As easy as drinking sounds, you really should equip yourself with the right tools:

  • For red wine, you'll want a glass with a large bowl and a relatively short stem.

  • For white wine, you'll want a glass with a smaller bowl but taller stem.

  • The whole theory here is that white wine is served chilled and thus should be kept away from the heat of your hand. Red wine, on the other hand, does well to be served just a degree or two below room temperature, so that it will release its heady vapors when it is warmed by the body heat in your hand.

  • You may want to open any bottles of older red wine a few minutes before you intend to drink them. Pour off about half a glass and then let it sit, to allow the wine to breathe. By pouring off a little wine, you give a much greater surface area to both the wine in the bottle and of course in the glass, which allows it to mix with oxygen and to dissipate any stale air that may have collected in the bottle.

SoYouWanna know more? Check out our full-length article SYW fake being a wine expert?