There's no doubt about it, wine is more popular than ever. Not only is wine a great choice with meals, it can also be a very important part of a social gathering as a topic of discussion; no doubt you have heard people discussing which years were some of the best for a certain crop or brand of wine, where the best ice wines are produced, and so on.



We will leave some of the more advanced topics to the side for one moment in order to focus on the two most basic questions of any entertainer: which wines should be served at which point in the evening, or with which types of meals, and how that wine is best served.

White Wine

White wine is best served slightly chilled, usually at just below room temperature, so an hour or so in the refrigerator should get it to the perfect degree for you and your guests. Believe it or not, the shape of the glass may have a direct effect on the temperature of the wine; usually a glass that has a slightly narrower bowl than those used for red wines will be used. This is to prevent body heat from the palm from raising the temperature of the wine.

When it comes to the question of what white wine is best served with, there are several opinions. The general rule is that white wines should be served with white meat, so if you are making a dinner of fish, chicken, or even pork, white wine is a fairly safe bet. Keep in mind that this is a very, very basic rule; the inclusion of certain kinds of sauce, for example, may change the wine that you want to serve with supper.

In addition, white wines are generally considered to be dessert wines; this means they may be served with dessert, or served as dessert.

Red Wines

Red wines are always best served at room temperature. Again, glass size and shape can make a difference here; a large bowl will help to keep the heat distributed just right.

You've probably already guessed that if white wine means white meat, red wine means red meat, and again that is the general rule. Keep in mind, though, that there are dozens of different red wines, and some will go better with different foods.

Red wines are also generally served both as aperitifs and as ?evening drinks?; port, for example, is highly fortified red wine.

Before we receive a lot of emails from true wine connoisseurs, it's important to note that we just tried to outline the very basics in this article. The dozens of different varieties of wine will have their own place with certain meals and at different points of the evening.