Regardless of what kind of meal we prepare, we should choose the right drinks for our menu. Dry wines and vodkas are best suited to appetizers.
For fish dishes and egg dishes, dry white wine will be suitable. Meals with mushrooms, meat dishes, fatty cheese - their taste will be enriched with red, dry wine. Lean cheeses should be combined with white wine (also dry) or beer. Champagne, mead and other sweet or semi-sweet wines will be an addition to desserts. Cognac, wine or other liqueurs can be served with coffee.
Another possibility is to serve one type of beverage, for all served dishes. This possibility can be used with champagne or sparkling wine.
What should be taken into account when choosing a drink for a dish?
There are several rules. Drinks that we serve during an aperitif should stimulate our guests' appetite. They should also not be served with other dishes. Sweet wines should not be served before dry, red wines before white wines, heavy wines before light wines.
When serving alcohol, always, regardless of its type, it is very important that it is at the right temperature, which has a great influence on the taste perception of the drink. Apart from those alcohols which are served at room temperature, all of them should be adequately cooled. It should also be remembered that wine does not like sudden temperature changes. Therefore, brought directly from a cold cellar, it absolutely cannot be heated in hot water, for example. Wine should therefore be brought early enough to slowly reach the optimum temperature.
Another important element is suitable glass. Every kind of alcohol and not only, including non-alcoholic beverages, should be served in a suitable glass. Among the glasses there is a small one for vodka, a large one on a high leg for white wine, a lower one and a wider one for red wine, with the glass extending upwards for cocktails, dessert wines and honeys, a small one for thick liqueurs and a glass high and narrow, on a high leg for champagne and sparkling wines.
Another important element is the way the drinks are served and poured. Always pour with your right hand, standing on the right side of the guest. The glasses should always be placed on the right side of the lid. Pour them always very slowly and carefully so as not to spill anything. Besides, remember not to touch the neck of the glass.
If we want to serve our guests old vintage wine, stored in the cellar, we should not wipe the bottle from dust, but only pour it holding the bottle in a special basket. Such wine should be opened an hour before consumption. The glasses are filled to two thirds of their volume. Pour the liqueur and vodka almost full. Non-alcoholic beverages more than half in the glass.
When drinking alcohol, remember to drink liquors such as wine or champagne, do not drink with a ghost, but slowly sip. Alcohol previously cooled down (white wine, champagne) should be held by the leg, so that the warmth of your hands does not increase the temperature of alcohol.
