My curiosity about wine started around the time I realized that the answer, 'Anything with alcohol in it', is one conversation killer. Way too long after i learnt that the inevitable conversation starter at almost every restaurant table in every up and coming borough, amongst its shiny, happy patrons is 'So what are we drinking?'.
Too much snobbery and i could agree. After all, i don't have much that qualifies me to it. Yet despite the usual class-related flag waving that has to be endured, there is something definitely to be said about spending Wednesday nights tasting at least 13 different glasses of wine that has been thoughtfully selected by knowledgeable people. Which is exactly what I have done, for a couple of months in each of the past 2 years. Wine is a good hobby I think. But only if I spend just as much time appreciating its varied intricacies and idiosyncrasies as I do drinking it. Pickled livers and Bridget-Jones style wine-gurgling are not for me. Tho learning about the way French wine makers have stuck to their traditions doggedly helped to explain French people a little. (You can also substitute the words 'helped to explain...a little' with 'accounted for...a lot' depending on how much you like the French).
I love those wine-tasting classes which have now sadly ended. They were like mid-week holidays. Tasting really good wine (now that i know what really good means), with equally good cheeses and being entertained by the tutor's story-telling. I love the way my tutor made it equally ok to love German Rieslings as to love Bordeaux Clarets. (I learnt that German Rieslings are for philistines but in the same breath, the tutor also assured me that i am not condemned for having absolutely raved about them :(....). The wine school I chose tried its best to make it easy to like wine, with none of the pressure to say the right thing. I like the way they summarized each grape variety with just one word, to make it simple for a newbie like me:
- Chardonnay - Smooth
- Sauvignon Blanc - Nervy
- Semillon - Waxy
- Cabernet Sauvignon - Structured
- Merlot - Crowd Pleaser
- Cabernet Franc - Perfumed
- Riesling - Aristocratic (not my favorite, nope)
- Gewurztraminer - Spicy
- Chenin Blanc - Wet Wool
- Gamay - Fun and Fruity
- Pinot Noir - Opera Diva
- Shiraz - Peppery
- Zinfandel - Hedonistic
Yes, I am pleased with my hedonistic hobby. I now so enjoy reading restaurant wine lists that I find that i am shutting out the conversations of shiny, happy London, just so I could read the wine list quickly before the waiter takes it away. (by which then also, i would usually find that someone else quicker and more knowledgeable have ordered the wine for us). So to finally come to my point, please please please let me order the wine the next time i have the pleasure of your company over dinner ok?
3 comments:
Your wine classes are to you what our French classes are to us.
Always wanted to take some wine appreciation class thingy more to drink good wines at low cost rather than the appreciation factor but, if I learn something that would be a bonus.
BTW, Chenin Blanc and wet wool? How? Sounds quite gross but I like Chenin Blanc.
French classes are fun too. I did that in uni and during the short period after uni while waiting to start work. parlez vous francais? je m'apelle chew-gek. j'desirez un billet pour le TGV sil'vous plait. that's about all i can remember. haha.
wine courses are good value for money. as you said yourself, where else can u get to taste so many different good wines for that price? i recommend it.
chenin blanc smells like wet cotton wool. abit damp. it doesnt have the tropical fruit - pineapple, buttery smell of chardonnay. or the cat's pee smell of sauvignon blanc. gewurztraminer smells the best of white wines - lychees. which is why asian people like it with our food.
other gross smelling wines - south african pinotage smells distinctively like burnt rubber. they have it with bbqs.
oioi majimo, lets go for mid-week wine appreciation in sg la!
chewy, yes i will definitely hand the wine list over to you next time we are at a restaurant. they are always so intimidating!
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