Confused by a label? Unsure how to serve a wine? Ask
Our expert team of contributors are here to advise on any aspect of wine. Each month we will print the most interesting queries with a personal reply from a relevant expert. Simply email ask@decanter.com with your question – the more specific, the better – in no more than a single paragraph, and you could see your query, and a reply, in print. Please note we can only respond to those queries selected for publication. certainly be pricier than a non-reserve from the same producer, and it may well be better, but there is no guarantee that this is so.
Reputable wineries will use the word ‘reserve’ to designate a wine from an outstanding parcel, or from the best barrels in that vintage, but they are not obliged to follow such criteria. Nor is the Old World without fault. There is at least one leading Alsace producer for which ‘reserve’, annoyingly, signifies ‘entry-level’. In Italy and Spain the terms have legal definitions but are still not absolute guarantees of higher quality.
Getting out red wine stains
I recently spilt some red wine on our cream carpet and quickly put salt on it because I thought that was the best course of action. It did a reasonably good job but should I have tried something else? George Foster, Nottingham Gareth Ferreira, assistant head sommelier at private members’ club 67 Pall Mall, replies: There are many ways to clear a red wine stain and although none of them are 100% successful, the method you used was a good response as salt will absorb some of the stain if applied within seconds of the spill. But it cannot guarantee complete stain removal.
Another solution would be to blot up as much of the spill as possible with a solution of dishwashing detergent, white vinegar and warm water. If there is one piece of advice I would give, it is don’t ‘smudge’ or rub in the stain but rather ‘blot’. Additionally, always act as soon as possible, as the longer the stain sits, the harder it is to get out.