Today I'd love to share 8 fun tips for drinking wine! It's nerdy, but I like learning etiquette tips (do you?) and thought you might like to hear these fascinating wine dos and don'ts before heading out to holiday parties and romantic dinners. Below, I wrote out the tips, and the genius
Gemma Correll illustrated them. Here goes...
1. Fill red wine glasses 1/3 full, white wine glasses 1/2 full, and sparkling wine 3/4 full.
2. Twist the bottle at the end of pouring a glass of wine, to prevent drips (and to give it a flourish!).
3. Cheers! When clinking glasses, make eye contact with the other person. Otherwise, according to French superstition, you'll risk seven years of bad luck (read: bad sex). You also should clink glasses individually with each person at the table without crossing anyone's arms.
4. If someone is toasting
you (your wedding, your birthday, your general awesomeness), don't take a sip. Just smile and look humble.
5. Always hold your wine glass by the stem. Many people mistakenly think you only need to hold white wine by the stem (so you don't warm up the wine), but experts say you should hold red wine by the stem, too, so you can see its color and clarity, as well as to avoid smudging the glass with your fingerprints. Otherwise, wine snobs might call you a "bowl grabber"! :)
6. On the table, your wine glass goes to the right of your water glass.
7. While taking a sip, you should politely look into your glass. (And not at another person, if you're in the middle of a conversation.)
8. The host's duty is to make sure glasses stay filled. "My eyes go to empty glasses immediately," wine expert
John Thoreen says. "It's a real radar thing for me."
9. Or happily forget all the tips above, and just eat, drink and be merry!
Hope you enjoyed these! Thanks again to
Gemma for the awesome illustrations. xoxo
P.S. A
lipstick trick with wine, and the
#1 etiquette tip to remember for the holidays.
(Illustrations by
Gemma Correll for
A Cup of Jo. Thanks to
Shoko for research help. Tips via
Primer,
SFGate and years of drinking experience:)
The other day, I spotted this recipe for grapes wrapped in goat cheese. Intrigued, we made some last night, and, sure enough, they were creamy, sweet and delicious! What a cool little appetizer to serve when friends come over.
Our babysitter noticed how much I like wine (busted) and gave me three lady bottle stoppers for my last birthday. They make me smile every time I walk through our kitchen. Bottle stoppers make great gifts when going to a dinner party or wedding, and are also just sweet to have on your kitchen counter, chilling in a half-bottle of red.
(Layout by Jennifer Hagler for Cup of Jo. Thanks to Emily Hsieh for scouting help. Comic by Christopher Weyant)
Our mom is turning sixty this year (!), so we're starting to brainstorm ideas for a family party. These ombre balloons are great, don't you think? You just blow up six balloons each of slightly different colors, that's it!
Today I'd love to share 8 fun tips for drinking wine! It's nerdy, but I like learning etiquette tips (do you?) and thought you might like to hear these fascinating wine dos and don'ts before heading out to holiday parties and romantic dinners. Below, I wrote out the tips, and the genius Gemma Correll illustrated them. Here goes...
1. Fill red wine glasses 1/3 full, white wine glasses 1/2 full, and sparkling wine 3/4 full.
2. Twist the bottle at the end of pouring a glass of wine, to prevent drips (and to give it a flourish!).
3. Cheers! When clinking glasses, make eye contact with the other person. Otherwise, according to French superstition, you'll risk seven years of bad luck (read: bad sex). You also should clink glasses individually with each person at the table without crossing anyone's arms.
4. If someone is toasting you (your wedding, your birthday, your general awesomeness), don't take a sip. Just smile and look humble.
5. Always hold your wine glass by the stem. Many people mistakenly think you only need to hold white wine by the stem (so you don't warm up the wine), but experts say you should hold red wine by the stem, too, so you can see its color and clarity, as well as to avoid smudging the glass with your fingerprints. Otherwise, wine snobs might call you a "bowl grabber"! :)
6. On the table, your wine glass goes to the right of your water glass.
7. While taking a sip, you should politely look into your glass. (And not at another person, if you're in the middle of a conversation.)
8. The host's duty is to make sure glasses stay filled. "My eyes go to empty glasses immediately," wine expert John Thoreen says. "It's a real radar thing for me."
9. Or happily forget all the tips above, and just eat, drink and be merry!
Do you have an office holiday party? I've always heard crazy stories about them, but I haven't worked in an office for four years (I miss it!). Anyway, this chart made me laugh. Where do you fit in?
(Top photo by Leonard Freed/Magnum Photos, 1966)
