Silly Things Wine Connoisseurs Do To Enjoy Wine

Written by Madeline Puckette

Being a wine connoisseur is like graduating from pink sprinkled doughnuts to plain croissants: as your “breakfast pastry palate” develops, you no longer require sprinkles to delight.

This is what being a wine connoisseur is all about.

Once you graduate from the beginner wines of the world, you move up the ranks and become a wine connoisseur. Tasting wine suddenly becomes much more nuanced. Of course, in order to achieve the perfect wine experience, wine connoisseurs have been known to do some very silly things. Here are some of the more inventive things people do to enjoy wine.

You don’t have to be rich to be a wine connoisseur… just obsessed.


1. Serving temperature is taken very seriously

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Speed chill your wine: Wrap the wine in a wet t-shirt and hold it out the window of your car.

In the same way that Coke tastes better when it’s ice cold, wine tastes better when served at the right temperature.


2. Proper glassware makes a big difference

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Some connoisseurs will have 2–3 glass shapes in regular rotation.

You don’t need a different glass for every wine, but a decent glass will make a big difference in how a wine tastes. Here’s why good glassware is great.


3. Connoisseurs can’t help but look a little silly

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Focus face may not be pretty but it is effective.


4. Every sip can be savored

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Nothing wasted: a stainless steel tea strainer does wonders when you want to drink the “dregs”.

No connoisseur is too proud not to be resourceful. That’s because once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.


5. Patience may be a virtue, but preparedness is better

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It looks possible but it’s a lie.

A connoisseur won’t leave home without a corkscrew. It becomes an attachment, just like a wallet or a phone.

Thank goodness TSA started allowing waiter’s friends again.

Written byMadeline Puckette

James Beard Award-winning author and Wine Communicator of the Year. I co-founded Wine Folly to help people learn about wine. @WineFolly