How do you best serve red wine? How long to oxygenate? How do you oxygenate? Let it sit at room temperature?

Good question. I see guys that rest a red for 2-3 hours, and say it's just right, or say it could've rested another couple hours. Do they take a sip every half hour, and know when it's optimal?

I can definitely tell a difference between the taste after first opening a wine, and after it's rested 30 minutes or an hour. But I assume it reaches an optimal point, and then it starts heading downhill.

For reds I generally pull from my wine room at 56 degrees, pour in to a decanter, and let sit at room temp (71 degrees) for 1-4 hours depending on the bottle. A few that I know need more time I will decant early and leave them in the 56 degree room for a few extra hours before moving to room temp.

aggiesed8r said:

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How do you best serve red wine? How long to oxygenate? How do you oxygenate? Let it sit at room temperature?

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Depends. Some are good right out of the bottle. Many big Cali cabs benefit from 2-3hrs in a decanter. Some need 6hrs.

EclipseAg said:

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Awhile back in this thread, I asked a question about when to open those special bottles that you have aging.

Saw this today and although it is translated so a bit awkward in places, the sentiment is perfect. Thought I would share:

When to open special wines: A little lesson I learned

In short, good company is worth more than 10 years in the bottle.

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Bingo! Drink 'em when you want to.

aggiesed8r said:

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How do you best serve red wine? How long to oxygenate? How do you oxygenate? Let it sit at room temperature?

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In general, we as Americans drink our reds too warm and our whites too cold. So I don't like to let a red sit on the counter for several hours for it to open up because it warms up too much. That being said, my cheap everyday drinkers that are just sitting in the rack get opened and drank right away, even if they're a little on the warm side. For things I pull out of the chiller that are less than five years old, I will aggressively decant them. I do that by turning the bottle completely upside down and letting it slosh around in the decanter. For older wines that I know will have thrown off some sediment, I decant those gentler to keep most of that sediment in the bottle.

I'm not huge on decanting as I find it fun to go along for the ride as the wine changes. The first sip of the first glass being different from the last sip of the last.

R Mondavi would use a blender from time to time.

One method is to uncork the night before and then recork.

I rarely decant really old wine (25+ years) w/out definitive guidance (online) for that specific vintage. Too many times an old wine will just fall apart quickly with air.

There's no certain rules, and that's just part of the enjoyment of wine I think.

HTownAg98 said:

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aggiesed8r said:

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How do you best serve red wine? How long to oxygenate? How do you oxygenate? Let it sit at room temperature?

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In general, we as Americans drink our reds too warm and our whites too cold. So I don't like to let a red sit on the counter for several hours for it to open up because it warms up too much.

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This bolded part is my ethos generally as well. Actually was just talking to a family member last week about this. I shed a small time whenever I go over to one relative's house in particular, and they always just pop a cheap, broken cork topper on their open reds and sit them out in the kitchen for days on end. And mind you they live in a hot desert climate and keep the house about 78.

I decant for those same reasons! Decanting allows the wine to start showing itself. it still changes over time, for sure.

Rocketman84 said:

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Good question. I see guys that rest a red for 2-3 hours, and say it's just right, or say it could've rested another couple hours. Do they take a sip every half hour, and know when it's optimal?

I can definitely tell a difference between the taste after first opening a wine, and after it's rested 30 minutes or an hour. But I assume it reaches an optimal point, and then it starts heading downhill.

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A good wine shouldn't start heading downhill in the first 12 hours of being open, or really even longer.

aggiesed8r said:

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How do you best serve red wine? How long to oxygenate? How do you oxygenate? Let it sit at room temperature?

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Another theory is if it needs aggressive decanting, then don't open it yet.

Absolutely agree on the reds too warm whites to cold point. The culprit for reds is the use of "room temperature" instead of the more apt "cellar temperature". I do thing that many wine people over stress decanting though. As mentioned the wines are pretty stable for 12-24 hours, so there's no need to be too fussy about it. Given the number and styles of decanters available, IMO there's a "cool factor" as well. It's just one more way for us to play with our wines.

Topic:

Wine clubs

Which ones are the consensus top performers in Texas?

Since we're on the decanting topic, getting this ready for tomorrow night's dinner.

bularry said:

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Rocketman84 said:

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Good question. I see guys that rest a red for 2-3 hours, and say it's just right, or say it could've rested another couple hours. Do they take a sip every half hour, and know when it's optimal?

