Opinion: The Ten Commandments of wine

Many societies on this planet observe the Ten Commandments in some form. They have become the almost universal direction of life, are inviolate and written in stone.

There are also Ten Commandments of wine, considered by some to be unimaginable to violate.
 
Welcome to the 21st century, where the old wine laws are no longer valid, and the stone they were written on is now pebbles. Let’s take a look and see what's happened.
 
First Commandment: Thou shall not serve red wines with seafood
That commandment may have worked in the old days, but today, we enjoy such gifts from the sea as swordfish, shark, squid and octopus, which are too strongly flavored to be accompanied by the average white wine. Some of the less tannic red wines, such as California merlot, zinfandel or petite sirah work well with these foods.
 
Second Commandment: Thou shall not serve white wine with red meat
This commandment still holds true for grilled red meats, but for more delicately flavored red meats or veal, lamb or pork, riesling, viognier and pinot grigio work in their countries of origin - so why not here?
 
Third Commandment: Thou shall serve white and sparkling wines ice cold
Whoever dreamed that one up was an idiot. Too cold and the wine loses most of its flavor and aroma attributes. Half to three-quarters of an hour in the fridge should make it perfect.
 
Fourth Commandment: Thou shall serve red wines at room temperature
The original rooms etched in stone were French rooms of the 1800s, without central heating or cooling. Red wines are perfect after about 15 minutes in the fridge, but do not uncork them until they are at the table, to prevent the wine from picking up fridge odors.
 
Fifth Commandment: Thou shall never serve a sweet wine with dinner
Forget this law. With the explosion of sweet and semisweet wines in the marketplace and the American palate enjoying sweet wines, go for it.
 
Sixth Commandment: Thou shall drink the wine ordered at a restaurant without question
A decent server will pour a bit of wine into your glass for you to sample. You then have the opportunity to accept or reject it. Once you accept that wine, you have bought the wine, but, if you reject it, you do not have to pay for it, and don’t.
 
Seventh Commandment: Thou shall respect the suggestions of the sommelier
Never ask the sommelier for suggestions. He/she is a salesperson and will direct your choice toward wine they want to get rid of or make the most profit on.   
 
Eighth Commandment: Thou shall store your wines lying down
Unless you plan to keep the wines for an inordinately long time, nothing will happen to wine if stored upright in the short time it will be in your hands, even as long as a year.
 
Ninth Commandment: Thou shall never buy a wine with a screw top
Again phooey; there are some very good wines now being sold with screw tops. Screw tops are no longer the indication of a cheap wine. Never judge a book by its cover or a wine by its stopper.
 
Tenth Commandment: Thou shall allow the guest to fill his/her glass
That is the province of the server in a better restaurant, and he or she should be aware of what is going on at the tables they work and when a glass should be filled. If they are not observant, let the tip indicate your displeasure.
 
There are many other myths about wine, but we have listed only some of the more common ones. In any and all cases, you, as the customer, are in charge. If you allow someone else to make your choice, you have lost your individuality and probably, your courage.

Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.