Chilean merlot
Merlot is an important grape for both blended and varietal red wines. It remains a pleasurable wine that combines sophistication with mildness, and is therefore more palatable to most than cabernet. A number of elementary mistakes can be made when drinking merlots, such as taking them straight from the bottle or serving them at the wrong temperature. Avoiding these mistakes will make it simple to bring the most out of a bottle of merlot.
Instructions
1. Choose a merlot that has been aging in the bottle for two to three years. Most of the merlots bottled in the United States have only some tannins, and therefore do not need to sit in the cellar for five to eight years to mature.
2. Bring the bottle straight up from the cellar or basement and serve it shortly thereafter. Red wine should never be chilled, it should be served at the cool room temperature of a full basement or cellar. The ideal for merlot is a temperature in the upper 50s. If it is not stored in such a place, put it in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes to cool it just a little.
3. Decide how much of the wine you will drink after opening, and aerate it accordingly. Even a middling-tannin red wine like merlot needs to breathe to achieve its best tasting qualities. If you are consuming the whole bottle, pour it into a decanter and let it breathe for 15 to 20 minutes. If you are just having a glass or two, pour the wine into the glasses and let it breathe there for 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Put a stopper back in the bottle immediately after pouring, should there be any wine left in the bottle. Return it to the cellar as soon as you can. Once in contact with the air, a bottle of merlot will start to spoil. But if the bottle is stopped up and returned to a cooler storage space, it will stay good for at least a few more days.
5. Fill the glass to between one-half to two-thirds full, but no more. Do not pour out the last inch or two of wine into a glass, since this likely has a lot of sediment in it.
6. Hold the wine glass by the stem, so that contact with your hand does not heat the wine.
7. Swirl the wine in the glass a little so that it has more contact with the air before taking a sniff and checking the nose of the merlot. Then take a small sip and try the flavor. Merlot is known for flavors/scents of oaky carmel, plums, cherries, currants and roses.
Tags: contact with, bottle merlot, straight from, wine glass, wine into
