Tasting and service

Tasting a wine is about more than just putting the glass to your mouth. You have to use both your mind and your senses, along with a meditative thoughtfulness.

Here are a few examples of the many cocktails that can be made with brandy, a spirit made by distilling wine.

Everyone pops open the bubbly on special occasions, but it can just as easily be served at a laid-back dinner, or impromptu get-together.

What bottle should you open first? And what’s the difference between a red, a white and a port? The most important thing to remember is that you need to give each bottle a chance to shine!

Nowadays, we expect wine to be perfectly smooth and crystal clear. As a result, some may be surprised to find gritty, powdery or crystalline deposits when pouring that last delicious glass, or when peering into the bottle itself. Is sediment bad? The gritty truth is: No.

The table is set, the glasses shined and all that’s left to do is to open the wine to go with the roast beef that’s been filling your house with mouth-watering aromas all day. You pop the cork and a strange smell wafts out of the bottle. And you know it’s strange because this is a wine you know by heart—one of your very favourites. Your wine is probably corked. But how does this even happen?

Several factors can affect how we perceive a wine's flavour. Three experts tested the effect of different glasses on taste.

SAQ answers your questions

For spirit aficionados, whisky may well be the ultimate symbol of refinement. The cereal-based eau-de-vie is appreciated for its subtle taste and distinguished by its intricate distillation process.

Brandy, armagnac, whisky… fine spirits are popular these days. But what exactly are we talking about, and how best should we appreciate these products?

How much do you really know about decanters, every wine lover's best friend?

Drinking an aged wine is a moment for appreciating its history, the work of the artisan who made it and, above all, the incredible alchemy that went into creating its aromas, which when paired with the effects of time work to produce what appears in the glass in your hand. Whether red or white, what is an aged wine?