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Swirl, sniff, sip, spit
Tasting the great wines of Bordeaux
By Miranda Agee
Sipping and swirling the wine around in my mouth—a song that never quiets down at any tasting—I discovered it to be quite dry, yet its flavors stood up well.
Yours truly was at the Drake Hotel in Chicago last week, and not because I decided on a mini-getaway before classes started. I was cordially invited to The Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux 2005 Vintage Tasting — and let me tell you, it was divine.
After signing in and sticking a daunting name tag onto my cashmere sweater, I, together with my companion, picked up a Riedel glass from a long table and we made our descent into the ballroom.
More long tables, covered with white cloth, stretched from every end of the grand ballroom. Behind them were 100 wine purveyors, many of them French, pouring 100 bottles of their featured Bordeaux.
“Taste this,” a tall and very handsome Frenchman said to me. Holding my glass appropriately by the stem, I stuck it out and he began to pour Chateau Pavie-Macquin from the region down the side of my glass.
I stuck my nose in the glass and noticed the depth of the smell. It smelled like candy, almost like red licorice. I swirled the wine around a few times (to allow air to flow through and break up the alcohol) and noticed a more distinctly sweet flavor. It was far from the cliché nectars of a Riesling and closer to the sweet depths of Pinot Noir.
Sipping and swirling the wine around in my mouth—a song that never quiets down at any tasting—I discovered it to be quite dry, yet its flavors stood up well.
Since it was 80 percent Merlot and 18 percent Cabernet Franc, my nose and palate were telling me the truth. I swallowed the glass and went back for another. It was very good and not quite as tight in flavor as I would find many of the other wines that evening.
This particular pour got me started at my very first industry wine tasting. The rest of my afternoon went much the same, and instead of boring you with what I tasted and why I liked or disliked it, behold, in front of you, a quick lesson on wine. Maybe some of these tips will inspire you to keep the keg in the basement this week and throw a culturally intuitive wine-tasting party at your apartment.
First, your party should have a theme. No, I am not talking about hoola skirts and flowers in your hair. I mean: red or white, Riesling or Pinot Gris, American or Spanish. There are so many to choose from. Just pick one and go from there.
Next, if you are the one throwing this invigorating soiree, you need to know what you are doing, especially when it comes to glass etiquette. For a red wine, generally you will want a bigger, wider glass.
This is to ensure that enough air circulates throughout the pour before you drink. Red wines tend to be tight in flavor when poured directly out of the bottle.
A white wine, on the other hand, needs a taller and skinnier glass. The tannins of white wine taste better when they are held close together or concentrated. This type of glass will ensure that the flavor composition stays intact.
Now, at all professional wine tastings, you will see big buckets, everywhere. This is for spitting out the wine. It sounds disgusting, but it is part of the etiquette. Someone may not like how something tastes; in that case, they can find the nearest bucket and spit the wine out.
Being able to drive home after a tasting is another reason for the bucket, although that is the reason of few people. As I said before, there were 100 different bottles of wine at The Drake last week and I kept forgetting to spit. Needless to say, after my fifth pour, they all started to taste the same, anyway.
The point is that the bucket is available for people to spit out wine that does not have a good flavor.
When throwing your wine-tasting party, be sure to put out some cheese and crackers. (Kraft Singles and saltines do not count). If you don’t, I can assure you your buckets will have more than just spent wine in them by the end of the night.
Have fun and always remember to drink classily.
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