Drinking wine is a fine-dining art you cannot afford to miss at a party. (AFP)

If wine talk gets you all tied up in knots, sit back, take a sip instead and relax. It is not as forbidding as it seems. There are some simple tips that you can follow to help you fit in with the wine-literate crowd.

Storage:

External factors affect the development of wine, either speeding it up or slowing it down. Thus proper storage becomes mandatory. ?Exposure to heat and sunlight ruins a wine. So a cool and spacious place is recommended. This also helps locate the desired bottle without disturbing the other bottles,? says Nishu Nigam, director of Transways, importers of wine.

Light and heat should be carefully controlled as well. ?It is advisable to use a torch or candle in the cellar as external light hampers the taste of the wine,? adds Nigam. Too much noise increases the chemical reactions and that hastens the development process, potentially ruining a good wine. Similarly, any smell or moisture is detrimental. The storage area should have good ventilation, ensuring circulation of fresh air. The humidity should ideally be between 70 per cent and 80 per cent.

Serving wine:

There are numerous myths associated with the way wine should be served. White wine is best served between six and eight degrees centigrade (which is achieved with eight-10 hours of refrigeration). When it is said that red wine should be served at room temperature, this is by European standards. In Indian heat, a red wine is ideally served at 14-16 degrees centigrade (which will need refrigerating for four-six hours).

An appropriate corkscrew should be used to open the wine bottle. It should be simple, not necessarily expensive. Care should be taken so the bottleneck does not chip and fall into the wine. ?In a restaurant you are offered the cork after the wine bottle is opened. Many people make the mistake of smelling it, but it is given to the guest to assure them the cork is intact and the wine has not been spoilt while opening,? says Sovan Mukherjee, manager, Shisha.

Glasses:

Good glasses greatly enhance visual appeal. Wine should be served in glasses, preferably colourless, with a long stem and tapering body. The glass should be held at the stem and there must be adequate space for a firm grip. This is done for a couple of reasons. The transfer of heat from the palm and fingers can alter the taste. Secondly, it also helps swirl the wine, which is done to help the liquid interact with air, heightening its aroma. The tapered glass ensures the aroma does not escape. That?s why a wineglass should not be more than two-thirds full.

Food combination:

Food and wine matching depends on individual taste and is never an easy task. However, certain rules can be followed. Normally it is sensible to start with a young, light, cool wine and progress to more mature, full-bodied wines served closer to room temperature. ?We follow the simple rule of serving white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat,? observes Sovan.