5 Ways to Make Your Red Wine Taste Better

Doesn’t it give you a headache when you’ve bought a luxury wine, and it doesn’t taste the way it should be based on its price? Or rather, you bought an inexpensive wine, and you want to make it taste better? 

In that case, you’re reading the right blog! We’ve created these five amazing tips for your red wine to taste better–without adding and spending too much! 

You don’t have to stress yourself out worrying about “how to make red wine taste better?” since we’re here to help. These five tips below will be your friend on your journey to making your red wine taste better! 

A Short Introduction to Red Wine

Red wine is a standard alcoholic beverage, not just for wine drinkers but also for us regular drinkers. It is known for its dark-colored grape types that range from light red to deep purple, depending on what grapes and wine process brewers use. 

Creating red wine usually involves fermenting the grape juice intact with its grape skin–that makes the wine’s characteristics such as its tannins, flavors compounds, and colors. The skins are left with the contact of juice for varying lengths of time, incidental to the style of wine. 

Red wines are customarily paired with hearty meals and rich, flavourful dishes such as red meat, strong cheeses, and tomato-based pasta. The most common red wine you can try is the Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Shiraz, or Syrah, and the well-known Cabernet Sauvignon. 

However, if you don’t see any of the following wines stated above, you can opt for a cheaper red wine–hence, the taste won’t be as great as those famous wines. Therefore, we’ve prepared these five ways for your red wine to taste better. Let’s continue reading! 

Decant The Wine

The first step in making your red wine taste better is to decant the wine you’re drinking. When we say decanting, it is a process of pouring the wine from its original bottle into another vessel—called a decanter which is usually created from a crystal or glass before serving it. 

In doing this, the oxygen will have contact with the wine, which will soften the harsh tannins and release more of the wine’s aromas and flavors, bringing out the wine’s full potential.

Decanting a wine gives benefits not just for young, tannic red wines but also for older and more delicate wines. For you to decant a bottle of red wine, you can try following these simple steps. 

Step 1. Select a Suitable Decanter

You must ensure you’re choosing the suitable decanter for your red wine since it will play a massive role in making it taste better. Be guaranteed that the decanter is large enough to hold the choice amount of wine and it has a wine base so that topmost aeration will happen. 

Step 2. Open the Bottle of Wine

Upon opening the bottle of wine, you must pour the wine unhurriedly and steadily into the decanter you chose. Bear in mind that you must not disturb any of the components at the bottom of your red wine. 

Step 3. Let it Sit for a while

Once the wine is in the decanter, let it sit for at least 30 minutes before serving or drinking it. For some other red wines, letting it sit for more than the said time will create more impact, and the wine will taste even better. 

Step 4. Serving

After the wine’s done settling, you can now serve it in individual glasses, but you must be very careful not to disturb any sediments that have settled at the bottom of the decanter. 

Here’s a visual guide or a video for you to watch on how to decant a red wine:

Serve the Wine at the Right Temperature

When it comes to red wine, serving it at the correct temperature is crucial because it helps to enhance the aromas and flavors of the wine you’re drinking. So to achieve the proper temperature for your red wine, you can put it inside the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour or store it in a wine cooler. 

However, if you’re in such a hurry, you can place the red wine inside the freezer for about 10 to 15 minutes, but you have to make sure to check the time carefully to avoid it from freezing too much. 

Additionally, it’s worth noting that serving red wine too warm can make it too “alcoholic,” and the taste can be too powerful; on the other hand, serving it too cold can mask the flavors and the aromas. Therefore, it is imperative to serve the red wine at the correct temperature to allow for its best characteristics to show. 

Here we’ve created a simple guideline for the red wine’s serving temperatures. 

