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How Not To Be A Wine Snob | |
Love Cheshire, Love Food |
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Ever sat next to someone intent on telling you how to choose and drink wine? Not sure if they know what they're talking about or just want to expose them as a wine snob? Then use Cheshire Food's guide to knowing wine: 1. Remember that the whole purpose of wine is enjoyment. This is your mantra…wine is enjoyable…wine is enjoyable…wine is enjoyable. The reason everyone drinks wine is for enjoyment. Don't freak out about where the wine comes from, who made it, or any of the other specifics about the wine. Just sit back and sip on some wine. The more relaxed you are the more uncomfortable wine snobs become. Wine is enjoyable! 2. Don't smell the cork. This is a sure tip off that you have no clue what you are doing. The cork smells like cork. So what do you do with the cork? Put the cork in your hand and squeeze it. If the cork is pliable and does not break apart in your hand it is a good cork and chances are the cork did what it is suppose to do keep the air from getting to the wine. Better yet if you can find a bottle with a plastic cork or a screw cap (yes this is better than a real cork) the chances are even higher that you are going to have a good bottle of wine. For some reason, wine snobs feel that only real cork should be used for cork…and screw caps? "Never!" 3. Learn to use your palate. Nobody knows what you're tasting and experiencing better than you. Everyone's perception of food and wine is different. This is something the wine snob is banking you don't know! For example some people like liver and onions; others don't. Some people like spicy Cajun food; others don't. Some people like Japanese food; others don't. This principle works the same with wine. When you sip wine, if something goes off in your brain that says, "I like the taste of this wine!", then you like the wine. Don't allow anyone else to convince you that you don't. In the same way, if something goes off in your brain that says, "Gross, this smells like Uncle Joe's farm…with the cows and horses." Trust yourself. Your friends will agree. 4. Learn to know why you like the wine. You have decided that you like the wine. Now ask yourself why you like the wine. Is the wine sweet? Fruity? Acidic? Does the wine remind you of your wedding… honeymoon? A trip overseas? Do you taste blackberries, citrus, or apples? Once you understand why you like the wine then you can look for similar wines that suit your preference. Also remember personal likes and dislikes are different from person to person. 5. Learn to express why you appreciate the wine like a professional. With a little bit of study (perhaps just 10 minutes a day) you can talk like a professional does about wine. Try to learn one new wine word a day (Cheshire Food's guides to Tasting Wine and Red or White Grape Varieties are a great place to start). Then try to apply the word with a close friend when tasting wine. Ask their opinion…"Does this wine taste 'maderized'1 to you?" Chances are your friend will agree. Be careful… if you do this one wrong you might be perceived as a wine snob. 6. Before you swirl, look at the wine as if there might be a bug floating or swimming in it… you just want to make sure the bug is all right. In other words, look intently at the wine. The wine snob is going to make many comments about the colour of the wine. What you need to look for is a large variation in the colour of the wine from the center of the glass to the side of the glass. This is called rim variation. If there is a big variation the wine is older than a wine that does not have this variation. This has nothing to do with you liking the wine… you might and you might not. If the wine is brown, smell the wine. If you don't like what you smell, don't taste the wine. 7. Learn to swirl your glass like a pro. After the wine is poured but BEFORE any opinion is given about the wine start to swirl the wine. This action exposes the wine to some air and releases the aromas. This is something that you can practice at home. Swirling wine is as important to the wine drinker as bouncing a basketball is to a basketball player. The more you look like a pro, the more people will believe you are a pro. If you are right handed you should try to swirl counterclockwise, if you are left-handed you should try to swirl clockwise. If the opposite works for you, great! 8. Smell the wine… in through your nose out through your mouth. Smelling does not work the other way, plus this avoids anything accidentally coming out of your nose into the wine. Yuck! In through your nose out though your mouth also allows your taste buds to be primed for tasting the wine. Something else the wine snob will not tell you is that you can tell more about a wine by smelling it than you can by tasting the wine. 9. Sip the wine, just a little on the tongue. The reason that you only want a little wine on the tongue is that now you are going to open your mouth a little and pull air in through your mouth and then blow the air our though your nose. Try not to suck the wine into your windpipe when you are doing this, although every so often it happens, even to wine snobs. This helps you taste the flavors of the wine. Notice that you are employing your nose here. Your mouth can only tell you a few things about wine or food for that matter. Your nose knows the rest. What you do after that is totally up to you; you can spit it out or swallow the wine. Once you have done that savor the flavor for a while. What do you think about the wine? 10. Finally, practice, practice, practice. The biggest advantage wine snobs have over you is they have tons of experience tasting wine. The more you taste the better. But remember, always drink in moderation. Enjoy! |