A wine expert has claimed that most people have been serving their wine wrong – and that her ’20/20 rule’ is the key to unlocking the best flavours from your favourite bottle
Many of us abide by the cardinal rule of chilling whites in the fridge and keeping reds at room temperature, but a wine expert has recently suggested that we might have been getting it wrong all this while. Heather Muriello, an esteemed alcohol expert from New York, took to Instagram with a revolutionary ’20/20 hack’ that promises to significantly enhance the flavour profile of your wines.
Nudging her 10k followers towards a refined palate, she shared a tip on her account @winefarer: “Have you heard of the 20/20 rule for wine?”, she inquired. Heather educated her audience on the transformative power of temperature on wine: “Learn this game-changing 20/20 rule in wine.
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“Chill your reds in the fridge 20 minutes before serving to unleash their complex flavours, while letting whites rest out of the fridge for 20 minutes to reveal their full bouquet and bright acidity.”
As explained by the resourceful Wine Folly, it’s not just colour that sets red and white wines apart, but also their unique compositions arising from distinct fermentation processes – reds with grape skins and seeds included, and whites typically without these elements.
This seemingly minor distinction has significant implications; the presence of seeds and skins endows red wines with an array of vitamins and minerals absent in white wines.
For instance, certain reds can provide about one per cent of Vitamin K and three per cent Vitamin B2, though the actual content might fluctuate depending on the specific bottle and brand.
Red wines boast a higher tannin content – a chemical compound predominantly found in plants – that can impart a distinctively bitter taste or create a ‘dry’ sensation in the mouth.
Over-chilling your red in the fridge can tamper with these tannins and accentuate their bitterness, which isn’t always pleasant when it becomes too intense.
Perhaps that’s precisely why Heather swears by her 20/20 hack -to moderately intensify the dryness and taste just before that very first sip. And there’s no need to fret if you’re missing a dedicated wine fridge, as Heather assures you can achieve this using an ordinary refrigerator.
Heather’s unexpected wine advice has since spawned a bevy of responses on Instagram, with heaps of users eager to give it a whirl at home come the weekend.
“This is a great tip and easy to remember,” penned one enthusiast.
Another later contributed: “Proper temperatures are so important!”, while yet another added their voice to the chorus: “Great tip! I always forget which is why I bought a wine fridge.”