If the first sip of wine makes your face shrink, chances are you’ve opted for a bottle of the sub-par stuff with an obvious flaw - but what if we told you that there’s a low-cost way to improve its flavour?

Taking a bottle of wine out of the cupboard and, before drinking it, adding a pinch of salt might sound absurd but that’s exactly what some vino experts are recommending to deal with an unbalanced bottle.

Nathan Myhrvold, a former Microsoft chief technology officer, discovered that adding a few grains of salt to your glass could smooth out and balance the flavours of some wines.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Myhrvold tried this technique for the first time a few years ago while at a dinner party.

Sitting next to Gina Gallo, of E. & J. Gallo Winery, he recalls her saying she wished her glass of Cabernet was more savoury and less fruity. That’s when he added a pinch of salt.

Garçon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Show all 7 1 /7 Garçon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garçon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garçon Wines Garçon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garçon Wines Garçon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garçon Wines Garçon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garçon Wines Garçon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garçon Wines Garçon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garçon Wines Garçon Wines: Wine delivery that fits through your letterbox Garçon Wines

Consequently, he found the overall taste of the wine had improved and that “pretty soon everyone at the table was doing this.”

For wine-lovers, balancing out flavours is crucial and as such, there’s an extensive list of techniques to help do it.

Some people swear by hyper-decanting, a process that involves spinning your plonk in a blender for 30 seconds, to putting a spoon in the neck of a bottle and covering it in cling film.