1936 Shaking in the 60's by Eddie Clarke

Naturally, the unoffending cork came out with a shattering "pop" and our hero acknowledged the startled gaze of other diners with a huge smile, proceeded to fill the extra glass until brimming over with the wine—then, raising it to his lips, he gulped it down and commented that he"guessed it was O.K." We wondered at this heathen behaviour; was the man just plain thirsty, or was it his illustration ofhow our wine should be tasted andjudged? We decided that this Pagan had committed a dastardly crime to treat our Claret so cruelly,as everything connected with wine,from the serving to the sampling, bears the mark ofa gentleman, and being so, it should be observed in the same way as the Marquis ofQueensberry rules. Let's start at the beginning with the treatment for serving. Suppose we decided to commence our meal with a white wine (either a sparkling or a still one), these will receive the cold treatment, and should be placed in an ice bucket with broken ice for some ten minutes before needed —or the bottles could be laid in the refrigerator at a temperature of about 40° to 45°F. for just long enough to become cold. We would probablyfollow the white up with a red wine, which should be served at about 65°F.—so often referred to as room temperature. Were we eating at home,our Claret or Burgundy would have been brought into the dining room at least an hour before the meal, and to allow the wine to breathe and settle, the corks would have been carefully withdrawn. Then after wiping the mouths ofthe bottles with a clean serviette, thereby removing any dust or foreign bodies, we would place the wine in the warmest position there is (but not in the direct heat ofa fire).

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