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Wine Tasting Etiquette

Posted in Half Full or Half Empty?, Wine Knowledge, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 20, 2010 | 9 Comments »

I know… Its about time I told you about my fabulous day trip to the Good Food and Wine Show this year. The best year yet – because I nolonger “work” in the wine industry in the traditional sense – and I got to participate as a patron.

And participating as a patron has taught me that the organisers have neglected to think of one think that serious wine drinkers /tasters need: Spittoons. Now guys if you only learn one thing from my blog, let it be this:

Spitting wine out is polite. Of course, we don’t do this at home, but Wine tasting etiquette in a sales room demands you to start spitting. Why? Because you start getting inebriated. If you are getting tiddly and trying 20 wines, you won’t be able to remember your day and the sales person will not be interested in you seriously. You will not get to try the good stuff. Why else? A Cellar Door is in no way friday afternoon free drinks. I am pro-charging for wine tastings. Boo Hoo. What is $5 to try a $100 bottle of wine?

Too embarassed? Personally I am more judgemental of a non-spitter than someone who has tried and managed to get a trophy of red wine spilled down their front. It doesnt have to be classy. Just lean over and spit it in. Or if a small bucket, pick it up by the rim if you have to and discreetly spit. A good cellar door will keep emptying it to save you the protein splash backs. [Shudders]

To appear serious to another wineo you should complete in ORDER:

  1. Look at the glass. Colour of wine can tell you alot more than you know. Colour comes from age, the skins, oak… The “legs” or the clear running film of wine thats slow to fall will tell you about the level of alcohol in the wine.
  2. Swill the wine. If you can’t manage to keep the contents inside your glass put the base on a flat surface and swill in circular motions keeping the base flat. You’ll look like a pro. Swilling opens up wine to air, oxygenation releases flavour as air excites the molecules in the wine. Its like wine porn.
  3. Stick your nose in. One thing that irked me is when customers bypassed the nose. If our taste is through our nose, then 80% of the enjoyment in a great wine for me is in the nose. I can spend more time wanking on about the features of the wine’s “bouquet” more than I can it’s flavour at times. The other thing is, I literally mean “stick your nose in”. Aim to get as close to the wine without touching it with your nose. To be honest and to scare you, I isolate my right nostril and only take it in with one. (I am a righty, but I can also swing to the left). I think this clarifies my sense of smell… but to be honest I have no idea if its of better benefit to anyone else but me.
  4. Sip. The worst part about non-wineos is when they gulp it like beer. Wine is all about mouth feel, so don’t rush it. Sip, keeping it on the front of your palate and then pull the wine through your mouth. Sucking air through the wine as it allows the layers show show different flavours. Its not a gargle but a subtle “inhale” by almost whilstling backwards.
  5. Spit. Don’t need to do it at home. Hell the best of us smash heads are wineos. But seriously, if you are at a winery, you look like a fool if you don’t. It has nothing to do with being a driver or having a good time. It is actually rude to swallow everything.
  6. Lastly, if you liked something. Buy it. If you tried everything but didnt like anything, buy something*. Its like trying on every dress in the shop and looking great in everything, flashing your credit card and not buying anything.

*The above section was changed to reflect my intended meaning not the one that came out when I rushed to the {submit} button.

At the Good Food and Wine Show, the only spittons around were the small overflowing buckets. Its disappointing that they want to be taken seriously as Australias Biggest Food and Wine Show and only offer a tiny little bucket that quickly overflows. To be honest, I was spitting in silo rubbish bins. Attractive thought…

So….  the last question of the night is – do you spit or swallow? ;)

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I [HEART] Chardonnay

Posted in Half Full or Half Empty?, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 15, 2010 | 2 Comments »

For those of you who know me, you would know that I love Chardonnay. Call me old fashioned – BUT in my favour I am a product of the 80′s, and I am very similar to my mum who also loves Chardonnay. I might talk wine all day, and enjoy a large  plethora of varieties, but after hours I want to go home and have a glass bottle of Chardonnay. But I do draw the line on a few options.

Unlike most of you ABC’s (Anything But Chardonnay), I do enjoy Oaked Chardonnay. I think there are so many poorly made Chardonnays out there that it got a bad name – much like all the rubbish Sauv Blancs available now. It happens when something becomes fashionable. We see a trend with Chanel or Burberry and next week Target’s got a very acceptable but poorly made version that doesn’t fit as well and the fabrics are cheap. Same goes for wine.

The other thing about Fashion Trends is that they parallel with … Wine Trends:
Chardonnay / Shoulder Pads in the 80′s-90′s.
Rose /Midrift-lowrise and the 90′s
Sauvignon Blanc /Skinny Jeans are making their way out in the Noughties …
to be replaced (I believe) by Lady Gaga Futuristico and Pinot Gris.

