Photo: Photo: http://www.medicaldaily.com

Recently Bon Appétit threw a couple of well-established wine rules out of the window. According to the food magazine, the sommelier doesn’t care about how you taste the wine; he only cares whether or not you think it’s delicious. Here’s what you can stop doing: 

-Put down the cork you’re about to sniff

In earlier days some sommeliers or waiters used to drink expensive bottles and refill the empty bottles with inexpensive plonk, passing them off to the customer as expensive wine. In order to prevent this kind of fraud, the cork was shown. The name and year stamped on the cork should match the label on the bottle. Yet this sort of fraud doesn’t really occur anymore so presenting the cork has become somewhat irrelevant. Sniffing it is completely irrelevant.

-Quit looking for legs

Someone or something gave rise to the idea that a wine with legs is a good wine. That is, however, not the case. The tears running down the glass after swirling a wine indicate its alcohol content. You could also just look on the label.

-Don’t try to trill

Trilling is sucking air into your mouth when there’s already a wine in it. It quickly aerates the wine, which is good for professional tasters. Yet if you’re not one, best to leave it alone.

Photo: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

-Don’t swirl and sniff just because it looks cool

Swirling a wine to release its aromas is fine. But don’t turn your glass into a blender. If you overdo it, you risk whipping the aromas right out of the wine. The best way to do it is to keep the base of the glass on the table while moving it gently in circles.

Although some of these rituals add a fun, an extra dimension to enjoying wine, it’s best to leave them alone if you’re not sure what you’re doing or why you’re doing it. If you have any thoughts on the matter, feel free to share them with us.

Cheers.