More Wine Lingo Defined

Sommelier (som-mal-yay’): A highly trained wine steward employed by the finest restaurants. The sommelier not only attends to restaurant guests and the wines they order, but is responsible for putting together the wine list and for making sure the wines complement the restaurant’s cuisine. Aroma or bouquet: The smell of the wine. The aroma or bouquet is enhanced by swirling the wine in the glass, allowing air to mix with the wine. This gesture seems snooty to some, but it actually does make a difference. Try it! Beaujolais (Boe-zhoe-lay’): 1) A district in southern Burgundy in France. 2) The name of a fresh, fruity wine made from the Gamay grape. These wines are best when consumed young, before they are three years old.

Ideal Temperatures for Wine

Serving wine at the right temperature will enhance a wine’s aroma and flavor. Too warm and a wine can taste flat, too cold, and many lovely, subtle flavors disappear. Fine restaurants strive to serve wines at their ideal temperature. If the temperature is right, holding your wine glass by the stem will keep your hand from warming the wine. The Best Temperature For: Fine red wines - between 62 and 65 degrees F. Light red wines, such as Beaujolais, serve slightly chilled, between 58 and 60 degrees F. Fine white wines - between 58 and 62 degrees F. Roses and blush wines - between 50 and 55 degrees F. Fine dessert wines - between 58 and 62 degrees F. Champagnes - cold, about 45 degrees F.

Wine Etiquette…and all that Jazz!

I have a lot of respect for jazz players. Instead of playing songs as the score is written, they get their kicks by “ad libbing” and making the music up as they go. The thrill for them, and for their audience, is in not knowing what’s going to happen next. It’s called improvisation, and the thrill is good. Other thrills have a different tenor. A young, professional acquaintance of mine told me that even though she’s making every attempt to learn about wine, when she’s sitting in a fine restaurant and presented with the wine list, her heart starts pumping hard enough to leave her practically speechless. For her, the protocol is a mystery. Thus, unlike the jazz player who likes to improvise, not knowing what to do next when face to face with a wine steward, or sommelier (the person who takes your wine order and makes suggestions if needed), can be a thrill that sucks the air right out of you and leaves you in a sweat. If that scenario sounds familiar, I hope the following will help remedy the situation. Think of ordering wine in a restaurant like being in a play. You play a part, the wine steward plays a part, and scenes happen in a certain sequence. In order to be cool, calm, and collected, it’s helpful to have the script down long before you walk onto the stage. So, let’s pretend. You’ve just been seated in a very posh restaurant. The menu has been presented and now imagine the wine steward walking up to your table and handing you the wine list. Are you ready? OK. Here’s what comes next. Step One: It’s your move, but this step might surprise you. It’s not about choosing the wine. Since wine’s major contribution to any meal is cleansing the palate and enhancing flavors, you’ll first want to have an idea of the food that the wine will accompany. A steak, perhaps? Pasta? Or, will it be fish tonight? Once you have a good idea of what will make your taste buds happy, it’s time for step two. Step Two: Peruse the wine list. If a certain wine tempts you, order it. Remember, there are no hard and fast rules. If you don’t like red wine and you’re ordering steak, order a bold white wine. If you’re ordering a flavorful fish with a zesty sauce, a light red wine will no doubt work fine. Balancing the flavors is what’s important. If you aren’t sure which wine will be a good match with your meal, or you want to try something totally new, ask your wine steward for advice. And, since the evening is about pleasure, it’s perfectly acceptable to give the wine steward a price range so the bill won’t choke you. Step Three: Once the wine has been ordered, the wine steward will present the bottle to you, label forward. Your job is to check the label to make sure this is the wine you want. Believe me, mistakes happen. They are not intentional, but drinking a wine that turns out to be much more expensive than what you had in mind may leave you gasping when the bill arrives. So, do give the label at least a cursory glance. Step Four: The wine steward opens the bottle. If your bottle has a screw cap, it will be twisted off with as much grace and aplomb as a screw cap offers. If it has a cork, the top of the capsule will be removed and the cork pulled out. Step Five: If your bottle has a cork, it is no longer deemed necessary for you to smell it. To the untrained nose, wet cork pretty much smells like wet cork, so why bother? Your wine steward will most likely place the cork on the table next to your silverware; however, if you’d like to pick it up, or if it is handed to you, you have numerous options. You can smell it if you choose to, check it out to see if it’s in good shape (if it isn’t and the wine tastes funky, the cork might offer a clue), determine if it’s actually cork from a tree or plastic, notice the length (a longer cork is usually considered better and more expensive), or look to see if the cork has the winery’s logo or brand. If you do nothing, that’s OK, too. Step Six: The wine steward will pour a small amount of wine for you to smell and taste. If you give the wine a bit of a swirl, it opens the wine and enhances the aroma. This gesture seems snooty to some people, but swirling really does make a difference. If the wine smells good and tastes good, it passes. Nod your approval, or give a quick little statement like “it’s fine.” Your steward will continue to pour the wine for you and your guests. If the wine is flawed, don’t be afraid to say so. Another bottle should be brought to your table without complaint. Six steps and it’s the end of the play. Of course, the wine etiquette ritual, like everything else, just takes a bit of practice. So, if butterflies appear when the wine steward approaches, just remember that improvising is OK. Don’t obsess about the protocol; enjoy whatever comes next and have a jazzy evening.

