7x Sommelier Secrets, Part 1
Which bottle should you always have at home? How do you really get an elegant decanter clean? Where should you go abroad as a winegeek? Sommeliers know this better than anyone. We asked them about their personal secrets, hidden gems and guilty pleasures.
When you don’t know what to choose
Grab a Grüner Veltliner from the shelf. The wine with the affectionate name ‘Grünvee’ is a true sommelier wine. It goes with an incredible number of dishes and almost nobody dislikes it.
No children
Tip for making reservations at beautiful restaurants: in France, never say that you’re bringing children, or you can forget about it. Just bring them along and, if necessary, also bring a roll of gaffer tape.
Glasses like new
Among sommeliers, it’s a household name: Steradent. Intended for cleaning dentures, it’s ideal for cleaning glassware and decanters. Take a large tub of warm water and add a tablet or powder. Put the glasses in and let them soak for fifteen minutes. Polish them well and they’ll be like new.
Fresh for a long time
Vins natures or other wines made with as little sulfur and chemical products as possible change in the glass, but they can also stay open for a very long time. Unlike most ‘normal’ wines, which lose their fruit after being open for three days, natural wines can last for up to two weeks.
Super pourer
Riedel decanters are super and fancy, from curly pig tails to giant snakes. But regardless of the price, such a decanter can be quite a challenge to pour from and clean. To give wines some air quickly, you can also use the Õverallt decanter from Ikea. A simple decanter that is extremely easy to pour from.
For old corks
When a cork is really old, there’s a good chance it will break or that you’ll push it into the bottle. With the Durand corkscrew, you first twist the spiral through the cork. Then, perpendicular to the spiral, slide two prongs along the cork. Success guaranteed!
By the Douro
Taste is debatable, but wine lovers agree on one thing: the Douro Valley is one of the most spectacular wine landscapes in the world. Go and eat at Portuguese chef Rui Paula’s restaurant, and you’ll look out over the Douro and the quintas, the terraced vineyards. Order the bacalhau (cod) or squid here, prepared in red wine sauce.
Read also:
- These wines go with everything
- This makes your wine taste a thousand times better
- Bluff your way into: wine terms
