So, to continue on with my review of the wine training
courses I’ve taken, we will now move on to topics from night number two.
We touched on three rather basic, but immensely imperative,
ideas in the wine world; the evaluation of wine quality, food and wine matching
and the classic white grape. Now, these are HUGE topics, so I’m going to break
it down into two subsequent posts, in addition to this four-post set.
Evaluating wine quality – “It’s all about harmony”
Colour – Is the colour bright like an Australian syrah or almost non-existent
like a Canadian Riesling? A good way to evaluate this is to hold the glass on
an angle and look down on it against a white background. Good light is always recommended,
but this isn’t really a consideration when you’re at most restaurants. A good scale to use is the one developed by
WSET and Winefan.
I’m not going to include a picture
because I’m fairly certain its copy written and I don’t want to step on toes. That
being said, it basically goes as follows; pale to deep in lemon/green, lemon,
gold, amber, pink, salmon, orange, purple, ruby, garnet and tawny. It’s a long
bloody list, but when you take the second level of the WSET courses, you
actually get a schanzzy cardboard diagram of the colours. Keep in mind that
some of this list can be viewed as a fault in a wine, whereas sometimes it is
the wine makers intended colour. Having an idea of what the varietal you’re
drinking looks like, or what the wine in general is like (a lot of fortified wines
will fall in the tawny section), will help in the colour identification. I find
that one of the main questions I ask myself is how bad it’s going to stain my
lips when I drink it.
Nose – Immediate. This is the swirl! Everyone loves the swirl, but
its not just to look like you’re a wine snob. What it does is it concentrates
the aromas of the wine in the center of the glass so it’s stronger and easier
to grab. I like to sniff the wine before I swirl it to see what it puts out on
its own. For me it goes something like
this: "Sniff, Swirl, Sniff, Sniff". Redundant – I know. But for me it
works best. Because everything gets concentrated, I find the second sniff lets
me get past the major aromas and pick out the finer ones. Like getting past the
punch of floral and being able to identify the difference between roses and
violets.
Pallet – It’s how it tastes. We’ll
break it down below.
Length – How long does it last in your
mouth?
Short – Less than 1 minute
Medium – 1-2 minutes
Long – Greater than 2 minutes
Acidity vs. Sweetness
– Dry, off dry, medium and sweet. Acidity balances out the sweetness in a wine.
Now, I believe a huge part of this is the winemakers discretion. Yes, you’re
confined to the limitations of the juice, but ultimately it’s in the time that
the grape is harvested and blended that makes this combination work in whatever
favor you want.
Tannins
and Oak – Tannins is only a factor to red or blush wine, but you can oak
any wine and I think they are both, respectively, are absolutely brilliant. It gives
an entirely new dimension to a wine. It’s like moving from Loony Tunes to Pixar.
It’s all still animation, but it just brings it to a whole new world. Then
again, you can always have too much of a good thing.
Intensity
Of Flavor – will it sit in your mouth like a wallflower at a grade 9 dance,
shy and talkative? Or will it hit on you like the drunk and horny footballer at
prom? Does it toy and seduce you or does it lay all the cards out in the first
hand like an amateur poker player? I find that the more a wine tries to seduce
me, the more it toys with me and makes me chase it, the more I like it. But
that isn’t necessarily the kind of wine that I want to pair with every meal. Sometimes
if a wine has a profile, something I can rely on, I find it easier to pair with
food. Or sometimes it’s best to go with something that won’t offend or compete
with the food if I’m eating something new or complex. Also, I wouldn’t want to
waste an intense zinfandel on a beef potpie.
Alcohol
– Now, this seems to be a finicky subject for some wines. I would say that
anytime the alcohol balance is off in a wine, it’s typically too strong or
“hot”. But then again, that’s also the
wine that gets you drunk faster so it’s a personal preference in that regard.
Complexity
(the Holy Grail) - How the wine evolves, changes and develops with time. This
is what everyone is looking for in a wine, regardless of whether it’s a twelve
dollar chardonnay or a thousand dollar cabernet. It’s what gives a wine its
merit and reputation. Most wine makers will have different tiers of wine; this
is easily identified by price point, to reflect the different complexities in
their wine. The most expensive wine being the most complete and, in my opinion,
elitist. I think a lot of makers use these as signature wines, to demonstrate
to the world what their pinnacle is, versus a staple or flagship wine, which is
still “their” wine, but will appeal to more consumers. Of course, that leaves
the entry-level wine, the wine that is the runoff or the juice that didn’t make
the cut for the other two tiers. Makers
can have more grouping and styles beyond my simplistic three tier break down,
but you get the idea.
So there you have it, this is my
basic understanding of how to evaluate wine. It is, by no means, a complete
list of what to look at or how to do it. What works for one man might not work
for another. But it gives you a starting point.
The field of flavors, aromas and
structure you can find in a wine is huge, and is only really limited by your
own personal knowledge. How can you know
the differences between white pepper, black pepper and peppercorn if you’ve
never tasted it?
Your homework for today? Eat, drink and break it down. Try
something new; expand your pallet and flavor repertoire. Analyze what your tasting with the guide I've laid out for you. Go to a flower shop
and smell the differences between roses and violets and taste a nectarine, and
tell me how it’s different than a grapefruit.
Cheers!
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