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START Wine~ing about the Holidays
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START Wine ~ing about the Holidays
As Thanksgiving is upon us once again and many of us are traveling to see friends and family, I cannot help but notice that one of the most appropriate house gifts is that of Wine. A nice bottle of wine to serve with dinner or later, is always a welcomed and generous thought.
So, as I travel through the Wine Country of the Sonoma and Napa Valleys with Tour Clients, the one question that comes up is about the tasting process. Many folks, who might be experiencing a wine tasting for the first time, seem a little apprehensive about the endeavor. Its then I realized that this apprehension can carry us right into a holiday dinning situation, holiday corporate dinner setting, or right to a friends house with a bottle of two-buck chuck. Regardless, I will unveil some basics skills of wine tasting, and I hope that you'll have some fun with it.
For starters, we all listen to music, right? Whether we want to or not, we all hear it on a daily basis. I, for one, love music. So, if you are listening to a symphony, do you hear one sound, or many? The answer is many, so follow along. As you listen to the symphony, you may be able to distinguish a flute, oboe, cello, violin, etc., right? This is the same principle that you will apply to your wine tasting.
Alright then. As it is my mission to get you to START drinking wine. then I will START with an acronym. Let's use START.
Smell, Taste, Aerate, Rinse, Taste.
Smell. Once the wine is poured into your glass, hold it up and see the beautiful color, look for clarity, floating particles, pieces of cork, etc. Then Smell it. Stick you nose right into the top of the glass and take a deep whiff. Notice what you smell. It may be apples, blackberry, wood, earth, mold, etc., you get the point.
On one tour I had a little girl, who wasn't allowed to taste the wine, but the parents thought that it would be alright if she smelled the wine. I asked her, "what did you smell?" She said it "smelled like Grandma's house!" After a week with the little brat, I understood how Grandma got through it.
Taste. Your forst sip should be just that a sip. Take it in and tell what you taste? You don't have to have a Harvard Vocabulary to describe to your friends what you taste.
Aerate. With this sip, slightly take air in and make bubbles. Don't gargle. But roll this sip all around your mouth, and it is absolutely fine to make a small smacking of the lips as you finish this process.
Rinse. This is your second sip and you really want to get this one all around the inside of your mouth.
Taste. Taste it again. Did other flavors pop out at you? Does it taste different from the start of the sip, than at the end?
What you want to walk away with is, do you like it? Is it something you want to drink, or not? If not, regardless of how cheap or expensive it is, do you enjoy it? Because that is all that matters.
Now give your car keys a rest and plan on staying awhile. Even if your friends or family cannot cook, at least you have a good head start on sobriety. It should make you more fun to be with as well. Or at least it will seem that way to you. Enjoy!
Here is something fun. If a lot of bottles show up to the dinner, have an impromptu wine tasting party. You only need a few different bottles of wine. Start by opening all the bottles and start with the whites (this will also give the reds a chance to breath a bit). Have everyone try the same wine at the same time. This is so everyone can discuss what they taste. Work through the whites, lightest to darkest and into the reds.
Everyone can use the same glass, just rinse them out with a bit of water between the last of the whites, and the first and each of the reds. Serve some cheese slices and/or some nice crackers. This can cleanse your palette enough to fully experience all the different tastes. Regardless of how it turns out, no one will realize you burned the casserole.
Happy Holidays!
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