I can definitely tell a difference between the taste after first opening a wine, and after it's rested 30 minutes or an hour. But I assume it reaches an optimal point, and then it starts heading downhill.

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A good wine shouldn't start heading downhill in the first 12 hours of being open, or really even longer.

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I thought it might start degrading after 3-4 hours, had no idea it could go 12 or more.

I tend to have a small taster pour after I open a bottle, and sip it slowly before a follow-up pour. Enjoy the changes over a couple hours from starting fresh. Pretty much always a noticeable improvement.

I pretty much decant only if I am trying to show off for a guest. If I know a wine likely isn't ready but I want to open it anyway, I'll open it and pour an ounce or two to taste it and let it sit out uncorked for an hour or two or three. I keep my wine in the basement and when I do that I'll leave it down there on the bar so it doesn't warm up too much. On the whole I agree with Cecil, I mostly pop and pour because I like to go along for the ride and enjoy how the wine changes over the course of 2-3 hours.

Matsui said:

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Topic:

Wine clubs

Which ones are the consensus top performers in Texas?

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I'm obviously biased towards Inwood Estates.

Yes our wines are more expensive than most, but our club discounts are steeper as well.

Also half cases are 15% discount and cases 25% discount.

Inwood Estates


Inwood Club

While I'm at it, Inwood has finally completely rewritten the web site. Lots of cool stuff. This paragraph is from the page on Dan Gatlin (link to that page follows). It's fascinating stuff for anyone who loves wine.

Quote:

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In addition, Dan Gatlin is widely considered to have one of the best and most experienced palates in the industry today. Having tasted wine as far back as 1825, having tasted numerous pre-phylloxera wines including first-growths, and having traded in wines from the 1950s to current professionally, there are very few people left active in the industry today with such experience and repertoire. He routinely consults for other wineries and winemakers, as well as judges in international wine competitions from time to time. Unlike people who train as sommeliers and have no knowledge of the science and chemistry of wine, highly experienced winemakers know how to identify the causes and sources of specific flavors in wine and how they are created through genetics, plant physiology and fermentation kinetics. Winemakers with Dan's experience are relatively uncommon, having worked with many of the most challenging winemaking tasks possible.

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https://inwoodwines.com/fredericksburg-inwood-estates-winery-and-bistro-our-history-and-development

Matsui said:

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Topic:

Wine clubs

Which ones are the consensus top performers in Texas?

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I would say Inwood and Calais would be the top two. We used to be members of both Kuhlmann and William Chris, but dropped both of them about two years ago. We dropped William Chris because we felt the quality of the wines started going down. I suspect it's because they started putting their better vineyard sites into their high-end project, but I have zero proof of that. We also had a bad experience at one of their release parties. Kids were throwing a ball and knocked over our bottle of wine. No apology from the kid, and the parent saw their child do it and didn't offer to make it right, much less apologize. So we've swore off of release parties in general where children are allowed. I don't know when bringing your children to a bar or winery became a thing, but that's a separate discussion.
We also dropped Kuhlmann after they sold to Heath/Grape Creek. They started bringing in more California fruit, which goes against what was the original plan that Benedicte had when she owned the winery. And the wines they were bringing in weren't that great, so they got dropped.
I've tried a C.L. Butaud wine, and it was good. I need to try their entire lineup.

HTownAg98 said:

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Matsui said:

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Topic:

Wine clubs

Which ones are the consensus top performers in Texas?

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I would say Inwood and Calais would be the top two.

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Calais is joining Ron Yates, Lost Draw, Signor and William Chris in next year's Friesen Franc-Off, which I mentioned earlier in the thread. Hope we can make it back.

Matsui said:

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Topic:

Wine clubs

Which ones are the consensus top performers in Texas?

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Best wines or largest clubs by number of members?

EclipseAg said:

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Matsui said:

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Topic:

Wine clubs

Which ones are the consensus top performers in Texas?

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Best wines or largest clubs by number of members?

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Well, definitely not largest. WC is the largest I know of. Inwood is relative small, but we're not a huge producer. Significant majority of revenue is subscription sales.

I've tried wine clubs in the past, and we're just not a good fit. I only drink around 35-40 bottles at home during any given year, and we don't entertain. Having multiples of the same wine keeps us from enjoying new ones.

Best wines.

Thanks all for the feedback!

jh0400 said:

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I've tried wine clubs in the past, and we're just not a good fit. I only drink around 35-40 bottles at home during any given year, and we don't entertain. Having multiples of the same wine keeps us from enjoying new ones.

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One reason we also offer nice volume discounts.