Wine Tips & Suggestions

If You Haven’t Seen The Movie “Sideways”: Drink Merlot before watching it. Drink Pinot Noir while watching it. Drink wine of any kind after watching it. At Home: Some wines are best chilled, however, wines taken straight from the fridge can be too cold and lose their bouquet. Warm them up a bit and their sensory pleasure comes back. Dining Out: If in doubt about what wine to choose, remember that the most expensive wine is not always best. Medium priced wines are generally well made and decent value. A Safe Bet: To please most palates at your table no matter what food people are ordering, ask your server for a suggestion. If everyone likes it, terrific. If it’s less than spectacular, it’s not your fault.

The Road to Wine Heaven

Wine heaven, or, knowing enough about wine to feel confident in any social situation, is magic. For young professionals who didn’t grow up with wine on the dinner table, the road to get there can be a windy one, fraught with intimidating situations at every turn. But, it doesn’t have to be. Just be willing to jump on and, like me, do the following: Go for the basics. First and foremost, get comfortable with a handful of the major red and white grape varieties. There are many superb books (including mine) that will guide you in pronouncing the names and will give you just enough information to get you started. Or, take a basic wine class offered by a community college or wine shop. They will often include a wine tasting. I’ve found that learning to pronounce Gewurztraminer while sipping it is somehow easier than learning to pronounce Gewurztraminer and not sipping it. Ask questions! Restaurants and wineries have educated staffs meant to help, not humiliate, you. And, they are perfect venues for experimenting and trying new wines. Keep a couple of things in mind. When tasting numerous wines at one sitting, your palate is influenced by each wine you taste. To avoid confusion, it helps to go from white wines to red wines and dry to sweet. Matching food and wine. There are no hard and fast rules. The purpose is to balance the flavors and use wine to complement your meal. For dishes with hearty flavors, choose a bold wine with hearty flavors. It could be red or white, depending on your preference. For dishes with more delicate flavors, choose a lighter wine that won’t overwhelm your meal. Again, the color of the wine doesn’t matter. If you like it, it’s a match. For a fun food and wine pairing experiment, invite a few friends to a favorite restaurant, order a bottle of wine you’d all like to try (ask your server for suggestions), and select several appetizers. The commentary can be as simple as “yummy” or “better luck next time.” Personally, I’m usually too interested in catching up with my friends to pay attention. If the wine is good and the food is good, they match just fine. What about wine glasses? If you don’t have them already, do yourself a favor and buy a nice set of wine glasses. There’s nothing like sipping your favorite everyday wines as well as your more elegant wines from a beautiful glass. Just make sure your wine glasses curve in at the top which helps capture the wine’s bouquet. To serve dessert wines, I use very small wine glasses with magnificent green stems. I found them at an antique fair. The cost was minimal, the enjoyment max! Drink wine; don’t analyze it! You don’t need to discuss all of the nuances of a wine to enjoy it. It’s nice to know a few terms like “dry” and “sweet” but listing all of the spices, veggie characteristics, and fruit flavors that you detect in a wine is carrying it way too far. Not to say that there aren’t certain folks who are interested in that kind of thing. If you’re one, join a wine tasting club and have at it. As for me, I’ll spend my time sipping, not yakking. Corks or screw caps? Closures are meant to keep air out of wine and screw caps work just fine. Cork closures are traditional. Both have certain merits. I’ve got some of each in my cache. Right now, I have several white wines with screw caps in my fridge. The wines are summertime favorites and opening the screw-capped bottles is fast and foolproof. If you like it, drink it! I can’t tell you how many times people have been embarrassed to tell me that their favorite wine is Riesling, also called Johannisberg Riesling. Geesh! Doesn’t anybody out there know that Riesling is a noble grape and makes a wine to be prized and praised, not maligned and drunk in secret? On hot summer days, I love sitting on my balcony sipping a good dry Riesling or one with just a hint of sweetness. Its bright, fruity flavors sort of melt the stress of the day away and go perfectly with whatever munchies I’ve got on hand. Buy it and order it with pride knowing that the more you do, the more choices you’ll have since wineries only make wines they can sell. Dang, let’s hear it for Riesling! A story from the road. One of my embarrassing moments while working in the wine industry happened several years ago. I was in New York to pour Washington wine for an international wine tasting. Before the tasting began, I was thrilled to be seated with three famous French wine producers for lunch. Taking my own advice to not be afraid to ask questions, I started the conversation by asking about a particular French red grape. When I did, my pronunciation was so inadequate, they thought I was inquiring about manure. Yes, manure. When it all got figured out, we all laughed. I did, however, learn how to pronounce the French red grape, Pinot Meunier! Oh well, it was just another day on the road to wine heaven.