Wine	Type of Wine	Serving Temperature
Beaujolais	Light-bodied	50-55°F (10-13°C)
Cabernet Sauvignon	Full-bodied	60-65°F (15-18°C)
Merlot	Medium-bodied	55-60°F (13-15°C)
Pinot Noir	Light-bodied	50-55°F (10-13°C)
Sangiovese	Medium-bodied	55-60°F (13-15°C)
Shiraz	Full-bodied	60-65°F (15-18°C)

Pair the Wine with the Right Food

Food plays a huge role when it comes to red wine since the right food can increase the flavors of both food and wine–making it a gratifying dining experience you’ll never imagine. Usually, red wine is known for its common food pairings, such as red meat, pasta, chocolate, cheese, and spicy foods. 

So we’ve arranged this guideline for you to know what food pairs the best with the wine you’re drinking. However, you must bear in mind that these general rules depend–of course, on your personal preference, which can affect the wine and food pairings. 

Therefore, experimenting with different kinds of food that work best for your palate and wine might be a great option! 

Food	Type of Food	Type of Wine
Red Meat	Steak or Beef Stew	Full-bodied
Pasta	Tomato-based pasta like spaghetti and meatballs	Medium-bodied
Cheese	Cheddar, Gouda, or Parmesan
Chocolate	Dark Chocolate Dessert	Full-bodied
Spicy Food	Buffalo Wings or Green Chile Stew	Ligh-bodied

Choose the Right Glass

Who would’ve thought that glass also affects the red wine you’re drinking? Well, choosing the right glass for your wine enhances your experience of drinking red wine by allowing it to breathe–which causes the aromas and flavors to release. 

However, investing in luxurious or fancy glasses is unnecessary for you to enjoy your red wine! As long as the glass has a large bowl, a narrow rim, and is clean, it should be suitable for your red wine, and you can enjoy sipping your drink! 

• Large Bowl: Having your wine poured into a glass with a large bowl allows it to breathe, which refreshes the taste and flavors of your red wine. These characteristics of glass are very crucial since red wines have been decanted or are young and contain lots of tannins. 
• Narrow Rim: A glass with a narrow rim will give you comfort in concentrating the wine’s aromas and help you detect its freshness. 
• Clear Glass and Clean Glass: Clear glasses allow you to see the color of the wine, which will affect how you perceive the taste of the wine you’re drinking. It’s also basic knowledge to check or see before pouring the wine into your glass if it’s clean since any residue or dirt from the glass can affect the taste of the wine. 

Try Aerating the Wine

Some people may not be familiar with what “aerating” means since it’s not a common word that you can hear almost every day. However, when we say aerating, in its simplest terms, it is just letting the wine breathe or getting oxygen. 

As we have stated before, exposing the red wine to air can help to soften the tannins making the wine bring out its flavors and aromas.

It’s essential to know that not all red wines require aerating since some older and delicate wines can be harmed once they’re exposed to too much air. 

However, studying wine together with aeration to find what works for your preference is a good and enjoyable thing to do! Below is a list of methods that you can try for aerating red wine. 

Decanting 

The most common way of aerating a bottle of wine is by decanting–as stated above, and it is a process of pouring wine into a decanter that exposes the wine to air. You can go back to the top if you want to decant your wine for the aromas and flavors to show up. 

Swirling

Another method is simply swirling the wine in the glass. By doing this swirling method, it’s vital to remember that the glass must have a large bowl as this will give you additional room to swirl the wine without spilling it. 

Using a Wine Aerator

The last method is to use a wine aerator. A wine aerator is a type of device that attaches to a bottle of glass which allows the air to mix with the wine as it’s poured. Using this device is the quickest and easiest way to aerate the wine you’re drinking. 

Final Thoughts

So to enhance the taste of your red wine, there are numerous strategies at your disposal. First is to decant the wine which allows it to breathe.

Second, serving the wine at the appropriate temperature amplifies its flavors and aromas, the third way is to choose the right glass which can further highlight its scents, and pairing it with various foods balances its tannins and acidity, and many more! 

So whether you are a neophyte or a connoisseur, exploring these techniques can provide novel insights into the complexity and richness of the red wine you are consuming.

Thus, we hope that this blog has equipped you with the tools to appreciate your red wine to the fullest, obviating the need to ask the question, “How to make red wine taste better?” So go ahead and savor your wine with newfound pleasure!