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Wine tasting: A bluffer's guide
March 12th, 2008
Wine is one of the great pleasures in life. We travel to buy it and we stay at home to savour it. Then some of us just drink it and are mortified when the time comes to choose the right one for dinner or to describe what we’re drinking when out and about. Our bluffer’s guide is all you need to get started.
Remember, when it comes to drinking wine, practice makes perfect.
Buying
There are many great tasting wines in South Africa that don’t have to hurt your pocket. Talk to your wine merchant, they’ll help you stick to your budget while offering lots of suggestions. If you don’t have a friendly wine merchant here are a few tips:
- Go for the basic starter wines when in doubt.
- If you like sweet whites, do try a Chenin Blanc.
- For dry whites a Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc will do the trick.
- For a simple red get a Pinot Noir or a Merlot. They’re not too complex.
- But if you’re going for a more complex and sophisticated taste, then a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Shiraz is perfect.
Pairing
Pairing your food with wine is much more painless than you might think. There is practically no science to it at all. For healthier, lighter meals, white wine is perfect. For heartier, fuller meals red wine is better. But, and this is a big one, it all comes down to your personal preference. If you want a light red wine even though you’re having fish and veggies for dinner then go right ahead and get that Merlot. It’s you and not the wine snobs drinking the thing.
Deeper and Deeper
Now we’re getting down to it. It’s time for the basics that’ll leave you sounding like a connoisseur the next time you’re around wine snobs who always look at you funny when you say, “I don’t know. I just love this wine.”
Red Basics
What’s with the colour? The colour of red wine comes from the grape skins and the time the skins are in contact with the grape juice during fermentation. The grapes range from dark red, almost black, garnet, ruby red to deep violet, and so on.
Glass size matters. Red wine needs enough room. Don’t use a narrow flute-like glass; try an oval one that narrows just slightly at the top. Something that can hold about 300g of liquid is ideal. This allows the wine to breathe, mixing with the surrounding air to warm up so when you drink, the flavour is softer and more mellow. If you serve your red wine too warm it’ll taste only of alcohol and if you serve it too cold it’ll be a bit bitter.
When it comes to tasting and describing the flavour we’ve got you covered. Don’t try and make things up, it’s easy to detect flavour. These are the ones you’ll most likely encounter: cherry, cinnamon, raspberry, blackberry, raisin, clove, coffee, dust, plum, clove, cocoa, currant, white or black pepper, liquorice, toast. Don’t get too hung up about remembering all these, if you just take time to taste, you’ll get it.
White basics
Well, white wine isn’t really white. It’s more golden, yellowish. It’s made from the juice and skin of green, yellow, or gold grapes.
When it comes to glass choice you need a completely different glass to what you’d use for the reds. A narrower glass that tapers sharply at the top is better. This kind of glass keeps the aroma inside. Unlike reds, whites don’t need to breathe; their delicate flavors need to be contained. They taste better at lower temperatures too.
Don’t fumble the next time you try to bluff your way through a tasting. Here are some common white wine flavours: floral, melon, lime, earthy, grapefruit, pineapple, citrus, apple, honey, butter, pear, herb, lemon. Just pay attention and you’ll get it.
How to taste…
Look: Pour wine into a suitable glass and look beyond the obvious. What tone of red or white do you see?
Look once more: Now you’re looking for clarity. Is it clear, cloudy or translucent? Tilt and swirl your glass. A younger red will be less translucent than an older one.
Smell: Swirl your glass a bit to awaken the wine’s aromas, and then take a quick whiff. What’s your first impression?
Smell once more: Now dive into the glass, nose first. Inhale deeply. What’s your second impression?
Taste: Take a small sip and roll it around your tongue.
Swirl: Open your mouth gently and inhale, mixing the wine with air, this is swirling. Can you taste the woody, berry or bell pepper taste of a red? Or the citrus, apple, or floral flavours of a white? This is the initial impression of the wine’s flavours.
Swallow and finish: Swallow it and pay attention to the after-taste. Does the wine linger afterwards, was it light-bodied (consistency of water) or full-bodied (that of milk)? This is the finish of the wine.
Record: Now, do you like it? What kind of meal would you have it with it? If you want to have that wine again, get its name, year and producer so it’s easier to find next time.
Now that you are learned, stay humble. Nobody likes a wine snob because at the end of it, it’s all just wine and you either love the taste or you don’t.
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