Sip like a pro: ten habits for a modern wine life

Wine is not homework. You don't need to memorise a map to enjoy it more: you need a few good habits. Here are ten, from the sommelier's side of the table. None of them costs extra, and every one makes the next bottle better.

1. Order from a wine list without fear

• Set the budget first. Point to a price on the list and say “something around here”. A good sommelier understands at once, and nobody else at the table needs to know.
• Describe what you like, in your own words: “fresh and crisp”, “a soft red”, “like the Rioja we had last time”.
• Check the bottle when it's shown: the producer and the year should match what you ordered.
• The first taste is for faults, such as a musty, wet-cardboard smell from a bad cork, not for whether you love it.

2. Shop like a regular

Find one good wine shop and talk to the staff. Tell them the last wine you loved and your budget. Buy two bottles at a time: one you know and one new. In a year you will have a palate, and a shop that knows it.

3. Buy online with care

• Check the producer and the year, not only the grape.
• Watch the weather. Wine cooked in a hot delivery van never recovers. In summer, choose delivery that won't leave it standing in the heat.
• Read the return policy before you buy expensive bottles.

4. Taste in five steps

Look at the colour. Swirl to wake up the aromas. Smell, and name one thing. Sip and notice how fresh, how full and how long it is. Think: do you like it, and why? It takes a minute, and it turns drinking into tasting. My book Wine Easy builds a whole tasting system on steps like these.

5. Serve it at the right temperature

• Whites and rosés: out of the fridge about 20 minutes before serving. Ice-cold wine tastes of nothing.
• Reds: into the fridge about 20 minutes before serving. Warm red tastes of alcohol.
• Champagne and sparkling: 8–10°C, the range the Champagne trade body recommends.

6. Use one good glass

You don't need a cupboard of shapes. One thin universal glass handles almost every wine, sparkling included. Fill it a third full, so there is room to swirl. My picks are in the best wine glasses.

7. Pair simply

• Light with light, rich with rich.
• Crisp wines with salty and fried food.
• Firm reds with steak and other red meat.
• Sweet wine sweeter than the dessert.
• What grows together goes together: a region's wine with that region's food.

8. Visit wineries well

• Book ahead. Many wineries receive visitors by appointment only.
• Two or three a day is plenty, with a long lunch in between.
• Spit, or bring a driver. Never drink and drive.
• Skip strong perfume, for your nose and everyone else's.
• Ask about the vineyard, not only the wine. Then buy a bottle you can't find at home.

9. Keep a small cellar

A dozen bottles is a cellar. Keep them lying down if they have corks, somewhere cool, dark and steady: not the kitchen, and not on top of the fridge. Most wines are made to drink within a few years, so keep a couple for special days and open the rest. The worst bottle is the one saved for an occasion that never comes.

10. Keep notes, and share

Photograph each label and add one line about the evening. Then share: open the good bottle with friends, and compare two wines side by side. The goal isn't to sound like a sommelier. It's to remember the night. Sell the feeling, not the score.

For the mindset behind these habits, read 7 habits of true wine connoisseurs. Planning a celebration? See magnum Champagne.

Questions people ask