It’s Friday evening, you’re about to unwind with South African red wine and a guilty pleasure boxset after a long working week. Without realising, one or two gulps later, your glass is empty and you’ve barely even savoured your hard-earned wine!

It is important to always try to compliment the red wine you’re drinking with someone that matches it perfectly, making sure you are getting your bang for your buck and also the experience that the producers were trying to provide. So, here a few simple tips to bolster your palate:

Keep Your Bottle at the Right Temperature
The experts say that you should always keep your red at a temperature between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit, ensuring that it’s left to chill in an ice bucket for 10 minutes before pouring. This helps it reach that perfect degree and stops the wine from tasting bitter if it’s too warm.

Don’t Listen to Traditions
Many people often just accept that the “white with fish, red with meat” supposed rule is actually law but as wines have evolved and sweetened over the years, it’s not always best practice to stick rigidly to outdated guidelines.

Instead, mix things up a little wherever you can and see what works for you and your tastebuds!

Let It Breathe
Now this is one old tradition that you should still be adhering to.

Oxygen is scientifically proven to help “loosen” up the flavours in wine, making it more varied and interesting once it hits the throat.

This is in fact always advised with red wines as the more complex versions have such an array oof ingredients and formations that a little bit of air can be just the key to unlock its true potential.

Change It Up
You may have your favourites and you may be ardent about sticking by the same bottle of Merlot from the same producer, but why not change things up a little?

The more you drink or eat something, the more your senses become accustomed to it, meaning that it’s almost never as pleasurable as the first time you try.

Instead, you should try something you never have before and even if a Pinot Noir isn’t quite for you, returning to the old reliable Merlot will mix your palate up for the better.

Don’t Turn Your Nose Up at Screwcaps
As popular as conventional corks may be for a wine bottle, they can actually hamper the taste and experience of a wine as they are complete with natural imperfections.

There has been an unprecedented rise in demand for screwcaps over the last half decade or so, meaning it could be worthwhile to leave that trusty corkscrew in the kitchen drawer for a little while…