wine is just as important as the quality of the wine itself. You are making a grand mistake is you serve a great wine at the wrong temperature, the special qualities of that wine will not be evident .
Here are the perfect temperatures the different type of wines should be served:
*Champagne-8 degrees C
*Dry white and rose wines- 10
*Light red wine- 14 degrees
*Aged red wine-18
*Sweet wines and liqueurs- 8
If the wine is too cold, pour it in the glass and leave for a few minutes to warm up.
The glasses the wine is served in is just as important. Clear, transparent glasses are the best so that one can experience the wine. But also a glass that has a long stem is best to serve wine so that your fingers do not touch the part containing the wine and do not modify the temperature of the wine in any way.
Dry spumante and champagne should be served in a flute so that one can see the bubbles and the perfume of the wine is released slowly.
However, sweet champagne and sweet spumante should be served in a cup-like glass.
This is the season for grapes and they are at their best. My favorite recipe for taking advantage of the luscious grapes of Fall is a risotto with white grapes and white wine.
It reminds me of being at the being at the farm in Tuscany where I do all my cooking programs-the crisp autumn evenings and the warmth of the risotto.
“To make a friend, a glass of wine is enough, to maintain the friendship you need a whole bottle” as an old Italian saying goes.
Risotto all’uva Bianca (risotto with white grapes)
* 1/2 cups rice for risotto (carnaroli or arborio)
*1/2 lb firm white grapes
*1 small white onion
*4 tblsps parmigiano-reggiano cheese
*1/2 cup dry white wine
*2 tblsps butter
*1 quart vegetable broth
Wash grapes, cut in half and take out seeds. Melt butter in saute pan, then place in chopped onion. When onion is transparent add in dry rice and let toast for a minute. Add in wine, and when the liquid evaporates place i n 3/4 cup vegetable broth. Stirring constantly. Repeat until rice is al dente-approx 18 minutes. However, at mid cooking, add in grapes and stir in. Then remove from heat and add remaining butter and top with grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese. Serve immediately. Serve with glasses of dry white wine.
For more great recipes, get your copy of the best selling book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking  at https://www.marialiberati.com

Follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/marialiberati

*