Let’s talk temperature

Banjo tells me “Red wine is best between 16 – 20 degrees.”

If you’re dining out at a restaurant the sommelier will be serving your wine at optimum temperature but if you’re at home is anyone really checking? When at home “Keep the wine under the stairs and it’s good to go. If you have it in a wine fridge, let it sit for 20 or minutes before drinking. If it’s too cold, decant it to warm it up a little.”

Up your wine glass game

When it comes to red wine glasses, use “The biggest one you’ve got! Those nice bulb glasses are great for Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo etc, but honestly, if you have a large glass that allows you to really put your nose into it, you’ll be winning.”

Decanters, why do I need one? 

Our decanters aren’t just for making our bar carts look fancy. But why really use one?

Banjo tells me the short answer is, “It makes the wine taste and smell better. The long answer is really quite a simple one too. A wine is trapped in a bottle for sometimes years on end. It really just wants to stretch its legs and show you what it’s got.”

Think about those bottles you’ve been cellaring for a special occasion, when “Pouring the wine into a decanter it introduces oxygen into the wine, as well as warming it slightly. This loosens aroma molecules that have been bound up overtime in the decanter. Aim to decanter the wine for 1 hour plus, until the wine softens and relaxes releasing all of its goodness.”

What if I don’t quite finish A bottle of red?

Sometimes a glass or two of an evening is all you want.

Banjo tells me that keeping the bottle “Ideally for 48 hours tops is best. However, if you open a bottle, pour yourself a glass, jam the cork back in and put the bottle in the fridge, it should last up to 5 days. The constant temperature helps the wine stabilise.”

What’s THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHEAP and expensive bottleS?

We’ve all walked into a bottle shop and spent time wondering what is the difference between those $10 bottles on one aisle and the $50 bottle on the next. 

During winemaking, there are some processes that can cost a lot, such as “Harvesting the grapes very gently by hand, crushing using manual methods as opposed to machines and long periods of ageing in oak…the list goes on.”

Despite this, Banjo assures me that the Good Paired Days mentality believes that “Great value wine can be found at all price points.”

“Often, a lot of the $$ in wine is marketing, but the care and time taken do equal more expensive juice. I know which one I’d rather drink…”