Back on Topic – those of you who say they hate oaked chardonnay – PLEASE try a style like Petersons Shirley Chardonnay, Petaluma, Peacock Hill or Scarborough White Label. You cannot possibly hate toffee, butterscotch, cream, vanilla and toast. OMG it is UNBELIEVABLE. (If you still hate it, go with the right foods. I can even drink Sauvignon Blanc with the right seafood). And if you refuse to drink it because its not trendy to “still wear the shoulder pads”  – its more for me! Actually… come to think of it… please don’t buy my favourite Chardonnays. They sell out quickly and that leaves none for me. And I can’t afford for prices to go up.

Another way around the heavy oaked styles is to go for LIGHTLY oaked styles such as Petersons Wines Cuvee Chardonnay, and Scarborough Yellow Label. They tend to be fruiter, safer, lighter, consistent and easy drinking. A stepping stone to my favourite variety. If you can’t even go there – don’t bother with unoaked Chardonnay – go to a varietal such as Viognier which is sometimes blended with Chardonnay and when oaked can also be awesomely rich and luscious. When unoaked it still carries the lovely stone fruits.

One thing I don’t understand is unoaked wild yeast Chardonnay. It reminds me of mud and biological waste. Sorry. I DON’T Get it. But feel free to email me at pookiemonster@gmail.com and send me samples. I’ll write the tasting notes and let you know. But no promises.

Hate to love you and leave you but I have Chardonnay to tend to!!

P.S Considering Visiting 2010 Good Food and Wine Show this weekend. See you at the Petersons Wines Stand.

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Why did they leave all the hard-to-pronounce ones til last?

Posted in Half Full or Half Empty?, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

The wine industry is forever chortling about all the Verd-del-hoes, Mossel’s,  “Semillon”-Blancs, Card-on-nays and the occasional discussion on Cabernet Sauvignon as being a blend between the “two” grapes.  Once of my favourites has been the ever faithful “Can I please try the… V..Vi..Vo.. Voyager?”

I am sure the French are not so arrogant to expect the rest of the world to speak French. Afterall they do tolerate the Italian pronunciation of the “t” in Merlot. (But only barely) LOL

One of the more obscure queries in Cellar Door about the once rare Viognier’s origins came from a Frenchman. He had the gall to ask an Aussie whether Australia had named the grape? Her reply was said with the finest roll of the tongue she could afford: “Why on Earth would an Australian name a grape Viognier?” Wouldn’t an Aussie take the easier path? the Frenchman saw himself as somewhat an expert on French wine. He had no idea that the Rhone region uses Viognier and that his people had ignorantly almost sent the grape extinct in the past. Australia had only “borrowed” their Shiraz Viognier co-fermenting technique, and I am proud to name that Australian winemakers have conquerered the technique such as Clonakilla.

It makes me fantasise as to whether the romance and allure of all the fancy enunciations of wine terms would be lost if Australian slang took over more than a “Cab Sauv” or “Chardy”. Does the way we say a word value-add it in any way? Do we drink  “Sauv Blanc” because it makes our life better, out of convenience, fashion or for the plain cultural value?

Would we still appreciate the plonk if thats all it is? I believe there are great implications of this in the Australian market. Many consumers from what I know drink what they like or what market trends subconsciously tell them they like. But sometimes consumers are too afraid or intimidated to order the “Voyager”  in case they embarrass themselves. Many consumers have the money, the drive, the interest, the motive but lack some simple information – the key to ordering what they want. How on earth is that pronounced? Would the sommelier judge them if they didnt say Viognier right?

High praise goes to Yalumba here. Why? Not because they had the first commercial plantings of Viognier in Australia, and not because they were some of the first Viognier’s on the Supermarket Shelves. In an effort to improve the profile of Viognier as a variety, Yalumba drove a major Australian Campaign only a few years ago. On Billboards across Australia and in Magazines and other Print media, Viognier sprawled into the wine marketplace. Their efforts were noteworthy – their campaign simply read VEE-ON-YAY! Can I give three cheers to Yalumba’s marketing team? Hooray! They educated the consumer in a way the consumer wouldn’t even know. Yet, next time you see it on a wine list you can proudly ask for the “Vee-on-yay”.

I was once asked by a customer as to why they had never seen straight varietals like Petit Verdot, Chambourcin, or Viognier before. Plain and simple. Australia is a product of its motherlands and we are very traditional in our ways. If we didn’t mimic the old world wine countries in their styles, the market may not have bought our wines. It is only recently over the past decade or so that Australian Winemakers have taken themselves seriously enough to tackle entrepreneurial styles. Sparkling Red MUMMAH! Straight Petit Verdot OOHH! What is the wine world coming to? There are varietals coming out of the woodworks that I have not even tried before. I was very fond of Lowe Wine’s Tinja Roussanne, and I am very keen to get my hands on the mysteries of unknown varietals.

