The most expensive case of wine ever sold cost over £3000 per bottle. That’s paying the same amount for a year’s tuition at Oxford as for 750ml of grape juice. Old grape juice. Though the world of wine is evidently crazy, it is also massively compelling. Given how much most of us enjoy drinking wine, if you learn a little more about it you can choose bottles that are unusual, exciting and damn good to drink.
Getting hold of wine you can be passionate about is easier when you understand and can communicate what you like about different wines. This is where technical tasting is useful. ‘Tasting’ is simply assessing how the wine looks, smells and tastes. Anyone who tries to kid you that this is tricky clearly can’t remember a three step list so shouldn’t be taken seriously. First, look at your wine, notice its colour, any tints or shades and if it is the same colour throughout. Now swirl the wine to let the air open its aromas and stick your nose in. The smells that present themselves range from luscious tropical fruits of Australian Chardonnay to the complex barnyard characteristics of Burgundy’s Pinot Noirs. As you can tell, being unconventional is acceptable, and more fun, so spend some time sniffing and see what stands out to you.
You have now been holding your glass of wine for a couple of minutes without drinking. Congratulations on your self-discipline. We can now move on to the most exciting part of wine, drinking it. You have six things to look out for as you taste.
The first four are the structural elements of wine: sweetness, acidity (the backbone of most whites), tannin (the backbone of most reds) and alcohol. You can objectively assess how much of these are present in each wine and how well they integrate and balance together. Gauging the level of each and your response to the combination will demonstrate the styles of wine you like. Sweetness and acidity are easy to notice and you will recognise the warming sensation alcohol provides at the back of the palate. Tannin is obvious but harder to understand. It is the astringency of red wine you also get from drinking cold tea. (Swill red wine around your mouth for a while and feel your teeth sticking to your gums to get the idea.)
Finally, consider the flavours of the wine. Like smelling, flavours are perceived differently by everyone, so get involved and start trying to articulate what’s going on in your glass. To start off it may be helpful to look past specific tastes to general flavour profiles in wines like herbaceous or fruity, spicy or mineral, earthy or floral. Read recommendations and bottle labels and try and pick out what they find.
One particular flavour is very important: Oak. Oak is used in the treatment of wine to give it weight in the mouth and different, more complex flavours. The amount of oak used is as good or bad as the winemaker is skilful. However, if you are getting toasty, woody, butterscotch or vanilla notes in a wine it is probably coming from the oak rather than the grapes.
So you are aware, this is the point at which you can get carried away in a wine-fuelled fervour. For me this involves ruminating on the joys of German Riesling with a crisp citrus structure, supporting overtone of minerals (and petrol) and an irresistible touch of sweetness on the finish. I love to quench my thirst with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, with its huge acidity and green, grassy flavours ideally complemented by sweeter fruits like raspberry, passion fruit or blackcurrant. I lose myself in red Burgundy (made with Pinot Noir) for though it is a light red wine with little tannin and some oak this is allied with red fruit flavours and earthy aspects ranging from the powerful echo of a farmyard to the musk of mushrooms in a shaded wood, all perfectly evoking the French countryside. I indulge unashamedly in the powerful dark fruits and seductive spice of Australian Shiraz (a.k.a. Syrah, grown in the Rhone) with its clench of powerful tannin and huge body. I also crave the excitement of trying new, unusual wines that take your palate in unexpected directions.
Now we have cleared up the unending attractions of good wine, we’d better talk money. The price of wine varies hugely and does tend to correlate with quality. The average spend on wine in the UK is about £4.10 a bottle, however, after you remove duty, VAT and retailing costs, a maximum of 50p is spent on making the wine. So, though there are some good wines sub-£5, if you are willing to spend a couple of pounds more the jump in quality is pronounced. Also, know that at low prices wine is of two distinct styles. Some is great value stuff made by low cost producers who make simpler versions of other wines but still express some characteristics of the grapes used and where they were grown. On the other hand there is an increasing trend of wine being mass produced to appeal to a broad market. This wine tends to lack interest, flavours and structure. If these bottles get you going, fine, but I find it hard to get passionate about wine that has been produced with as much thought, artistry and care as Coca Cola.
Now you have a little knowledge, start approaching wine confidently. There is so much to enjoy, and a large number of oenophiles more than happy to despatch advice. So, think about what styles of wine you enjoy and start purchasing. For inspiration, try my recommendations to carry you through summer:
Clear your palate and quench your thirst with a bottle of Quadro Sei Gavi 2007 (M&S, £4.99) from Piedmont, Italy. The Cortese grape makes whites with high acidity, like the more common Sauvignon Blanc. However, it has lovely clean citrus fruits on the palate and floral notes prevent the wine seeming too brittle in the mouth.
If you enjoy whites that aren’t too dry and have clear fruit flavours go straight for La Difference’s French Viognier-Muscat 2007 (Tesco, £4.92). The Viognier grape gives a vivid drive of apricots (and currently is a very cool white grape) and Muscat adds a perfumed grapey edge. This creates a sumptuous balance between off-dry, un-cloying fruit flavours and a light-mid weight body. Drink when the heat is still lingering and the sun is on its way down before dinner is ready.
Chardonnay. Change your perspective on a grape you may think you already know (and save some money) by heading for Chile’s Errazuriz 2007 Chardonnay at Sainsbury’s whilst it’s on offer (£4.99 from £7.99, or Oddbins, £6.99). This is fairly traditional Chardonnay (think peaches, melons and some oak) with good complexity and a refined structural balance. A rounder white wine, it will work well with lighter foods.
Though at least one of your friends will claim to detest red wine, show them this very light example to change their mind. Sainsbury’s own Beaujolais (£3.99) is a great example of what Beaujolais excels at: well priced, light bodied red wine with almost no tannin and bright red summer fruit flavours. This wine is great when the sun is out and accompanies serious salads really well. If you want to totally break with wine snobbery, and I unreservedly encourage you to, stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes before drinking to perk up the flavours.
Chianti is a perfect red to enjoy with food, especially Italian food, because it has mid-weight tannin and relatively high acidity without a large, overpowering body. Piccini tend to get their Chianti right at the moment, so try either the Piccini 2007 Chianti (Sainsbury’s, £5.99) or take advantage of the special offer on the Picinni 2005 Chianti Riserva, a noticeably better wine (Sainsbury’s, £6.99 from £9.99). Both show typical cherry fruit, moderate oak and savoury finish and are worth getting stuck in to.
Waitrose have an excellent wine selection (and there are also rumours of 25% off offers looming) so invest in the sublime Zalze Shiraz, Mouvedre, Viognier 2007 blend from South Africa (£5.99). These classic grapes of the Rhone create a rich wine of blackberry and raspberry fruit and gentle dark spice. The Viognier (a white grape) adds an attractive lift to the large body and heavy tannins of its companions. This impressive wine will suit meals of robust red meat excellently.
These wines all express a character that indicates the grapes they are made with and place they are made in. These differences make for interesting, diverse and exciting wines. This is the wine I am passionate about. Start tasting, ask questions and figure out what wines you enjoy and revel in drinking them. You’ve nothing to lose except your inhibitions and you may discover a passion too.
