Pouring Wine
Fill Your Glass The Right Way

You wouldn’t think that the simple matter of pouring wine into your glass is a big deal, but it is.

Rules of thumb for pouring your wine:

• Fill the glass one third full for red wines.
• Fill the glass half full for white wines.
• Fill the glass three quarters full for sparkling wines and champagnes.
• Another rule of thumb is to fill the wine glass to its widest point. This is especially true of large glasses.

You don’t want to pour the whole bottle into the glass. You can drink the whole bottle - just one glass at a time! Save “Fill ‘er up” for the gas station.

The point of all this is to allow room in the glass for swirling and aeration. I am always amused by some bartenders who fill a small glass all the way to the top. I’m sure they want you to think that you’re getting a lot for your money and hence worthy of a tip. Banquet halls tend to do this. To save money on a large volume of glasses no doubt.

But, six ounces filled to the top of a six ounce glass is the same as six ounces filled halfway to the top of a twelve ounce glass. Not the bargain that you think. And the wine will taste a whole lot better in the larger glass.

The opposite sometimes happens. I’ve been served wine in the giant 18 or 24 ounce glasses. Because the glass is so large, it looks like I’m getting short-changed on my wine. But it does lend itself to a better wine drinking experience due to the aeration advantages of a large glass.

By the way, one annoying part of pouring the wine is that dribble down the side of the bottle after you’re done pouring. A useful accessory for this is a wine pourer. Just insert it into the top of the bottle and no more drip. For these and other accessories, Amazon has a good selection.

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