Ernest Valtri: On Wine and wine rituals

I love the rituals for buying, storing, selecting, transporting, and drinking a really deserving bottle of wine. Today, let’s consider the preparation part.
Whether home or dining out, a day or two beforehand I stand up the bottle, which has been lying on its side, sometimes for a long time. This allows sediment that may have formed to fall to the bottom of the bottle.
Occasionally I’ll break out the wine thermometer. A little gadget placed against the outside of the bottle that measures the wine’s temperature and (sometimes) settles our ongoing household debate about what temp to serve different wines.
Opening the bottle is always ritualistic. First, using a metal foil cutter (the plastic ones don’t last long), cut the top of the foil cap cleanly off. Besides looking nice, now the wine won’t flow over the foil on its way to your glass, possibly picking up a metallic taste.
Pulling the cork may be the most famous ritual. There are zillions of gadgets to do this, some more effective than others. And special ones made specifically for sparkling wines. There are also tools for extracting an uncooperative cork. So chose your weapon and execute the technique.
The proper glassware matters too. Beyond just looking nice, all those different shapes and sizes can indeed affect how you taste the wine.

If you’re concerned about people confusing their glasses with someone else’s, again there are lots of doodads to address this. Along with all those rings, charms, and things you can attach to a glass, try that discarded top you just cut off the cap. Squeeze it around the stem and you’ve got a free, repurposed wine charm. (We save ‘em for big crowds.)
Decanting may be both the fanciest and most traditional of rituals. I don’t go overboard here, backlighting with candles, using funnels, filters, cradles and such, but I do like a nice decanter.
Don’t forget the twist of the wrist. As you finish pouring, that simple twist will usually save any drips onto the table, the floor, your sleeve, or whatever you routinely mess up.
None of these things have anything to do with actually tasting the wine. Of course, that’s ritual-intensive too. Would love to hear about some of your rituals!

Ernest Valtri of Buckingham is a sculptor, graphic designer, and a former member of the PLCBWine Advisory Council. Please contact Erno at ObjectDesign@verizon.net.

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