Cheers!

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Chip off the Old Block?

Posted in Wine Knowledge, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 14, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Grape vines can live a very long lifespan – Australia does boast some of the world’s oldest grape vines. This is owing to disease including phylloxera that swept through Europe in the 1800′s. There are vines still producing in South Australia that were known to be planted in the 1860′s. Thus, with tender love and care, grape vines will live longer than the average human.

I like to think of Grape vines as a lot like people.  In youth, we are rebellious, inconsistent. The older we are the more personality, concentration, and “flavour” we gain. We become middle-aged and we’ve hit our peak of productivity and perhaps become fuller bodied and less vigorous with better balance. Gradually as we head into old age we become fragile, and less fruitful. Lower yielding.

(Here come the abusive comments and emails from middle-aged people sledging me for my analogy.)

Of course some will argue it is not so much the age of the vines that produces a better crop. It’s the low yields. To put it simply – the same amount of flavour resides in 5 tonne of fruit, as does 25 tonne. It’s just the concentrations that reflect the quality and the richness of the finished wine. The smaller the crop, normally the higher the quality. Although from my experience, the more established the vines – the better the wine. But this theory doesn’t take into account weather conditions, terroir (geography of soil), varietal, level of pruning, winemaker, and many other factors.

Although the Hunter Valley has been credited as Australia’s first wine region, the original “Hunter Valley” vines were planted somewhere near the side of Gresford (up to 40 minutes away in the hinterland) and no longer exist. The Hunter Valley as we know it today was only really starting in around the 1860′s and only really started being mass planted between 1900 and 1970′s.

South Australia would be somewhere that I identify with some of the oldest producing vines in Australia. This is being threatened by the “Big Boys” of the wine industry. Because, as I stated the older the vines, the lower yielding. It is becoming ever tempting for contract growers to rip out established aged vines in order to replant fashionable varieties that will produce copious amounts more with improved trellising and better irrigation. As they are selling their crops – often for use in export or supermarket wines, and they are paid by the tonne – the more fruit they can produce the more economically viable their monoculture is.

So should we pay more for old vine wines? Well yes. I believe on the most part, wines made from older vines’ fruit are often made in “Reserve” styles. What does this mean? Well they cost more to produce than your average wine. New oak, barriques versus oak chips, different techniques, super yeasts, expensive packaging… the list goes on. And thus for most of us $40> wines are not everyday quaffers!

If there is an ongoing Market for the Back Blocks, the Old Blocks, the Graveyards, and the Hill of Grace, “styles” of wines, less aged vines will be uplifted for fickle market trends such as Sauvignon Blanc (here she upsets the masses again!)

I believe part of Australia’s credibility on the world wine market also comes from our ability to produce wines of this calibre and it is important to protect our industry.

But of course my only rule of wine is to drink what you like. If you like Sauvignon Blanc – by all means drink Australian. If you have a special occasion and you love aged vine Shiraz, by all means spend your hard-earned cash and savour every mouthfeel.

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Blossomed

Posted in Half Full or Half Empty?, Wine Reviews, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 14, 2010 | 2 Comments »

So I’ve started a new job in a totally different industry to my previous endeavours in wine. It’s been great, wine is now not my job, its my hobby. Although some could argue they could overlap somewhat. And even more disappointingly, gastronomy is no longer tax deductable!

In my past life, I was a jack of all trades, working for a small winery in marketing, wine clubs and wore many hats. One of these hats included tasting notes, writing about wines and assessing them against benchmarks. This is something I wish to continue via the blog. I also was an educator of sorts behind the bar. How can such a young person know so much? What course did you do? Well simply I listen, I learn, I observe and half of what I know comes naturally. Of course I went to school at 6 and was realised with the stark reality that noone else lived on a vineyard.

An honour I achieved in this position was a special credence of tradition:


Certain members of staff had been lucky enough to be labeled. I was fortunate enough to have my own Methode Champenoise. You could say I am bubbly, not cheap and showing some aged characters but then we’d have to get serious. It is a 1999 Pinot Noir Chardonnay Viognier and was absolutely divine for all its worth – fine delicate and intricate. Stone fruits from the Chardonnay and hints of Viognier enveloped by honey, nuttiness and toast.

After visiting my previous workplace today and having a great time catching up with friends (staff and customers), I was feeling a little nostalgic over my heavy glass of Viognier. Thus, this blog, an idea that I have had to make wine more approachable and help people see it the way I do has come to fruition. This little seed has “blossomed” and the blog is born.

Kathryn and Rhiannon

The double entendre here is that apparently since I have left the wine industry that I have also “blossomed”. Perhaps something  routine and everyday appears shiny and new when you make it fun again. I’m glad Wine can be this to me. And I hope that someone out there will share this with me.

Cheers!

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